The Black Lives Matter movement, which fueled violent protests across America last year, has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel peace prize for the way its call for systemic change has spread around the world.
The nomination was made by Petter Eide, a Norwegian lawmaker and a Socialist Left member of the Storting, Norway’s parliament.
In his nomination letter, he explained he had nominated Black Lives Matter “for their struggle against racism and racially motivated violence,” and considered the effort to be “a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice,”
Eide brushed off questions regarding violent protests in the movement’s name.
“Studies have shown that most of the demonstrations organized by Black Lives Matter have been peaceful,” Eide said. “Of course there have been incidents, but most of them have been caused by the activities of either the police or counter-protestors.”
According to Breitbart, “A study by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which looked at 7,750 Black Lives Matter demonstrations from four months of last year, found that 93 percent of the protests were mostly peaceful, yet photographs and videos captured by journalists across America depict a different image.”
“Last September, released data from Princeton University showed that riots associated with the Black Lives Matter movement took place in 48 out of the 50 largest cities in the United States,” Breitbart reported.
The Norway-based Nobel Committee is expected to choose the winners of the award in November.