Black Power And Civil Rights Movement: The Black Lives Matter Movement

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When commenting on the Black Lives Matter movement, Oprah Winfrey said, “What I’m looking for is some kind of leadership to come out of this to say, ‘This is what we want. This is what has to change, and these are the steps that we need to take to make these changes, and this is what we’re willing to do to get it.” During the Black Power and Civil Rights movements, leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were often equated with black lives and the black freedom struggle. These black men were cis-heterosexual, and the black freedom struggle was therefore for black people - pure and simple.
The traditional image of a leader lacks intersectionality, and thus these figures do not and cannot represent everyone. In the larger context of …show more content…

In its official platform, the Movement for Black Lives states, “We are intentional about amplifying the particular experience of state and gendered violence that Black queer, trans, gender nonconforming, women and intersex people face. There can be no liberation for all Black people if we do not center and fight for those who have been marginalized.” To back up this statement, the Movement for Black Lives includes black queer needs in its demands, calling for “An end to the war on Black trans, queer and gender nonconforming people including their addition to anti-discrimination civil rights protections to ensure they have full access to employment, health, housing and education” and providing a list of suggestions for federal, state and local action as well as model legislation. The movement also works with numerous black queer organizations to create policy, including Black and Pink, Brown Boi Project, Trans Women of Color Collective, Trans People of Color Coalition, Black Trans Advocacy, and more. Additionally, contrary to Winfrey’s statement, The Black Lives matter movement is full of leaders and thus allows for black queer folks to play a large role in today’s black freedom struggle. By centering on marginalized identities within the movement and allowing for the movement to grow, the three black queer women founders - Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza, and Patrisse Cullors - have opened up space for intersectional leaders such as Fellows III, Yates, and more to fight notions of black queer folks meaning “invisibility and

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