The ‘Black Lives Matter’ Honk

Long-long-short-short

In 2020, supporters of BLM brought new meaning to the word “mobilizing. ” In a year that required both social action and social distance, individuals adopted what became known as the car protest. From Volkswagen beeps to Subaru blares, vehicles could be heard honking to a specific rhythm: two long honks for “Black Lives” and two short for “Matter.” This melodic call-to-arms served as both megaphone and phonic courage. Because while many people found themselves at a loss for words when faced with the ideological differences of their relatives and neighbors, their cars had zero qualms filling the silence. Beeeeeep-beeeeeep-beep-beep!