Since the genesis of our nation, America’s racial dynamics have been vehemently discussed. Starting from the birth of slavery in the United States in 1619, when the first 10 slaves were shipped to Jamestown, Virginia, from Africa, to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, which has gripped our country while opening conversations about police brutality and racial discrimination, people of color have always remained a tier below whites in our society’s hierarchy.
Black Lives Matter has been at the forefront of the fight against systemic racism since its formation in 2013, especially in regards to the rights of African-Americans. It describes itself as an organization that wants to create a world free of anti-blackness and that works vigorously for freedom and justice, as stated on its website. It underlines the rights of black women and the black LGBTQ community. The movement, organized by three women, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors, began with the Twitter hashtag #BlackLivesMatter after civilian George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting of young African-American Trayvon Martin. It later gained fire through protests against the officer-perpetuated deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York City. Considering the fact that unarmed African-Americans are twice as likely to be killed by an officer than unarmed white Americans, police brutality has been a prevalent issue in our country for decades, the growth of which civil rights activism is aiming to slow down.
Following the events of the white supremacist rally at Charlottesville in August, controversy flared, with many publicly stating that both sides were to blame. President Trump held Black Lives Matter protesters equally responsible for the bloodshed in Charlottesville, despite the only casualty having been a 32-year-old woman named Heather Heyer who was killed when a white supremacist slammed his van into a large crowd. Others have proposed alternate movements, sometimes mockingly, including All Lives Matter and White Lives Matter, to suggest that movements that empower one racial group are undervaluing the lives of others. When two police officers were shot in Ferguson, people stated that perhaps a movement such as Blue Lives Matter, blue alluding to the color of officers’ uniforms, would be necessary. Black Lives Matter supporters have countered these arguments by asking their opposers why they don’t ask campaigners for breast cancer awareness why they aren’t campaigning for awareness of other forms of cancer.
Some, later criticized for misunderstanding and misconstruing BLM’s message, have gone as far as to say that its protests against police brutality are encouraging people to kill officers, and that many Americans of color harbor resentment for the police simply because Black Lives Matter has provoked them. Others have forthrightly called it a violent, racist, terrorist organization, and have suggested that it becomes registered as a hate group. However, anger directed at the police force has existed for decades before the formation of BLM, and the organization proposes more effective legislation and police training to combat police killings, not the killing of officers themselves. Violence has erupted during protests in the past, but these remain isolated incidents and not a representation of the larger movement. Black Lives Matter started off and continues to work towards racial equity through non-violent protests that advocate solutions to social problems that target African-Americans. The organization recently won the Global Peace Prize, awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation, which has in the past been awarded to Desmond Tutu for his work advocating civil rights in the time of apartheid in South Africa.
Since 2013, Black Lives Matter has gone about raising awareness for issues concerning blacks excellently through its organized protests, usage of social media as a platform, and merchandise. Similarly, I plan to use social media and my blog to promote the movement and encourage others to learn more about the history of racism in the United States and how it still continues to affects African-Americans, among other racial groups, today. We live in a time in which blacks are four out of five of those pulled over in police stop-and-frisks, in which blacks receive 10% longer sentences than whites for the same crimes, in which any new black male born today has a one in four chance of going to jail at any point in his lifetime. When blacks and whites abuse drugs and alcohol at the same rates, why do African-Americans compose 68% of those held in state prisons for drug offenses? Why do California’s officer safety laws prohibit the release of records of police misconduct when there exist no sufficient laws upholding civilians’ safety against the force itself? Only half of whites even believe that blacks experience considerable discrimination in the US, ignoring the clear racial disparities that have led to the ostracization and isolation of blacks since those slaves first came in 1619. When racial inequity plagues America, it’s almost our responsibility to support movements like Black Lives Matter and their activities so we can work to bridge the gap in institutional power between racial groups in our hate-saturated society.
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