Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence toward black people. BLM regularly organizes protests around the deaths of black people in killings by law enforcement officers, and broader issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system. In 2013, the movement began with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter became nationally recognized for its street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans: Michael Brown, resulting in protests and unrest in Ferguson, and Eric Garner in New York City. Since the Ferguson protests, participants in the movement have demonstrated against the deaths of numerous other African Americans by police actions or while in police custody, including those of Tamir Rice, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, Jonathan Ferrell, Sandra Bland, Samuel DuBose and Freddie Gray. In the summer of 2015, Black Lives Matter began to publicly challenge politicians—including politicians in the 2016 United States presidential election—to state their positions on BLM issues. The overall Black Lives Matter movement, however, is a decentralized network and has no formal hierarchy or structure. Founding: In the summer of 2013, after George Zimmerman's acquittal for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, the movement began with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. The movement was co-founded by three black community organizers: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. BLM drew inspiration from the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power movement, the 1980s Black feminist movement, Pan-Africanism, Anti-Apartheid Movement, Hip hop, LGBTQ social movements and Occupy Wall Street. Garza, Cullors and Tometi met through "Black Organizing for Leadership & Dignity" (BOLD), a national organization that trains community organizers. They began to question how they were going to respond to the devaluation of black lives after Zimmerman's acquittal. Garza wrote a Facebook post titled "A Love Note to Black People" in which she wrote: "Our Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter." Cullors replied: "#BlackLivesMatter". Tometi then added her support, and Black Lives Matter was born as an online campaign. In August 2014, BLM members organized their first in-person national protest in the form of a "Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride" to Ferguson, Missouri after the shooting of Michael Brown. More than five hundred members descended upon Ferguson to participate in non-violent demonstrations. Of the many groups that descended on Ferguson, Black Lives Matter emerged from Ferguson as one of the best organized and most visible groups, becoming nationally recognized as symbolic of the emerging movement. Since August 2014, Black Lives Matter has organized more than one thousand protest demonstrations. On Black Friday in November, Black Lives Matter staged demonstrations at stores and malls across the United States. In 2015, after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, black activists around the world modeled efforts for reform on Black Lives Matter and the Arab Spring. This international movement has been referred to as the "Black Spring". Connections have also been forged with parallel international efforts such as the Dalit rights movement. Expanding beyond street protests, BLM is rising to prominence through activism, like the 2015 University of Missouri protests, on American college campuses. Currently, there are at least twenty-three Black Lives Matter chapters in the U.S., Canada, and Ghana. Other Black Lives Matter leaders include: DeRay Mckesson, Shaun King, Marissa Johnson, Nekima Levy-Pounds, Johnetta Elzie. Tactics: Black Lives Matter originally used social media—including hashtag activism—to reach thousands of people rapidly. Since then, Black Lives Matters has embraced a diversity of tactics. BLM generally engages in direct action tactics that make people uncomfortable enough that they must address the issue. BLM has been known to build power through protest. BLM has held rallies and marches, including one for the death of Corey Jones in Palm Beach, Florida. BLM has also staged die-ins and held one during the 2015 Twin Cities Marathon. Political slogans used during demonstrations include the eponymous "Black Lives Matter", "Hands up, don't shoot" (a later discredited reference attributed to Michael Brown), "I can't breathe" (referring to Eric Garner), "White silence is violence", "No justice, no peace", and "Is my son next?", among others. Most of the protesters actively distinguish themselves from the older generation of black leadership, such as Al Sharpton, by their aversion to middle-class traditions such as church involvement, Democratic Party loyalty, and respectability politics. It is important to note that music is an important repertoire of contention for the black lives matter movement. Rappers such as Kendrick Lamar have used music to promote structural conduciveness necessary for a social movement to maintain momentum according to value added theory. Songs such as "Alright" have been used as a rallying call. Beyoncé's most recent production lemonade featured Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin's mothers crying while holding the last images they have of their sons, in effect propelling the issue of police brutality to a national stage. The video for her single "Formation" (2016) celebrates southern black culture and features a line of policemen holding up their hands while a hooded black boy dances in front of them. The video also features a shot of graffiti on a wall reading "stop shooting us". Memes are also important in garnering support for and against the Black Lives Matter new social movement. Information communication technologies such as Facebook and Twitter spread memes and are important tools for garnering web support in hopes of producing a spillover effect into the offline