After Zimmerman was acquitted, protest erupted across the United States. The protestors were calling for justice for the slain teen, Trayvon Martin. People voiced their outrage via traditional local marching and social media. As soon as the verdict was announced, Alicia Garza, a worker’s activist immediately posted on Facebook, “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” From this phrase spawned the controversial term, Black Lives Matter. Patrisse Cullers, a friend and fellow activist of Alicia was the one who actually post the Black Lives Matter hash tag. With the advent and of social media and high tech camera video phones, we have been able to capture police brutality. The police violence against Black people has been happening Black Lives Matter support from African Americans is high as expected. 65% of African American support the movement according to pew research.org. I would imagine many African Americans have experienced or know someone who has experienced police brutality or has suffered negative consequences from the police. Our beliefs and values are shaped by our personal experiences. Among whites, 40% support Black Lives Matters and 28% oppose it. This high percentage could be due to two factors. It’s hard to deny a clear cut video depicting police brutality.The elevated percentage could represent guilt of white america’s forefathers enslavement of African Americans. Pew found Latino’s are less likely than whites to support Black Lives Matter. Only 33% strongly support the movement. My perspective on this has to do with our historical background in this country. Hispanics came to America as free people as opposed to African americans who came here as slaves. It is hard to feel someone’s pain if you have not witnessed or experienced it. The history of enslavement of African Americans plays a key role when addressing police brutality. This history has shaped African Americans which affects them to the core unlike other nationalities who came to America willingly and free. This historical perspective explains the different levels of support for Black Lives Matter. The historical perspective can also explain why white america support is higher
To illustrate, majority of blacks are stop by police more than any other racial groups. Police brutality is base on ethnicity. Officers seem to target black communities for many reasons. Racist cops might view blacks as less innocent compared to whites. Growing up as an African American you witness hearing your parents telling your male siblings to respect officers and to interact with them differently than they would do their families and friends. After the fatal shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The public wanted justice because the incident was not handled properly. The people wanted to express their concerns. After this incident I remember more allegation from black communities begin surfacing that the police use excessive force against them,
Black lives matter is a social media movement that went of the Ferguson, Gardner cases etc. Also very rapidly it was to show as a opposition to the police and cops. Somehow when saying black lives matter it was like saying all life matter don’t matter. It’s a touchy subject due to why people view things and for most case I can understand. I feel that the person that made black life’s matter didn’t mean for it to be just all about black life but to inform others around the nation that there is a special problem that is only happening in the African American community and we have fix that issue . we as a society has to recognize this that the African American are not making this up this its not something being politicalized its real and there’s a history behind it so we have to seriously.
Police brutality has been an apparent mark on the struggles, trials, and tribulations of people of minorities for years, primarily Black people. From the times of slavery to the present unlawful targeting and murders of black citizens with no justification, police brutality has been an enema in Black American culture for hundreds of years. Seen both in James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” and in the current happenings of the United States. The hashtag “#BlackLivesMatter” has been a focal point in the current struggle for equality of the races. The current outpouring of support for black lives and
American is known for its rich culture and diversity. Black lives matter (BLM) is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people as defined by google. It was created in 2012 as a call to action for black people after seventeen year old Trayvon Martin was placed on trial for his own murder and the killer, George Zimmerman, was not held accountable for the crime that he had committed. It was a response for the anti-Black racism that still remains in our society and within the movement itself. It is a movement that goes beyond the killing of black people by police and vigilantes. It calls for the Black community to love each other, live
In America, police brutality affects and victimizes people of color mentally and socially. Social injustice has become a major issue, which involved the principle of white supremacy vs minorities. The current police brutality that has been occurring is culturally disconnecting ethnicities from one another. According to Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, “…the cultural disconnect is very real; you have the weight of generations of abuse on African Americans,” (Flatow, 2016). For example, over the past four years, there have been countless acts of police brutality. The three key deaths of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling have become the face of police brutality in the year 2016. People knew that it was unequal treatment of black people by police in the United States and they made it known by creating #BlackLivesMatter.
