Black Lives Matter
Last updatedDefinition
Black Lives Matter (BLM) was founded in 2013 as a hashtag by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi after George Zimmerman was acquitted for the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager. The phrase Black Lives Matter is a repudiation of structural racism and the systemic devaluation of Black lives. BLM activists began to hold rallies and protests around the world, often in response to police brutality, which disproportionately affects Black Americans.
The Black Lives Matter movement gained widespread prominence in 2020, when then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by pinning him by the neck with his knee for more than nine minutes. The killing was caught on video and, along with other nationally covered police killings of Black people, led to mass uprisings against police brutality and racism. These demonstrations happened in every state and around the world despite the Covid-19 pandemic. (Chauvin, who was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.)
In 2021, there was controversy about the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation 2020 Impact Report. Some of the parents of children murdered by the police, and local BLM representatives, claimed the nationwide organization was engaged in financial misconduct. In addition, some parents have criticized BLM for, they say, profiting off the death of their children.
Though many protests and demonstrations against racism and anti-Blackness may employ the slogan Black Lives Matter, the grassroots movements are distinct from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation.
Additional resources
- Black Lives Matter: About (Black Lives Matter)
- Black Lives Matter (Britannica)
Summary
Black Lives Matter is a global political and social inclusive movement that seeks to end white supremacy and violence against Black communities. Though many protests and demonstrations against racism and anti-Blackness may employ the slogan Black Lives Matter, the grassroots movements are distinct from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation.