Black Lives Matter and the new wave of anti-racist mobilizations in Europe

ABSTRACT This Special Issue investigates the European Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that followed the protests in the USA against police brutality in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing in May 2020. It takes an interdisciplinary theoretical perspective, interested in cultural and political contexts and the mechanism of how street protests and social movements influence public debates. It shows in various dimensions how the BLM mobilisation transformed existing anti-racist struggles within and across countries, bringing forward new debates, narratives, actors, and forms of resistance and organising in the social and cultural landscape of European countries.