This is a result of many believing and not simply just African Americans that black lives are being targeted more than any other race. In certain situations this is true according to The Washington Post “unarmed black men are 7 times more likely to die by police gunfire”. This would make a person who’s advocating for Black Lives Matter have a point to get upset about phrases like white lives matter or all lives matter. Race appears to forever become an element once it involves police brutality. When an African American is killed by a white police officer it almost always seems as it gets additional attention then when a Caucasian is killed. “In 2012, 123 African Americans were shot dead by police gunfire” (Brander). There are currently 43 million blacks living in the U.S.A., “O’Reilly said on his
“Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement against police violence that is, as argued by BLM supporters, disproportionately and systematically directed at black people. The movement has highlighted incidents in which police have harassed and killed black men and women. BLM is considered one of the most visible and controversial civil rights movement of the last decades.” (Black Lives Matter. 2016) “Black Lives Matter is an American social activist organization devoted to stopping violence and injustice against African Americans. The group was founded in 2013 following the acquittal of In the sixties African Americans began a Civil Rights Movement that, to some, still continue today; hence, the Black Lives Matter movement. During the sixties, the
The statement “Black Lives Matter” has greatly evolved within the last year. If you support this side, you believe these words correlate with the unneeded and over excessive use of police brutality against African Americans compared to police brutality against whites, bringing racism soaring back into the US. As you may know, the statement became more predominant after the murder of African Americans
As stated before they have a stance on many issues rather than just the racial injustices. This gets tricky for different political parties and the supporters. Black Lives Matter have shown that there is also importance in female and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) leadership. It seems to be more the conservative side being more against the movement, and the liberal side in support. Black Lives will have a major impact on the upcoming election in 2016. Most of the group is in support of the democratic candidates as they take the same stance on many of the same issues. Bernie Sanders has focused more on economic justice, and people in the movement are calling him a white supremacist liberal. The leading republican candidate Donald Trump, is more so on the opposite side. Trump has taken control over what some call the “silent majority” in this election. It has been said that today everyone worries about so many different races and there rights, and there is no one looking out for the white male anymore. More than half of white Americans feel that they are discriminated against as well. It is not only African Americans who are discriminated against in today’s world. No matter what there will always be some sort of discrimination and stereotypes, it is simply impossible to eliminate that from today’s society. Over three fourths of blacks stated they feel the United States justice
Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement, originating in the African American community. It campaigns against violence toward black people and has become a uniting call for an innovative chapter in the black freedom fight. The clearance of Trayvon Martin’s killer in 2013 and the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 stimulated this movement. Black Lives Matter isn’t just about the loss of Black lives; but mainly about the lack of consequences when African American lives are taken by Caucasian officers. The question is; do black lives truly matter to those that claim to protect it? The answer is no they do not because the movement’s alleged “peaceful” protests continuously
Police brutality and racism has been in our country for hundreds of years. African Americans across America are viewed as what a typical criminal looks like. Black males have been shot and killed by white police officers and those
The rhetoric we hear most from Black Lives Matter is that of police brutality, how it’s a black issue, or how it affects blacks more than whites. Well, this too is factually incorrect. Of the White people living in the U.S., forty-nine percent are killed by police officers, as opposed to the thirty percent of blacks. White people comprise sixty-three percent of the population; conversely, black people only make around thirteen percent (Dailywire). These discrepancies can be seen in their “inspirations” as well. Assata Shakur was put on FBI’s most wanted terrorist list after she shot a New Jersey State trooper. Black Lives Matter blindly uses her as their inspiration or teacher(Pibillwarner). Al-Amin, a Muslim, who shot and killed police officer Ricky Kinchen is seen as a hero among the BLM
That is why my family is advocate for black lives matter. There is too much stuff going on in today’s society especially towards black people. So I chose to a visual text for black lives matter.Black lives matter is a movement which purpose is to bring black people together. So that we can stand united. What I mean by stand united is that black people need to support each other to break away from stereotypes. It’s focused on black people being liberated from all the unnecessary hardships from people in positions of power. So the group was made to make a
Whenever you hear about an African American getting killed by the United States police, you never see All Lives Matter supporters protesting. The intentions of the All Lives Matter movement seem to be more spiteful, as opposed to helpful. Every time African Americans yell “Black Lives Matter”, outrage from other racial groups tends to emerge as they yell “All Lives Matter” back. It seems like the All Lives Matter movement is more of a tug a war game with Black Lives Matter, rather than an activist organization designed to bring cognizance to police abuse. If All Lives Matter is based on justice for everyone, supporters of the group would understand that African American people are treated like second class citizens in the judicial system. Therefore, the black community created Black Lives Matter to stop the United States police from murdering them. All Lives Matter was designed to disregard the inequity of African
One of the most prominent grassroots movements currently at work in the United States is, undoubtedly, the Black Lives Matter movement. A multifaceted reform movement, it tackles the issue of institutionalized racism against black people in the United States. The movement began as a hashtag on Twitter in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Treyvon Martin case. Zimmerman shot Martin to death, claiming it was in self defense as he felt the young man looked threatening because it was dark and he was wearing a hoodie. He was acquitted of both manslaughter and second degree murder. Activists felt that this case was an extreme example of how little value black lives seem to have to the greater community. How could a young, unarmed black person get shot and killed while the white person who shot him simply gets to walk away? This all started as an anti-racist