Black Lives Matter By Karin Kamp

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a loosely‐coordinated, nationwide movement dedicated to ending police brutality that rose to prominence in late 2014. It takes its name from a hashtag started by three Black feminist activists Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi but the movement and the hashtag are not identical (Freelon, McIlwain, & Clark, 2016). BLM has achieved national reputation through their online and offline organizing, obtaining extensive news media coverage and glowing references in music and entertainment television. Based on a horrendous incident that sparked a concern for a lot of Black people across the world, the sudden need for a social movement was born called BLM. Black Lives Matter is a national organization working for the validity of Black life and also working to rebuild the Black liberation movement. Black Lives Matter broadens the conversation and highlight the incidents around state violence to include the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state. This referring to the ways in which Black lives are deprived of basic human rights and dignity. According to the article The Murder of Walter Scott, which talks about race and class, “African Americans are less than 13% of the U.S. population yet they are nearly 50% of those killed by the police. North Charleston has a population of 104,000, 47% Black and the police force is 80% white (Miah, 2015)”.

In a previous Inquisitr article, I wrote about the Twitter firestorm that erupted concerning the All Lives Matter movement after the incident in which a gunman shot and killed five police officers in Dallas, Texas, last Thursday. It angered many people and the question was raised as to why the All Lives Matter movement is so offensive right now. I decided to write another article to try to explain why the ALM movement is wrong at this time. In another day and time, the movement would be something we could all aspire to, but many don’t understand the reason why Black Lives Matter more right now. It is not to condemn other races, or say that any other lives don’t matter, but the BLM movement was born out of prejudice against people of color.

Suspicion that a black person will always have the wrong intention and have a malicious plan when walking around a neighborhood, or whatever the case might be, is unjust and based on prejudice. As more of our black sisters and black brother’s lives are being taken away, the public begins to take this issue more seriously attemting to prevent from any more lives to be taken away by the police force, which is meant to keep us out of harm’s way and make us feel safe. Black lives matter is no longer maintained as a popular hashtag in the media, but it comes to live as a movement. Police brutality creates a black lives matter movement where our society unites to protest, regardless of economic status, religion, race, or sex.

In the reading of Brent Staples’s essay and viewing of Clint Smith’s Ted Talk, the Black Lives Matter movement is justified. In Brent Staples’s essay, he never directly states the words “black lives matter”, but if it had been a movement at the time, he would have. “The black lives matter movement was created in 2012 after Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted for his crime, and dead 17-year-old Trayvon was posthumously placed on trial for his own murder” (blacklives.atter.com/about/). “Black men trade tales like this all the time,” says Staples’ as he talks about one of his reporter friends being mistaken for the killer on a case he was working on. This is just one of the many examples Mr. Staples gives to describe his

According to a ProPublica analysis of the FBI data, black men are more likely than white men killed by police shooting. This resulted in the creation of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ an activist movement in

On the opposite side of the debate many people believe that the movement and phrase Black Lives Matter is wrong and racist itself. They feel that having a movement that only representing one race saying that only their lives matter is not right when all lives matter. Although all lives matter it is redundant. We know that all lives matter but police violence and police brutality disproportionately affect the African American communities not the others. So since all lives matter why is it that justice and laws cannot be applied equally to African Americans? Because racism never dead in America it just has been sugarcoated and done under handedly but by having a movement just as Black Lives Matter it will expose the officers that have using abuse their authority among the African American communities.

The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013 after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of the murder of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. About a year after Martin’s death, an 18 year-old unarmed male, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. That sparked weeks of protests. Years later, Asians, Latinos, and some whites joined in and realized how big of a problem this was becoming. As the years go by, the BLM Movement will keep growing and will not go

The Black Lives Matter movement is a waste of time, money, and political effort. The article, “The Flag is Drenched With Our Blood”, is all fluff. I understand people are very very very easily offended, but please, why are we still bringing up slavery? (I can feel the hate seeping through my computer). Written like an english essay, this article fails to mention as it does in the other, “Hard Data, Hollows Protests”, how most of the violence is blacks to blacks. How the statistics are taken in the slums of beaten down parts of cities all across the US. And in regards to police brutality only on the rarest of occasions do we see the abuse of power over manipulation and false accusations of the plaintiff. Even spoken in class, we discuss how

A famous quote by Dr.Martin Luther King say’s “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Some people say that African Americans shouldn't say that black lives matter, because “all lives matter”. In this day and age it seems that all lives matter, with the exception of black lives. Many people voice an opinion opposing “Black Lives Matter”, but have they notice what has been happening to African American males and females when they are approached by law enforcement? For years its has shown that law enforcement have forgotten that “all lives matter”. Black Lives Matter actually has a good purpose because it brings attention

