Black Lives Matter (BLM) was created by black organizers Alicia Garza, Petrissa Cullors and Opal Tometi. It is a black centered political will and movement that was in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martins murderer, George Zimmerman. According to BlackLivesMatter.com, they organized and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black Communities. It is an ideological and political intervention in a world when black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. BLM is an affirmation of black folks' humanity, our contribution to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression. They acknowledge, respect and celebrate differences and commonalities. They work for the freedom and justice for …show more content…
They aim to preserve “pure Americanism.” It has attacked Jews and Roman Catholics, along with immigrants and communists but is still primarily opposed to equal rights for black people and has often engaged in violence against them. Anyone who points to the rhetoric of Black Lives Matter as a root cause of violence doesn’t know anything about black history. In 1988, N.W.A released “Fuck tha Police” to protest police violence and racial profiling of the black community. The song, like hip-hop in general, and now Black Lives Matter, has often been blamed for the resentment black folks feel toward law enforcement. But this aggressive criticism of police, like the concerns voiced by Black Lives Matter, is a response to mistreatment at the hands of police officers. And it’s that mistreatment, not rhetoric, that continues to fuel this resentment according to www.huffingtonpost.com …show more content…
Saying “All Lives Matter” in response would suggest to them that all people are in equal danger, invalidating the specific concerns of black people. “You’re watering the house that’s not burning, but you’re choosing to leave the house that’s burning unattended,” said Allen Kwabena Frimpong, an organizer for the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter. “It’s irresponsible.” It’s not that what they’re saying isn’t true. It’s just that it’s unhelpful. It’s an attempt to erase an actual crisis under the guise of being fair. And by continuing to use “All Lives Matter” to drown out the cry of “Black Lives Matter,” the real problems the movement is trying to address are being ignored. It’s almost as if we lived in two different worlds. That’s where things appeared to be headed in 1968, when the Kerner Commission report on civil disorders in America cryptically concluded that the nation was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.” If All Lives Matter, why is the black community continually asked to justify its anger and grief? If All Lives Matter, why does the court system continue to put the victims of racial discrimination and police brutality on trial, rather than punishing their assailants? If All Lives Matter, why do our fellow Americans continually challenge African-Americans to justify our pain instead of empathizing with
The All Lives Matter supporters believe that black people who were killed recently showed violence against the policemen and they were not innocents. The president of Amherst College Republicans Robert Lucido responses, “First, the Black Lives Matter group was originally titled ‘F--- the Police.’ The organizers of the Awareness week claimed that every 28 hours a black man is killed by a law enforcement officer, but they never mentioned that a law enforcement officer is killed every 48 hours in the line of duty. The organizers may have thought it clever, but such a title is utterly shameful” (Lucido). The author uses ethos by showing facts in his response that illustrates the opposite of what Black Lives Matter group claimed; however, these
The Black Lives Matter Movement was started as a hash tag after the death of Travon Marten. Its founders Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza helped it grow into a movement. Unlike the Black Panther Party of the 1960s this group is not calling for the black community to pick up arms. However, like the Black Panther Party of the 1960’s the media has shown members of this group standing toe to toe with
One of the criticisms of this ordeal is that the BLM never put forth the notion that all lives don’t matter. Obviously, all lives matter. But, I think saying all lives matter in response is ignoring the fact that blacks have been disproportionally mistreated, profiled, and arrested more often than whites. I like how Michelle Alexander described the war on drugs as redesigning the racial caste system.
