Patrisse Khan-Pullors Theory

In Patrisse Khan-Cullors memoir titled When They Call You a Terrorist, she discusses her life experiences that assisted in the formation of her motivations to become an activist and eventual founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. These experiences contributed to the shaping of Cullors as a person, as well as helping to illustrate and emphasize the importance of her theory of change. Similar to Cullors, my own life experiences have helped to shape me as a person, my view of the world and my overall theory of change. One’s experiences are so significant to their theory of change as experiences accumulate over time, helping to shape our views and overall becoming a part of our identity. Through examining both Cullors experiences expressed

in her memoir and my own life experiences, I will be able to illustrate the importance of experiences in relation to our distinct theories of change.
The primary motivations for Cullors becoming an activist and eventual founder of the Black Lives Matter movement can be traced back to her own experiences as a person. Cullors grew up in an impoverished neighborhood, as a woman, person of color, and queer. As a result of these identities, Cullors has first-hand experience with a multitude of various and intersecting forms of oppression. In the piece, Cullors poses the question of how the “impact of not being valued” may negatively affect one (Cullors, 2018, p. 108). Cullors has felt unvalued throughout portions of her life due to these aforementioned identities, citing examples such as racism in relation to the war on drugs in which “kids were being sent away simply for being alive in a place where war had been declared against us” (Cullors, 2018, p. 57). Through experiencing classism, sexism, racism and homophobia, Cullors was able to adopt her theory of change which would lead to the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement. This theory of change focuses on the recognition of black people, of all sexes, sexual orientations and classes, being treated with basic human respect. Although Cullors first-hand experiences with the aforementioned oppressions did not solely influence her theory of change, as the wrongful deaths of a plurality of young black men and women, especially in relation to police brutality, assisted in this theory of change as well. Through media outlets, such as Facebook, Cullors would witness many wrongful deaths of young people of color, such as Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin (Cullors et al., 2018, p. 166). The frequent occurrence of fatal situations, such as the aforementioned, would assist in illustrating how large of an issue these cases all are. As a result of her own experiences and accounts of other prominent cases in relation to forms of oppression such as racism, Cullors would begin the Black Lives Matter movement.
After tweeting the hashtag “#BlackLivesMatter” following the death of Trayvon Martin, Cullors would begin to organize a movement with other dedicated organizers, using social media websites as a foundation (Cullors, 2018, p.

180). The scope of the movement would grow quickly, with the movement revolving around the concept “that [black people’s] lives mean something. That Black Lives Matter” (Cullors, 2018, p. 180). Cullor’s theory of change is encapsulated in the ideals of human rights, which the Black Lives Matter movement advocates fully for. Furthermore, Cullors contends that diversity within the movement is important for a successful execution of the movement and thus her theory of change. She states that the Black Lives Matter movement is being “led by women, Queer and straight, cisgender and Trans”, with it being important for all to raise their voices to prevent anymore tragedies from occurring (Cullors, 2018, p. 229). Cullors recognizes that the execution of this theory of change requires a great deal of work, however, she finds that it is important to always push forward in an effort to create a new “movement culture in which we care for the humanity of the people we’re fighting for and with” (Cullors, 2018, p. 251). The possibility of a world in which everyone’s life is truly regarded as equal is a long-term goal of this theory of change, however, Cullors does note that it will be especially difficult to achieve in the wake of Donald J. Trump’s presidency (Cullors, 2018, p. 252). Through working together, however, Cullors contends that her theory of change and the consequent movement can allow for the potential for a world in which it is clearly seen that black lives do matter (Cullors, 2018, 253). Similarly to how Cullors own experiences helped to shape her world view, my own experiences have also greatly assisted in shaping my view of the

world.
One experience of mine that greatly shaped my view of the world was when I transferred from Saint John and Paul School, a small private Catholic school to Jefferson Area High School, a large public school. I chose to transfer to Jefferson Area High School for my four years of high school after wanting a change from Saint John and Paul School. Saint John and Paul School was not a very diverse school, with an overwhelming majority of the students being from white, Christian, upper-middle class families. There was also only about 15 students per grade at the school meaning that social circles were generally very small for those that attended the school. As there was not a great amount of people or diversity at the school, I did not have too much experience with people of different, cultures, classes and so on. Although the school was in a greatly impoverished area, there was not too much interaction between students with those off school grounds. By transferring to Jefferson Area High School, I was able to expand my social horizons and meet more diverse people and learn a great deal about new cultures and identities. I made friends of different religions, sexualities, races and classes than my own which greatly assisted in the creation of my world view. While I always believed that every person deserves full and equal human rights, this change of social grounds allowed me to overall strengthen this belief. Through personally getting to know people with different identities and cultures than my own, I was able to become even more educated on issues affecting these different communities. As a result, my aforementioned view regarding human rights became even more secure, as my views were reinforced through the power of education. I believe that education is a vital component in shaping one’s world view as education can allow for a society to flourish. In addition to education, I believe it is important to have an open-mind when hearing different views.
During my senior year of high school at Jefferson Area High School, the 2016 United States presidential election cycle was underway, resulting in a great deal of discussion among us seniors, who were now able to vote. As Jefferson Area High School had a more diverse population, there were consequently more diverse beliefs that people expressed. My friends and I would often discuss who our most favored candidates were, with the majority of us having different political ideologies. I was in personal favor of formal Secretary of State and Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, as I believed she was an extremely qualified candidate who had the tenacity to lead a country such as the United States of America. Some other students would agree, however, a plurality had differing opinions. One of my close friends was an adamant supporter of then-candidate and Republican nominee Donald J. Trump while another friend was a large supporter of Ohio Governor John Kasich. We would frequently discuss who had the most efficient plans for the United States, including economic theories and leadership abilities. Whether one reasoned that a candidate was more efficient due to their experience or prior success with business, we all had differing points of views. Although I believe that it was important to hear these differing points of view as one needs to hear different views from their own in order to develop a better understanding of their own beliefs. This past election was one that really spurred my interest and one that helped to illustrate how diverse people’s beliefs truly are. Through becoming educated on different identities, cultures and political views, my theory of change has become fortified. My theory of change revolves around the belief of equality and reducing the state of oppression that the marginalized are often faced with. In order to do so, I vote in elections for candidates that will make a positive difference, petition and would like to work toward possibly being a civil rights attorney one day. My life experiences all assisted in shaping this theory of change which truly illustrates the importance of recognizing one’s life experiences.
Overall, the notion of life’s experiences is a very important one in that our experiences help to shape who we are as a person and the change that we will want to instate in the world. Patrisse Khan-Cullors was able to use her own experiences as an impoverished, queer, woman of color to help form her theory of change and form the Black Lives Matter movement. Through using my own experiences of going from a small private school to a large public school, in which diversity was more apparent and I delved into political discussion with varying views, my own theory of change was able to form. My theory of change, revolving around the concept that more equality can be instated in society through education, acts as an illustration of the importance of educating oneself and having an open-mind in relation to all points of view. As a result, it is apparent that our life experiences act as a fundamental attribute in regards to the notion of change.