“Black Lives Matter” —an intended progression in society without a hierarchy, merely marching forward by spur of the people. Started by three sisters who continue to keep the organization a chapter-based, left wing social justice operation, it can best be described as “Not a moment, but a movement” by those that follow it. The case that began this outcry involved a man —George Zimmerman— whom, according to Lizette Alvarez and Cara Buckley (2013), “was found not guilty [of] second-degree murder [and] was also acquitted of manslaughter, a lesser charge.” (para. 1). Since its initial start in 2013, the movement follows and protests against police brutality and civil injustice towards individuals of the Black minority; however, this is a prime example of hate breeding hate as the movement, has opened a new floodgate full of antipathy aimed towards the White-community and Law Enforcement Officials. In short, the initial idea of “Black Lives Matter” —which is to bring civil justice to the Black-community— is a good concept, but the execution by its adherents are, ironically, bigoted; the movement needs to either evolve its state of thought or disperse before it further segregates America.

Originating in 2012, the political movement known under the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has exploded in size and renown. This movement, which was initially inspired after a police officer was acquitted of all charges after fatally shooting an African American individual, seeks to diminish police brutality against African American individuals and systemic racism particularly in the United States. Sweeping the nation, Black Lives Matter has become an international movement and its influence has only increased with time. On the movement’s official website, the following was written regarding the history of the hashtag-inspired entourage, “#BlackLivesMatter was created in 2012 after Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted for his crime, and dead 17-year old Trayvon was posthumously placed on trial for his own murder. Rooted in the experiences of Black people in this country who actively resist our dehumanization, #BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society. Black Lives Matter is a unique contribution that goes beyond extrajudicial killings of Black people by police and vigilantes.” (http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/). The #BlackLivesMatter movement asserts that racism is still prevalent in modern society and exists not only in passive forms. Instead, racism apparently can be both overt and implicit.

Shannon firmly believes in Affirmative Action and immigration reform, stating that AA often opens people’s eyes up so not just one group has the monopoly on advantages, and that she feels it is America’s duty to help immigrants coming here for a better life. However, when asked about the Black Lives Matter movement, Shannon stated, “Black Lives Matter is bullshit…black lives only matter when it’s the police killing them, not when other black people killing them.” This was possibly one of Shannon’s most passionate answers, something she felt quite strongly about. I can understand where her viewpoint comes from, as she’s grown up and witnessed more violence than the average US citizen, more violence from black people on other black people than police violence. To Shannon and me, the Black Lives Matter movement is similar to Alexander’s understanding of Affirmative Action—it addresses extremely important issues, but doesn’t grasp at the larger issue: our country’s strained race relations. Of course, police brutality should never occur; Shannon’s own brother fell victim to it. But it is a symptom of the larger web of racism still rampant in the country, where poor neighborhoods with a lack of resources fail to give equal opportunity to minorities, where black men are taken away by the War on Drugs, where families have no

The New York Times article ‘The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’, written by author Alex Nabaum examines the actions of some members of the Republican Party, whom in the opinion of the writer are actively shaping the civil right movement’s message into a hate group directive. It’s controversial because critics state ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement, implies black lives are more valuable than white lives. The battle is literally being turned into a black and white issue which according to the author Nabaum this misdirection is intentional. Nabaum primarily writes on social issues such as the United States tarnished reputation around the world. Low income student’s experiences when attending Ivy League colleges. Nabaum being a writer for a news source that’s been around since 1801 (New York Times) helps to distinguish this writer as a creditable source. The article is effective demonstrating why the civil rights movement has selected phrasing that is considered inflammatory by some Americans and exhibits why this movement is not a hate group.

In 2013, a movement called Black Lives Matters was started after George Zimerman was found not guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Many Americans complain again the injustice and rallied together to form the Black lives matter movement. The Black lives matter movement though has many issues within their movement, but the main issue is that the people of the movement are segregating themselves from other races whenever they say the words “black lives matter”. That’s why the phrase “All lives matter” has come about. The term “All Lives matter” is stating that people of this movement care about all people instead of just one color, that the movement does not support the supremacy of a race & Radical Organization, and show that the police force is not discriminative towards any one race.

Black people are being murderer at a disturbingly high rate in America by the very people who are supposed to protect them. Police officers are not being condemned or reprimanded for their actions, many being put on paid leave or not at all removed from the job. The statement “All Lives Matter” is another effort to remove focus on the reality of the terrible issues taking place against the black community. The Black Lives Matter movement wasn’t created to negate the value of the lives of others but to apply focus to the obvious fact that in America, black people’s lives are valued less. One would not go to a cancer rally and scream out “ALL DISEASES MATTER.” This is an obvious insensitive thing to say and takes away from the fact that cancer