2026 · PS: Political Science and Politics
American Muslim Support for Black Social Movements: The Case of Support for the 2020 Black Lives Matter Movement
When Black Lives Matter surged in 2020, American Muslims stood out as some of its strongest supporters — this study uses national survey data to show why, tracing the deep roots connecting American Islam to Black social movements.
This article investigates the extent to which American Muslims express solidarity with Black-led social movements, focusing on the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. American Muslims occupy a unique position in the US social landscape as a faith-based group that is racialized and frequently experiences surveillance and subjugation when encountering US law enforcement. Using data from two nationally representative online panel surveys of American Muslims conducted in 2020—the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding survey and the Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey—this study finds that Muslims report relatively higher levels of support for BLM compared to other religious groups (e.g., Christian and Jewish) and other ethnoracial groups (e.g., Latinos and Asian Americans). These findings provide further insight into American Muslims and their linkage to Black social movements, given the role of Black communities—particularly Black Muslims—in shaping the social foundations and political mobilization of American Islam. This research contributes to ongoing conversations about interminority group relations amid a shifting democracy in the United States.