Black Lives Matter: A Racial Activist Movement

Abstract;

Black Lives Matter is an activist movement which began as a hashtag

(#BlackLivesMatter) after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of
Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager killed in Florida in July
2013. The movement became more widely known and popularized after two high-
profile deaths in 2014 of unarmed African-American men (Eric Garner in Staten
Island, NY and Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO). Neither of the police officers
involved in their deaths were indicted (i.e., formally charged with a crime).

Introduction;

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks
to highlight racism, discrimination, and inequality experienced by black people.
When its supporters come together, they do so primarily to protest incidents of
police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people.

Objective;

Contrary to some beliefs, it's not about elevating Black lives over other lives. Instead,
it's an awareness campaign dedicated to highlighting systematic violence by police
and private citizens against Black citizens in the United States. Black Lives Matter's
main goal is to encourage empathy for Black communities, highlight lingering
institutional oppression, and work toward policy changes that make everyone safer.

Black Lives Matter also has its own internal focus. By providing training and
resources to activists, they encourage a reform to Black activism to be more inclusive
of all Black people, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, or economic
status.

Analysis and Discussion;

Violence against African Americans

There is a larger context and history of African American men and boys who were
killed at the hands of the police, many of whom, like George Floyd (2020), were
unarmed. Since 2014, other high-profile deaths include Tamir Rice (2014), Laquan
McDonald (2014), John Crawford (2014) Freddie Gray (2015), Walter Scott (2015),
Alton Sterling (2016), Philando Castile (2016), Terence Crutcher (2016), Antwon
Rose (2018) and others. Black women and girls are also targets of police violence, a
reality that sparked the "Say Her Name" movement to highlight how this violence
often goes unnoticed. Women who have died as a result of police interactions include
Sandra Bland (2015), Deborah Danner (2016), Atatiana Jefferson (2019) and
Breonna Taylor (2020).

In 2016;

In 2016, Black Lives Matter demonstrated against the deaths of numerous African
Americans by police actions, including those of Bruce Kelley Jr., Alton Sterling,
Philando Castile, Joseph Mann, Abdirahman Abdi, Paul O'Neal, Korryn Gaines,
Sylville Smith, Terence Crutcher, Keith Lamont Scott, Alfred Olango, and Deborah
Danner, among others.

In January, hundreds of BLM protesters marched in San Francisco to protest the

December 2, 2015, shooting death of Mario Woods, who was shot by San Francisco
Police officers. The march was held during a Super Bowl event.[177] BLM held
protests, community meetings, teach-ins, and direct actions across the country with
the goal of "reclaiming the radical legacy of Martin Luther King Jr."

In February, Abdullahi Omar Mohamed, a 17-year-old Somali refugee, was shot and
injured by Salt Lake City, Utah, police after allegedly being involved in a
confrontation with another person. The shooting led to BLM protests.

In June, members of BLM and Colour of Change protested the California conviction
and sentencing of Jasmine Richards for a 2015 incident in which she attempted to
stop a police officer from arresting another woman. Richards was convicted of
"attempting to unlawfully take a person from the lawful custody of a peace officer", a
charge that the state penal code had designated as "lynching" until that word was
removed two months prior to the incident.
On July 5, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot several times at point-
blank range while pinned to the ground by two white Baton Rouge Police
Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On the night of July 5, more than
100 demonstrators in Baton Rouge shouted "no justice, no peace," set off fireworks,
and blocked an intersection to protest Sterling's death.[181] On July 6, Black Lives
Matter held a candlelight vigil in Baton Rouge, with chants of "We love Baton Rouge"
and calls for justice.[182]

On July 6, Philando Castile was fatally shot by Jeronimo Yanez, a St. Anthony,
Minnesota police officer, after being pulled over in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St.
Paul. Castile was driving a car with his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter as
passengers when he was pulled over by Yanez and another officer. According to his
girlfriend, after being asked for his license and registration, Castile told the officer he
was licensed to carry a weapon and had one in the car. She stated: "The officer said
don't move. As he was putting his hands back up, the officer shot him in the arm four
or five times. “She live-streamed a video on Facebook in the immediate aftermath of
the shooting. Following the fatal shooting of Castile, BLM protested throughout
Minnesota and the United States.

From Protests to Policy Solutions

Ongoing local and national protests and other actions—often sparked by the deaths
of other unarmed African Americans—have brought the Black Lives Matter
movement to the public consciousness and conversation. Black Lives activists
released “Campaign Zero,” which includes ten policy solutions developed in
conjunction with activists, protestors and researchers across the country, integrating
community demands, input from research organizations and the President’s Task
Force on 21st Century Policing.

Findings;

The United States population's perception of Black Lives Matter has varied
consistently and considerably by race. A majority of Americans disapproved of the
movement through 2018, after which it started gaining wider support. Black Lives
sMatter's popularity surged and reached its highest levels yet in the summer of 2020,
when a Pew Research Centre poll found that 60% of white, 77% of Hispanic, 75% of
Asian and 86% of African-Americans either strongly supported or somewhat
supported BLM. However, its popularity had declined considerably in September of
the same year, when another Pew Research Centre poll showed that its overall
approval ratings among all American adults had gone down by 12 percentage points
to 55%, and that 45% of whites, 66% of Hispanics and 69% of Asians now approved
of it. Support remained widespread among black-American adults (up 1% to 87%).

On March 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the findings in two
separate investigations related to Ferguson. One report found a pattern of civil rights
violations on the part of the Ferguson Police Department. A second report
determined that “the evidence examined in its independent, federal investigation
into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown does not support federal civil rights charges
against Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.” Two weeks later, on March 17, the
Department and the city of Ferguson formally announced an agreement “aiming to
remedy the unconstitutional law enforcement conduct that the Justice Department
found during its civil pattern-or-practice investigation.” The announcement resolved
a pending federal lawsuit against Ferguson, and addressed a range of issues
including bias-free police and court practices, protecting all individuals’ First
Amendment rights, and reorienting Ferguson’s use of force policies.

Black Lives Matter continues to pursue policy solutions beyond the events of
Ferguson.

The phrase "All Lives Matter" sprang up as a response to the Black Lives Matter
movement, but has been criticized for dismissing or misunderstanding the message
of "Black Lives Matter". Following the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, the
hashtag Blue Lives Matter was created by supporters of the police. A few civil rights
leaders have disagreed with tactics used by Black Lives Matter activists. Public and
academic debate at large has arisen over the structure and tactics used. In the weeks
following the murder of George Floyd, many corporations came out in support of the
movement, donating and enacting policy changes in accordance with the group's
ethos.

Conclusion;
In the US, steps have been taken to tackle police violence and change the way laws
are applied. Following the death of Mr Floyd, the term "defund the police" made
headlines. Cities including Minneapolis, Portland, Philadelphia and Seattle have
started shifting budgets away from police and into areas like schools and housing. In
the UK, demonstrations drew attention to the UK's colonial past and saw statues of
people linked to the slave trade removed. Problems black people still face was
highlighted, including being hit harder by coronavirus. The debate has also
highlighted how employers sometimes fall short. Black history lessons will be
mandatory in all Welsh schools from 2022. In England, Scotland and Northern
Ireland, teachers can now choose if they want to teach black history. Books about
issues affecting black people became best sellers. And, for some people, Black Lives
Matter meant starting to have difficult conversations about racism with people they
know.