The Black Lives Matter movement has gone from a simple social media post to a catalyst for a worldwide revolution of reform. Three powerful words are chanted over and over again to demand justice for countless deprived Africans around the globe. The death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Micheal Brown, and many more have ignited this movement.
The Black Lives Matter movements originated on July 13th, 2013. This was in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman. However, these civil rights injustices date centuries back in history. Prior to World War II, African Americans worked as low wage farmers and servants and were forbidden from joining the military. After the increased amount of prejudice, African Americans decided to fight for the equality they were entitled to. The pain and frustration of oppression and lack of unity and rights lead to the formation of activists and protests. Abuses and inequity towards black people have been a human rights issue that has never been repaired or corrected. A defining moment of civil liberty was during the 1960s when the Civil Rights movements occurred. The protests were a desperate call for change and an end to the suppression and blatant discrimination towards African Americans. African Americans had been forced to endure and experience unfair Jim Crow laws that implemented segregation and enforced intolerance to Africans within public spaces. Jim Crow Laws greatly marginalized and eliminated common civil rights. Through the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were able to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act which effectively outlawed the discrimination of civilians based on race, sexuality, gender, and ethnicity. The Civil Rights Movement helped progress American society and established a precedent for future cases involving inequality towards marginalized communities.
On December 1st, 1965, Rosa Parks protested the segregated seating of buses and other vehicles in Montgomery, Alabama. She was later arrested for this, but this act of protest sparked numerous people to stand up for their rights. She was later known as the “mother of modern-day Civil Rights Movements''. This led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association and a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. The Supreme Court later decided that segregated seating was unconstitutional. Another impactful Civil Rights Movement was one that took place at Woolworth’s lunch counter. This was a form of a Civil Rights sit-in. On February 1st, 1960, four students took a stand against segregation when they demanded service at a lunch counter. Over time, this sit-in caused more people to advocate for Civil Rights and this became known as the infamous Greensboro sit-ins. These movements are just some of the many civil rights movements that have happened throughout history, however, black lives are still lost due to racism and police brutality.
One of the numerous lives that were lost due to police brutality was Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor as an aspiring emergency medical technician. But her dreams and ambitions were crushed when she was shot eight rounds by police in her own home. Taylor’s murder was due to a mishandle in a drug-warrant execution. No drugs were found in her home and instead intended for neighbors several miles away from her residence. The coverage and media attention of her unfortunate demise has been rapidly spread. Protests and petitions calling for the arrest of the three officers that murdered her have been demanded all over the country with no avail. America continues to justify and provide immunity in the face of systemic racism. Reform and justice need to be brought for the victims of police brutality.
The continuous murders and abuses that have occurred is proof of the deeply rooted civil injustices and systemic racism. Many cases of police brutality and racism have caused innocent lives to be lost. Consequently, a revolutionary movement is occurring. A new generation is taking over the actions of previous civil rights activists, with many of them being teenagers, who are standing up for an equal and just future. These activists have an opportunity to demand changes in policies and increased accountability for officers that kill civilians based on color. “Seven years ago, people thought that Black Lives Matter was a radical idea,” Alicia Garza, the co-founder of the Movement for Black Lives, told Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “And yet Black Lives Matter is now a household name and it’s something being discussed across kitchen tables all over the world.”
Sources: 1. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement#:~:text=The%20civil%20rig hts%20movement%20was,law%20in%20the%20United%20States.&text=They%2C%20along%2 0with%20many%20white,equality%20that%20spanned%20two%20decades. 2. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement#:~:text=The%20civil%20rig hts%20movement%20was,law%20in%20the%20United%20States.&text=They%2C%20along%2 0with%20many%20white,equality%20that%20spanned%20two%20decades. 3. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/15/systemic-racism-what-does-mean/5343 549002/ 4.
For more ways to help and support the black community, please visit this link: https://www.blacklivesmatter.carrd.co or www.blacklivesmatter.com
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