Today there are many controversial subjects discussed throughout the media. One of the most discussed is race and the Black Lives Matter movement. Recently, I came across an article titled “The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’”, written by The Editorial Board. The article was published on September 3, 2015, to the New York Times. In the article, The Editorial Board writes about what they believe African Americans are facing as challenges in society today, including the all-too-common police killings of unarmed African-Americans across the country. The Editorial Board is right that some African Americans have been treated unfairly, but all ethnicities have been. Life is a precious thing that comprises all ethnicities. This brings us to ask; why
Actions speak louder than words, and contrary to BLM’s redundant stance, the sad truth is, they couldn’t care less for black issues. Black people are responsible for ninety-three percent of black homicides in the U.S. (Dailywire) BLM has always been up in arms about police shootings, but when a black on black crime surfaces they’re completely silent. Back in 2016 Peggy Hubbard’s nine-year-old child was killed by a stray bullet in a drive-by shooting. (Foxnews). BLM remained silent in regards to this,
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
There are people in America that makes us wonder why there is a world to begin with. There are people who represent the greater good of the world, and there are others who are unfortunately not for the greater good of the world. We have to constantly deal with those whose only goal in life is to bring the lives of others down to the ground; to shatter and to break them. This is what is happening now in the world, and this most likely will never change. As a result of trying to change the ways in which we live and interact with these people, there was a movement that wanted to change the lives of African-Americans, as well as other races. This movement was called “Black Lives Matter”. The people who were responsible for the creation of
“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 if it gets additional attention than when a Caucasian is killed. “In 2012, 123 African Americans were shot dead by police gunfire” (Brander).
We are committed to practicing empathy; we engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts”. (Black Lives Matter) Statistically it is believed that more blacks have been killed than whites. As stated by Kyle Kaplan: According to the NAACP, a Black person is killed by a member of law enforcement every 28 hours.
In multiple different occurrences the protests have angered others more than just gain awareness. Sadly a large number of people are more upset with the stop of traffic and other inconveniences caused by the protests, rather than the deaths of unarmed black men and women. The protest are doing their job to gain attention, but in the eyes of some they are doing it in the wrong way. One big rally cry the movement has had is “hands up, don’t shoot” which came after the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson Missouri. It was said that before he was killed he stated “my hands are up, don’t shoot me” which we find out afterward is not true. Anyways hands up don’t shoot, spread like wildfire and grabbed everyone’s attention. It was placed on the big stage, including sporting events, and areas of high traffic. Many common people support Black Lives Matter, but there may be some flaws in it as well. Clearly the main idea of the movement is good, and black lives really do matter. However would it not be safe to say that all lives matter rather than just black ones? It is true there have been many cases against African Americans and they may be targeted more often than other races. From another point of view, there would be riots in the
The statement “All Lives Matter” was brought into context because people believed that not one group should be the center of attention or signaled out in the United States was it comes to policy brutality. The statement is also used to stay away from the use of racism in these types of situations and focus on America’s people as unified or that not one person is different than the other. The Editorial Board from The New York Times states that “The Republican party and its acolytes in the news media are trying to demonize the protest movement that has sprung up in response to the all-too-common police killings of unarmed African-Americans across the country. The intent of the is to cast the phrase “Black Lives Matter” as an inflammatory or even hateful anti-white expression that has no legitimate place in a civil rights campaign”. Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee described the situation perfectly by saying “If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were he alive today, he would be “appalled” by the movement’s focus on the skin color of the unarmed people who are disproportionately killed in encounters with the police. This argument betrays a disturbing indifference to or at best a profound ignorance of history in general and of the civil rights movement in particular.” As we all know
In discussions of The Black Lives Matter movement, a controversial issue is whether this movement exposes police brutality or promotes antipolice hate. While some argue, this movement’s purpose is to expose the realities of police brutality and how African Americans are often left powerless in the law. Others contend that this movement is an excuse for unjustified violence and the demonization of police. Subsequently, the death of Trayvon Martin is seen as the motive to construct a response to anti-black racism, similarly known as The Black Lives Matter movement.
Why do Black Lives Matter as opposed to All Lives Matter? When a person thinks about Black Lives Matter, he or she may visualize African Americans fighting for justice and equality. The movement Black Lives Matter was created to bring awareness to the systematic racism, police brutality and social injustice that African Americans face on a daily basis. In contrast, All Lives Matter downplays the fact that black people are looked down upon in society. All Lives Matter may seem like an innocent title, but it emphasizes that justice for black people is not necessary.
Yes, all lives do matter but I think that protesters in the White Lives Matters campaign thought that Black Lives Matters protester was actually saying ONLY their lives matters. But the message is “Black lives matter as much as other lives do.” Also, I am guessing that the creator of White Lives Matters didn't really think about what they are protesting. Black people suffer way more than White people do.
The term All Lives Matter has not existed before the term Black Lives Matter was popularized therefore, making it a response to a movement set out to promote equality. If Black people and White people are seen as the same, white privilege would be