Systemic barriers to change Following the shooting of Michael Brown, many activists took to the streets of Ferguson to protest the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police officers across the United States . Many criticized these protesters for their tactics, some of which involved violence, describing the protesters as “thugs.” In this and many other ways, the Black Lives Matter movement is like any other movement attempting to bring about broad, systemic change. Piven and Cloward write, “[I]t is inevitable that beliefs and rituals will reinforce inequality, making the powerful divine and the challengers evil,” just as has happened in this recent movement (1). Lasting change is difficult to achieve and maintain due to institutional structures that discourage or prevent marginalized groups from making their voices heard. Specifically, change is limited by the lack of representation from marginalized groups and the lack of power of these groups to implement change, which combine with the overall difficulty of moving away from the status quo. Since these problems are at a systemic level, systemic reforms need to be implemented to ensure that other potential alternatives do not address these concerns and issues, hence people have turned to protest and mass movement. Piven and Cloward's argument can also be used to ensure the success of the Black Lives Matter movement; argue that for mass movements to be successful, “[S]ategies must be pursued that intensify the momentum and impact of disruptive protest at every stage of its emergence and evolution” (37). If well-executed, organized mass movements are combined with future political and electoral reforms, it can ensure that the voices of the marginalized and oppressed are heard and that real change can be achieved.