In the post-Civil Rights era (from the 1960s to today), although major discriminatory laws have been eliminated, African-Americans still face institutional discrimination. Black Americans are incarcerated at disproportionately higher rates than other Americans. They also face the highest unemployment rates.  Black drivers are 30% more likely to be pulled over by police than white people and Hispanic drivers, according to the "Police Behavior During Traffic and Street Stops" report put out by the U.S. Department of Justice (Langton & Durose, 2013). Black drivers made up 13% of all stops from this data while white and Hispanic drivers each made up 10%.

The Black Lives Matter movement, which has a chapter in New Brunswick, organizes protests, demonstrations, and acts of civil disobedience to end the institutional discrimination against people of color. The movement began in 2013, in response to ongoing police violence against Black Americans. This movement has gained momentum with news stories of violence against unarmed people of color. Although the turning point was a high-profile case that led to an acquittal of George Zimmerman related to the murder of Trayvon Martin, many similar events contributed to social unrest well before 2012.​  Since then, the attitude of police and law enforcement is under special scrutiny, as more incidents of police shooting unarmed people of color gain national attention.