Black Lives Matter

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Some Exhibits to Come – Three Centuries Of Enslavement
Harriet Tubman, "The Conductor," with fugitive slaves in Underground Railroad station
Bibliography – Three Centuries of Enslavement
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A 1859 Slave Auction in Savannah, as Reported by the New York Tribune
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How Slavery Became the Law of the Land “For Blacks Only”
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Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”
The Scourged Back: This slave named Gordon ran for 80 miles to join the Union Forces in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in March 1863. This famous photo of the welts on his badly "scourged back" was taken while he was being fitted for a uniform.
The Scourged Back: How Runaway Slave and Soldier Private Gordon Changed History
"Contrabands": During the Civil War, thousands of slaves escaped their owners in the South by getting to Union Army camps. Thus freed, many continued on to settle in the North.
The Freedmen of Wisconsin
This woodcut, published in 1831 with a story about the Southampton Rebellion, was titled "Horrific Massacre in Virginia."
Nat Turner’s Rebellion: Horrific or Heroic?
Map of the world showing which countries that traffic in humans to the U.S.; map shows how individual countries comply with anti-trafficking laws. The Kansas City Star 2009<p>

With BC-TRAFFICKING:KC, Kansas City Star by Mark Morris<p>

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Traces of the Trade: The North’s Complicity in Slavery
A man stands in front of the Djingareyber mosque on February 4, 2016 in Timbuktu, central Mali. 
Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu on February 4 celebrated the recovery of its historic mausoleums, destroyed during an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and rebuilt thanks to UN cultural agency UNESCO.
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SEBASTIEN RIEUSSEC / AFP / SÉBASTIEN RIEUSSEC
African Peoples Before Captivity
Shackles from Slave Ship Henrietta Marie
Kidnapped: The Middle Passage

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Black Lives Matter, sometimes shortened to “BLM,” is an anti-racist movement that highlights racism and the disparities that evolve from racism, including police brutality and other anti-Black violence. Black Lives Matter gained popularity online after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer was recorded and shared by a bystander. In response to the video, which shows officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, protests erupted around the world. These protests were often met with police violence, some of which has been declared illegal while protestors have been falsely arrested.

The momentum continued to draw attention to police violence, both as more Black lives were taken and as previous stories came to light. Trayvon MartinMichael BrownEric Garner, and Breonna Taylor are also victims who the movement has recognized. Thanks to the attention given to these cases, some of the perpetrators have finally faced justice, including Derek Chauvin, who has been convicted with murder.

BLM also encouraged police reform and greater investigations into policing, with some activists calling for reparations  or to defund the police and reroute funds to other social programs that may be more effective. The movement has further brought attention to international conflict and raised funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some ways, the movement reflects the previous Civil Rights Movement, which lasted through the 1960s to 1980s including the Black Panther Party, which provided community assistance. Because of this, the movement has been recognized for its historical significance. 

However, the movement has come under fire for protests that turned violent, for focusing too much on Black men, and for mismanaging funds raised.

A nonprofit organization, The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, also exists. Some people may refer to it as simply “Black Lives Matter.”

See all of our Black Lives Matter content below, starting with the most recent.

‘We’re not given the option to get vaccinated’: Advocates work to narrow racial and ethnic disparities in Wisconsin

April 6, 2021

Some of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable populations struggle to access COVID-19 vaccines, and volunteers and community groups are trying to erase barriers.

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‘Raise my taxes – now!’: the millionaires who want to give it all away

April 3, 2021
stack of the rich's money

Abigail Disney has parted with $72m – and thinks the rich need to pay far more. As COVID widens the inequality gap an international league of the super-rich are urging governments to take their money as increased taxes.

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Relief bill is most significant legislation for Black farmers since Civil Rights Act, experts say

March 15, 2021

$5 billion will go to farmers of color, who have lost 90 percent of their land over the past century because of systemic discrimination and a cycle of debt.

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Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter Launches relief fund for Black people during pandemic

March 9, 2021
Black Lives Matter Survival Fund artwork

As Congress delays in passing COVID-19 relief legislation, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) and BLM Grassroots unveiled a $3 million, nationwide fund to assist Black people who are struggling financially during the pandemic.

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COVID Black is using data and creating space to honor Black lives lost to virus

February 24, 2021

Kim Gallon creates a digital space, COVID Black, to memorialize each individual Black life that has been lost in the pandemic. COVID Black is intended to be a space of healing and create conversations about the future of Black health.

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We Sure Aren’t Living in a Post-Racial World: U.N. Head Says White Supremacy a ‘Transnational Threat’

February 22, 2021

Throughout its history, the United States has embraced its addiction to white supremacy and continues to export it to the rest of the world.

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Initial data show majority of COVID-19 vaccine doses in Milwaukee County have gone to white, younger residents

January 14, 2021
white woman gets vaccinated

The vast majority of people being vaccinated right now are white and in younger age groups — figures that need to change in the coming weeks.

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154,000 Black Women Left The Workforce In December Alone

January 13, 2021

Black families, especially mothers, are struggling economically with the CoVid-19 pandemic.

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A Covid-19 Relief Fund Was Only for Black Residents. Then Came the Lawsuits.

January 3, 2021

Coronavirus has sickened and killed 2-3 times more black people than whites. Black business owners are losing their livelihoods, as stay-at-home orders are put into place. Due to decades of racial segregation, they did not have valuable houses they could tap for capital. So Oregon earmarked $62 million of its $1.4 billion in federal Covid-19 relief money to provide grants to Black residents, business owners and community organizations struggling due to the pandemic. Now the state faces lawsuits from groups who feel left out of this “affirmative action.”

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How Black Parents Survived 2020

December 22, 2020

As this difficult year of racial reckoning and a global pandemic draws to a close, six African American families share how they have coped.

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