Introduction - Global Black Lives Matter: Representations of resistance, memory and politics

Viral videos, murals, graffiti, performance activism, tumbling statues, and Black Atlantic film screenings are all part of empowering audio-visual-digital narratives that contribute to the rising momentum against ongoing institutional racism - on the backs of the legacies of colonialism, slavery and exploitation across the world. From the Rhodes Must Fall movement that started in South Africa, the townships of Johannesburg, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and Black Lives Matter in US and UK, to the reclaiming of rights of indigenous communities, migrant ‘braccianti’ in Italy, Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territories among other ethno-racial minorities - audiovisual-digital conduits have connected local and global struggles for rights and recognition in the face of state brutality, corporate collaborations and racist violent attacks. This is amid growing awareness of the disproportionate impact of the COVID19 pandemic on marginalised Black, migrant, minority, and indigenous communities – further linking social exclusion and health inequalities to ethnic or racial discrimination.