Black Lives Matter is a movement that was created by three beautiful and courageous black women; Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. They created it as a call to action to Black people after the trial of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin where his killer, George Zimmerman, was held not guilty on all counts including second-degree murder.
It was a response to the anti-Black racism that permeates our society and also, unfortunately, our movements. Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” – Alicia Garza
Even after these women’s hard work was stolen and co-opted into [deleteblack]livesmatter, they pressed on. People used these women’s work as a template for personal campaigns and even turned it against them fueling false blacklivesmatter = anti-cop sentiments. Instead of focusing on hate and attempts to criminalize their movement, they chose to broaden the conversation.
When we say Black Lives Matter, we are talking about the ways in which Black people are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity. It is an acknowledgement Black poverty and genocide is state violence. It is an acknowledgment that 1 million Black people are locked in cages in this country–one half of all people in prisons or jails–is an act of state violence. It is an acknowledgment that Black women continue to bear the burden of a relentless assault on our children and our families and that assault is an act of state violence. Black queer and trans folks bearing a unique burden in a hetero-patriarchal society that disposes of us like garbage and simultaneously fetishizes us and profits off of us is state violence; the fact that 500,000 Black people in the US are undocumented immigrants and relegated to the shadows is state violence;.the fact that Black girls are used as negotiating chips during times of conflict and war is state violence; Black folks living with disabilities and different abilities bear the burden of state-sponsored Darwinian experiments that attempt to squeeze us into boxes of normality defined by White supremacy is state violence. And the fact is that the lives of Black people—not ALL people—exist within these conditions is consequence of state violence. When Black people get free, everybody gets free. – Alicia Garza
Though many movements have failed to include the black/brown experience, **cough feminism**, #BlackLivesMatter continues to honor the intersectionality within blackness. #noBan #noWall #noMuslimBan
I am unapologetically Somali, Black, and Muslim!! #NoBanNoWall #BeingBlackAndMuslim #BlackLivesMatter #NoMuslimBan pic.twitter.com/dYgS4muKJZ
— Asha Noor (@RajooWeyn) January 29, 2017
Trump recently signed an executive order that placed restrictions on refugee resettlement in the U.S. TAKE ACTION, GET INVOLVED: Sign petitions and contact your local and national government officials to express your support of refugee resettlement.
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