world. The use of ICTs facilitate the spread of the message "All Lives Matter" as a response to the Black Lives Matter hashtag as well as the "Blue Lives Matter" hashtag as a response to Beyonce's halftime performance speaking out against police brutality. Philosophy: Black Lives Matter incorporates those traditionally on the margins of black freedom movements. The organization's website, for instance, states that Black Lives Matter is "a unique contribution that goes beyond extrajudicial killings of black people by police and vigilantes" and, embracing intersectionality, that "Black Lives Matter affirms the lives of black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, black undocumented folks, folks with records, women and all black lives along the gender spectrum." Founder Alicia Garza summed up the philosophy behind Black Lives Matter as follows: "When we say Black Lives Matter, we are talking about the ways in which Black people are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity. It is an acknowledgement Black poverty and genocide is state violence. It is an acknowledgment that 1 million Black people are locked in cages in this country–one half of all people in prisons or jails–is an act of state violence. It is an acknowledgment that Black women continue to bear the burden of a relentless assault on our children and our families and that assault is an act of state violence." Garza went on: "Black queer and trans folks bearing a unique burden in a hetero-patriarchal society that disposes of us like garbage and simultaneously fetishizes us and profits off of us is state violence; the fact that 500,000 Black people in the US are undocumented immigrants and relegated to the shadows is state violence; the fact that Black girls are used as negotiating chips during times of conflict and war is state violence; Black folks living with disabilities and different abilities bear the burden of state-sponsored Darwinian experiments that attempt to squeeze us into boxes of normality defined by White supremacy is state violence. And the fact is that the lives of Black people—not ALL people—exist within these conditions is consequence of state violence." Influence: In 2014, the American Dialect Society chose #BlackLivesMatter as their word of the year. Over eleven hundred black professors expressed support for BLM. Several media organizations have referred to BLM as "a new civil rights movement". #BlackLivesMatter was voted as one of the twelve hashtags that changed the world in 2014. In 2015, Serena Williams expressed her support for Black Lives Matter, writing to BLM: "Keep it up. Don't let those trolls stop you. We've been through so much for so many centuries, and we shall overcome this too." As a part of a general assembly, the Unitarian Universalist Church passed a resolution in support of BLM and staged a die-in in Portland, Oregon. Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza—as "The Women of #BlackLivesMatter"—were listed as one of the nine runners-up for The Advocate's Person of the Year. The February issue of Essence Magazine and the cover was devoted to Black Lives Matter. In December 2015 Black Lives Matter was chosen as a contender for the Time Magazine Person of the Year award. Angela Merkel won the award while BLM came in fourth of the eight candidates. On May 9, 2016 Delrish Moss was sworn in as the first permanent African American chief in Ferguson, where he acknowledges he faces such challenges as diversifying the police force, creating dramatic improvements in community relations, and addressing issues that catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement. Notable protests and demonstrations- 2014: In August, during Labor Day weekend, Black Lives Matter organized a "Freedom Ride", that brought more than 500 African-Americans from across the United States into Ferguson, Missouri, to support the work being done on the ground by local organizations. Black Lives Matter members and supporters rode in from New York City, Newark, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Miami, Detroit, Houston, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Nashville, Portland, Tucson, Washington, D.C., and more, in a similar way to that of the Freedom Riders in the 1960s. The movement has been generally involved in the Ferguson unrest, following the death of Michael Brown. In 2015, protesters and journalists from a rally in Berkeley, California, filed a lawsuit alleging "unconstitutional police attacks" on attendees. In November, in Oakland, California, Black Lives Matter stopped a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train on Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, in order to "stop business as usual". In December, 2,000–3,000 people gathered at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, to protest the killings of unarmed black men by police. At least twenty members of a protest that had been using the slogan were arrested. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, BLM protested the Shooting of Dontre Hamilton who died in April. Black Lives Matter protested the Shooting of John Crawford III. The Shooting of Renisha McBride was protested by Black Lives Matter. 