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 Martin, Michael Brown, Eric 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.
Posts Tagged ‘Black Lives Matter (BLM)’
Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Has the skin lightener industry learned from Black Lives Matter?
Black Lives Matter has jolted the skin lightener industry. Manufacturers of skin lighteners joined other corporations in voicing support for the racial justice movement. Critics quickly pointed out the hypocrisy of voicing such support while continuing to sell skin whitening products globally.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Statement on the Death of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The BLM Movement salutes Justice Ginsburg as a woman of resilient courage, strength and character. She was determined to change the trajectory of inequalities in communities often forgotten. Even to the end of her life, she remained committed to BLM’s mantra: that none of us are free, until we are all free.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – The policing reforms in the Breonna Taylor settlement, explained
From revised search warrant protocols to contracting social workers, the policy changes are a start but could go much further.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Breonna Taylor’s Family to Receive $12M Settlement From Louisville
In the aftermath of the botched police raid in which Ms. Taylor was killed, the city also agreed to institute changes aimed at preventing future killings by officers.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Documents Reveal How the Police Kept Daniel Prude’s Death Quiet
A Black man, Daniel Prude, died of suffocation in March after police officers had placed his head in a hood and pinned him to the ground. The public had never been told about the death, but that would change if police body camera footage of the encounter got out. A mass of city documents released on Monday show how prominent Rochester officials did everything in their power to keep the troubling videos of the incident out of public view.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black lives matter in children’s books, too.
“When a child sees themselves reflected in the books that they read, when the books are a mirror to them, they feel valued.” Black main characters are slowly growing more prominent in children’s books research shows. The Roseman’s Young, Black & Lit is making certain free books that feature black characters reach children.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter but slavery isn’t our only narrative
Our historical understanding of Blackness is most commonly shaped by the story of the Atlantic slave trade, in particular to the Americas. But this is a linear narrative that is dominated by American voices. It’s not just potentially exclusory; it doesn’t adequately take into account the diversity of black people worldwide. Aretha Phiri asks Michelle M. Wright about her work in disrupting the slavery narrative.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Interview with Frank Nitty on Showtime’s ‘The Circus’
In an episode of Showtime’s The Circus entitled “Law And Disorder,” the show visited Kenosha, WI, the site of civil unrest after the shooting of Jacob Blake. Watch this gripping interview with Activist Frank Nitty.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter brings new vitality to LA neighborhood
The police killing of George Floyd and the surge of activism around Black Lives Matter has suddenly made this LA shopping district once again a destination for discussion, gatherings and commerce.
Read MoreSpecial News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter protest in Oxford to demand reparations
Crowds of activists from Black Lives Matter will gather in the heart of Oxford to call for reparations to be made to African nations and descendants of slaves.
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