BRATTLEBORO — Evidence gathered in a joint project between The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) at Princeton University suggests that the vast majority of the thousands of Black Lives Matter protests this summer have been peaceful, with more than 93 percent involving neither harm to people nor damage to property.
In light of this data, it is especially important not to represent the violence attached to a few BLM protests (often by, yes, “outside agitators” or opportunistic criminals) as a property of the movement.
We need our newspapers and other news outlets to provide accurate reports of BLM events and the BLM movement, and to reject sensational headlines, which serve to further Trump's false narrative.