2015: In March, BLM protested at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office, demanding reforms within the Chicago Police Department. In Cobb County, Georgia, the movement protested the death of Nicholas Thomas who was shot and killed by the police. In April, Black Lives Matter across the United States protested over the death of Freddie Gray which included the 2015 Baltimore protests. Black Lives Matter organizers supported the fast food strike in solidarity with fast food workers, and to oppose racial income inequality. On April 14, BLM protested across U.S. cities. In Zion, Illinois, several hundred protested over the fatal shooting of Justus Howell. After the shooting of Walter Scott, Black Lives Matter called for citizen oversight of police. In May, a protest by Black Lives Matter in San Francisco was part of a nationwide protest decrying the police killing of black women and girls, which included the deaths of Meagan Hockaday, Aiyana Jones, Yvette Smith, Rekia Boyd and others. In Cleveland, Ohio, after an officer was acquitted for the Shooting of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, BLM protested. In Madison, Wisconsin, BLM protested after the officer was not charged in the Shooting of Tony Robinson. In June, after a shooting in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, BLM issued a statement and condemned the shooting as an act of terror. BLM across the country marched, protested and held vigil for several days after the shooting. BLM was part of twenty thousand people who marched for peace on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in South Carolina. After the Charleston shooting, a number of memorials to the Confederate States of America were graffitied with "Black Lives Matter" or otherwise vandalized. BLM protested after a video was released showing an officer pinning a girl—at a pool party in McKinney, Texas—to the ground with his knees. In July, BLM protesters shut down Allen Road in Toronto, Ontario, protesting the shooting deaths of two black men in the metropolitan area—Andrew Loku and Jermaine Carby—at the hands of police. BLM activists across the United States began protests over the death of Sandra Bland, an African-American woman, who was allegedly found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas. In Cincinnati, Ohio, BLM rallied and protested the Death of Samuel DuBose after he was shot and killed by a University of Cincinnati police officer. In Newark, New Jersey, over a thousand BLM activists marched against police brutality, racial injustice, and economic inequality. In August, BLM organizers held a rally in Washington, D.C., calling to stop violence against transgender women. In St. Louis, Missouri, BLM activists protested the death of Mansur Ball-Bey who was shot and killed by police. In Charlotte, North Carolina, after a judge declared a mistrial in the trial of a white Charlotte police officer who killed an unarmed black man, Jonathan Ferrell, BLM protested and staged die-ins. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Janelle Monae, Jidenna and other BLM activists marched through North Philadelphia to bring awareness to police brutality and Black Lives Matter. Around August 9, the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death, BLM rallied, held vigil and marched in St. Louis and across the country. In March, BLM protested at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office, demanding reforms within the Chicago Police Department. In Cobb County, Georgia, the movement protested the death of Nicholas Thomas who was shot and killed by the police. In April, Black Lives Matter across the United States protested over the death of Freddie Gray which included the 2015 Baltimore protests. Black Lives Matter organizers supported the fast food strike in solidarity with fast food workers, and to oppose racial income inequality. On April 14, BLM protested across U.S. cities. In Zion, Illinois, several hundred protested over the fatal shooting of Justus Howell. After the shooting of Walter Scott, Black Lives Matter called for citizen oversight of police. In May, a protest by Black Lives Matter in San Francisco was part of a nationwide protest decrying the police killing of black women and girls, which included the deaths of Meagan Hockaday, Aiyana Jones, Yvette Smith, Rekia Boyd and others. In Cleveland, Ohio, after an officer was acquitted for the Shooting of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, BLM protested. In Madison, Wisconsin, BLM protested after the officer was not charged in the Shooting of Tony Robinson. In June, after a shooting in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, BLM issued a statement and condemned the shooting as an act of terror. BLM across the country marched, protested and held vigil for several days after the shooting. BLM was part of twenty thousand people who marched for peace on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in South Carolina. After the Charleston shooting, a number of memorials to the Confederate States of America were graffitied with "Black Lives Matter" or otherwise vandalized. BLM protested after a video was released showing an officer pinning a girl—at a pool party in McKinney, Texas—to the ground with his knees. In July, BLM protesters shut down Allen Road in Toronto, Ontario, protesting the shooting deaths of two black men in the metropolitan area—Andrew Loku and Jermaine Carby—at the hands of police. BLM activists across the United States began protests over the death of Sandra Bland, an African-American woman, who was allegedly found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas. In Cincinnati, Ohio, BLM rallied and protested the Death of Samuel DuBose after he was shot and killed by a University of Cincinnati police officer. In Newark, New Jersey, over a thousand BLM activists marched against police brutality, racial injustice, and economic inequality. In August, BLM organizers held a rally in Washington, D.C., calling to stop violence against transgender women. In St. Louis, Missouri, BLM activists protested the death of Mansur Ball-Bey who was shot and killed by police. In Charlotte, North Carolina, after a judge declared a mistrial in the trial of a white Charlotte police officer who killed an unarmed black man, Jonathan Ferrell, BLM protested and staged die-ins. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Janelle Monae, Jidenna and other BLM activists marched through North Philadelphia to bring awareness to police brutality and Black Lives Matter. Around August 9, the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown's death, BLM rallied, held vigil and marched in St. Louis and across the country.