Black Lives Matter is more than just an anthem being chanted by hundreds of thousands of protestors around the globe. Besides being a slogan and a hashtag, the phrase is a statement of fact. The campaign advocating for the safety of black lives is not a new one, but recent incidents have sparked its movement once again. The central message was necessary to speak out against the brutal actions taken by the police on a civilian black man, George Floyd.
The movement assesses systemic racism and violence caused by the police to black lives, and the events related to this are not few in between. Names like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and many unrecorded others are now victims of a broken justice system within the United States. At the most basic level of the campaign, it is calling for a change in the way black people have been treated in America since its foundation. A country that prides itself on all freedoms and rights is now beckoning to protests and civilian unrest, calling for justice and trial once and for all. Here is how.
What Happened to George Floyd?
According to a study conducted in 2015, African Americans were more likely to die at the hands of police at a staggering rate of 7.2 million, compared to the 2.9 million associated with white people. George Floyd’s death was not an isolated incident. On May 25, a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty six seconds. Floyd kept saying, “I can’t breathe” and died after the officer refused to move. The reason he was in this position was because a cashier at the grocery store Floyd was at, suspected him of using a counterfeit $20 bill. The incident was caught on camera and circulated around social media sites, leading to a worldwide outrage for the brutal murder of an innocent man.
Derek Chauvin was taken into custody and charged with manslaughter soon after the incident became public. The Black Lives Matter hashtag was circulated around the internet in order to protest against the brutal justice system in the US. The unequal administration of justice in Floyd’s case, as well as millions of others, has led to a global shift of protests and outcry.
The United States is now being forced to confront its deep rooted issues with racial inequality, a social problem that has gone unchecked for the longest time. There have been other high profile police killings of black men such as Keith Scott and Mike Brown (who was barely eighteen years old) which showcase the targeting of black Americans by the police force. This proves to be fatal especially for black residents of low income areas, who are stopped and searched by officers for no causes and lose their lives in the process.
The Role of Black Lives Matter
The Black Lives Matter movement was formed in 2014 and since its inception, activists around the country and other parts of the world have demonstrated their responses. These protests and demonstrations are a direct effect of the inequalities taking place within black communities. Furthermore, the organization is seeking to amplify black voices across the nation and eradicating white supremacy and the violence it inflicts.
The campaign was first brought to the public eye when a seventeen year old African American boy, Martin, was fatally shot in the chest after an altercation with Zimmerman, a police officer on duty. When this was first reported, the police denied having any evidence that Zimmerman acted under anything other than self-defense. Therefore, they refused to charge him. But he was eventually brought to trial for second degree murder but managed to be acquitted by the jury.
The movement was formed as a protest to this unfair result of a heinous crime. Black Lives Matter has been criticized by conservatives and Republicans within the country, who accuse it of encouraging an anti-police bias. In response to this, the All Lives Matter campaign was started, which argues that every human life is important. But Black Lives Matter is simply a reaction to institutionalized racism within the American justice system, and not a means to eliminate the importance of other races and lives.
The campaign is doing more than generating suspicion amidst the justice system. It is playing a vital role to liberate black people from their white oppressors and unfair law enforcement policies. Besides this, the campaign stands for the liberation of immigrants, poor folks, the LGBTQ+ community and all people of color who have suffered at the hands of an unlawful system.
Protesting in the Middle of a Pandemic
The death of George Floyd acted as a catalyst for demonstrations being carried out in the States, as well as the United Kingdom and Canadian cities. These protests have fallen against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and has led to a disproportionate rate of deaths in the black community. African Americans took to the streets to raise their voices against the injustice done to Floyd and so many men and women before him. There is no luxury or privilege awarded to these individuals to sit at home and do nothing. They have carried out peaceful protests which have been attuned to violence by agitators, mostly the police force. The language being used by the protestors is being coded and weaponized to create an unfair narrative against these social justice activists who are striving towards social change.
In Conclusion: The Future of the Movement
Working together to dismantle racial bias within the roots of a powerful nation is not easy or simple. However, the hard work being put in is important for the future of black children and other marginalized groups. Their safety and success is reliant on the movement to make strides in the world we know today, through protests and demonstrations, in the battle against injustice and tyranny.
