Contemporary Black Women Activists' Consciousness and Agency in the Struggle Against State Violence

This study investigates the relationship between the consciousness and agency of contemporary black women activists, when subjected to the effects of state violence in the United States (U.S.). Highlighted are the unique ways black women are affected by state violence and the methods in which they negotiate caring for themselves and others as part of their political practice. By using a Historical Materialist and Intersectional theoretical conceptualization, the relationship of black women activists' material conditions is highlighted in relation to the ways in which they exercise agency in their political work. This research evaluated the intra-movement conflicts as well as the development of consciousness and practices of these women within their political and economic conditions. The study included five focus groups of 30 black women activists, ages 18--40 years old from September to December 2016, in the District of Columbia and Maryland in the United States. We posed the following four questions to focus group participants: (1) How do Black women Activists' experience and understand police violence and killings? (2) What is their vision for their political work and long-term strategies? (3) How do Black women activists in movement, struggle against police killings, utilize their agency in their political work? (4) What is the relationship between police violence and Black women activists' self-care?;A thematic assessment was populated using NVIVO 11. Findings revealed how black women activist's conceptualized police violence, their methods of activism, their vision for long-term solutions and the ways in which they care for themselves during this political process. This work concludes with an implications of future research and potential contributions to social movement development.