The American Of The Civil Rights Movement

In 1974, the civil rights movement had been over for about 6 years, a gallon of gas cost about 55 cents, and the host of the late night TV show “The Tonight Show” Jimmy Fallon was born. However, those were of little importance compared to the historic case of Tennessee v. Garner. This is a case reminiscent of the recent shootings that have induced the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Although the black lives matter movement was not created until 2013, the public outrage at the Tennessee v. Garner case was similar to the anger shown in protests and online in the past few years. However, there was more to the case than just the shooting of an unarmed black man that made it so controversial.

A necessary and common fight for equality has been one that has survived throughout all of man’s existence. Due to recent racial divide and the product of racial profiling, a movement has risen up to combat these common issues. The most recent and most well-covered is the Black Lives Matter Movement. Even though it has been lauded by some media sources and individuals as the next great movement to champion for civil rights, the Black Lives Matter movement is not the same as the African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s nor is it likely to be as successful. If the Black Lives Matter Movement continues with discrepancies in ideology, lack of clear leadership, and trends of hate, the movement is doomed to fail.

Civil rights groups are not a new thing in the United States, but after the disputed case of Trayvon Martin who was killed by George Zimmerman, the movement has been growing tumultuously. After Martin’s death, hundreds of high school teens began protesting, demanding both Zimmerman and chief police be fired. With the help of social media, Umi Selah and other activists were able to organize a forty-mile march from Daytona Beach to the headquarters of Sanford Police Department (the department that dealt with Martin and Zimmerman’s case.) The march lasted four days and ended in a five-hour blockade of the Sanford Police Department’s door. This organized protest was just the beginning of what quickly became the Black Lives Matter movement (McClain 2016).

Although there was significant progress made in the 60’s Civil Rights Movements, African American lives still find themselves the subjects of racial profiling and police brutality cases. Specific incidents have brought the controversies to the public eye through social media and backlash from social movements. The cases of Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland led to the controversies and feelings of judicial injustice; these events and public outrage sparked and fueled the movement “Black Lives Matter”, which was established to challenge and combat racial discrimination and police brutality. Since then, the movement has gained momentum and continues to gain followers and validity. Social media has also been a main contributor to the cause, as the

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)”.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s effective policy of non-violence. Furthermore, the “Black Lives Matter” movement’s disruptive protest and impassionate public mission statement speeches about the persistent purpose of racial inequality have been disconcerting to many Americans who wonder what the real message for this new generation of civil rights protests are, and if their arguments, tactics, and cause is effective and productive to inciting change. To many times their stances have appeared contradictory and hate filled because of their lack of specific purpose and a central governing body. Responding to this criticism, Black Lives Matter leaders assert this is, “not your grandfather’s civil-rights movement,” to distinguish its tactics and its philosophy from those of nineteen-sixties-style activism. However, despite insinuating they are not typical of older civil rights movements they frequently allude to past civil rights

For the past few years, racial tensions have been on the rise. Although many actions have been taken to prevent these conflicts from occurring, African Americans are still being undervalued by the state. As more African Americans are being turned away with little to no assistance from the American government, anger and the desire for change increased among them. When Trayvon Martin’s murderer George Zimmerman was acquitted for his crime, a great number of Americans were furious at the outcome. Three African American women named Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi expressed their view on a Facebook post titled “A Love Note to Black People” and it ends with “Our Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter” (“Black Lives Matter”). Thus, a new liberation movement for black people was born. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter rapidly spread throughout social media, bringing awareness of the struggles of African Americans. The Black Lives Matter movement is a call to action to eradicate the dehumanization of African Americans that exists in American society. With the constant targeting of African Americans by the police and the unfair treatment in the criminal justice system, the Black Lives Matter movement is a necessity to combat racism.

Police brutality is a major issue in today’s society. Many African Americans tend to avoid the police for that very reason. A campaign was started in 2012 against police brutality and the unfair treating of African Americans entitled, Black Lives Matter. This movement was met with controversy as well as support from the American people. This movement has followed several controversial police brutality cases in the United States including, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Sandra Bland. All African American and all killed in the presence of a police officer, with no convictions. These three cases have been some of the biggest cases in the Black Lives Matter campaign. This campaign is determined to make sure that Black lives are treated just as equally as white live and Hispanic lives, because black lives matter

“We are outraged and heartbroken over today’s verdict,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the N.A.A.C.P. “We stand with Trayvon’s family and we are called to act. We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its form is outlawed.”

Marcus Garvey once stated that “being subservient to the will and caprice of progressive races will not prove anything superior in us. Being satisfied to drink of the dregs from the cup of human progress will not demonstrate our fitness as a people to exist alongside of others…”, and the historical numbers of unemployment coincide with this statement. As a whole, the Civil Rights Movement accounted for a drastic amount of changes to black businesses that primarily served black consumers. For instance, African American people stayed at blacked owned hotels, resorts, and restaurants, which gave way for African American entrepreneurship (Blackford 149). Once segregation was outlawed, African American consumers leapt at the opportunity to shop at white owned businesses.

On Monday, May 16, 2004, our teacher, Mrs. Shugar told us to write an essay about whoever was involved in the Civil Rights Movement. She then ran to her desk and grabbed a stack of papers. She gave everyone a piece of paper, it was a list of people who did some amazing things during the Civil Rights Movement. I immediately started to scroll down the list and stop at a name that made my heart skip a beat. I stopped at the name Ida B. Wells. I didn’t know why but there was something about her, so I looked her up. She led an anti-lynching group during the Civil Rights Movement. I needed to know more about her, so I took my dad’s new time lapse machine and jumped back to the year 1980.

“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.

The Black Lives Matter movement has swept across America. It 's branched out with chapters in over 31 cities and held rallies and boycotts across the United States(Sidner). The Black Lives Matter movement started with the outrage of the death of a young man. It continues to take over headlines and raise awareness on police brutality and inequality. However, the movement has met resistance from the All Lives Matter group. This group thinks that Black Lives Matter is a movement to express hatred towards other races. However, statistics, the views of fellow citizens, and the overall purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement, can prove that the movement wasn 't meant to express hate on other races and that we need to support the movement instead of going against it.

In summation, we looked at social conflict as it related to class, race and ethnicity, gender, and how it explains the Black Lives Matter Movement. As we examined the literature, we asked how and why did the Black Lives Matter Movement begin? What are the problems with the Black Lives Matter Movement? What does social media have to say about the Black Lives Matter Movement? What is the youth’s culture’s input on the Black Lives Matter Movement? How does the Black Lives Matter movement tie back to the police? And where are we going with the Black Lives Matter Movement post-2016? We focused on whether or not the Black Lives Matter movement had the potential to affect change and have a long-lasting impact on society as a social movement. Therefore,