The Importance of Black Lives Matter
So it has taken me a few days to write this post, mainly because I needed time to process everything so that I could articulate my thoughts. One thing I did not want to do was rush straight into it and jumble my thoughts together as my mind is running on overdrive right now. It has been a tough few days, if I am being honest. But this post is needed, more so than any I've done before or will do in the future.
The phrase 'Black Lives Matter' was created in 2012 after Trayvon Martin's murder which saw George Zimmerman acquitted for his crime and dead 17 year old Trayvon posthumously placed on trial for his own murder. The movement was co-founded by three black, female activists: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi who each sought to secure a fairer, safer and more equal society for black citizens internationally, although it originated in America. This is no surprise considering that for centuries Black Americans have been persecuted and discriminated against for the colour of their skin, a struggle that was fought up until the civil rights movement in the sixties which saw prominent figures such as Martin Luther King seek to secure equal voting rights, equal rights to education as well as equal rights to public transport. But let's not lie this is a struggle that has been fought up until this day, a struggle that is taking place in the form of police brutality. Yes! We now live in a world where the very people sworn to protect black citizens are the ones more likely to kill them.Last year, young black men in America were nine times more likely to be killed than any other minority, with a shocking final death toll of 1,134. Furthermore, of the 1,134 people killed, about one in five were unarmed. This means they were not in possession of a weapon at the time of the incident, so if they were posing no threat what possible reason could the police have for murdering an American citizen- the very people they are paid to protect. Some cite “implicit bias,” where others claim it to be a “mistake”; but I mainly see it as taking advantage of their privilege by taking the law into their own hands by weaponising the colour of the black majority.
Sadly this year has been no different, already, according to a tally taken by the Washington Post; 123 black people have been killed by police. Bear in mind there has only been 190 days in the year thus far, meaning there is only a 67 day period where a black person has not been killed. Philando Castile became the latest addition to the list on Wednesday night after an officer shot him dead. Castile was shot and killed in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, Minnesota. His girlfriend uploaded a live, graphic video detailing the situation. "It's OK, I'm right here with you." Those were words uttered by Diamond Reynold's four year old daughter, a young girl that was forced to see her mothers boyfriend killed before her and is attempting to comfort her. The man she knows to be her stepdad is dying and nor her or her mother can grieve, at least not whilst they remain in police custody.
To make it worse a day before Castile's murder, father of five Alton Stirling was killed by police who were responding to reports of a man carrying a gun, threatening others and selling CD's in front of a Triple S convenience store. Yet a video released showed that Alton was not in possession of a weapon nor was he resisting arrest, suggesting that Mr Stirling was simply shot for selling CD's... i guess that's a crime now.
"it's OK, I'm right here with you."
It seems that to be black in America is not to be human. Black Americans are dehumanised, their colour weaponised in the eyes of the law and at the hands of law enforcement who seek to oppress their mere existence; to be black in America is to accept the fact that you are at close proximity to death.
One thing I have noticed is that a lot of people have pointed out the lack of celebrities that have been willing to speak up on the matter, especially after the events that have taken place this week following the Dallas peace protest which saw the murders of five police officers. Personally, I get where people are coming from in the sense that a lot of celebrities are happy to make money off black culture but reluctant to speak up for black matters, it is just frustrating because ALOT of these popular celebrities that people look up to make most of their profit from culturally appropriating black culture, so a little statement would go a long way.
However, some celebrities did respond and it was clear to me that not everyone of them understands what #blacklivesmatter truly means.
A screenshot of a tweet from Fetty Wap... I mean, I really have no idea what he was trying to get at with this tweet.
It makes sense that he had to backtrack on his tweet with an apology, see below:
It is a bit small, but he pretty much says he did not understand the hashtag, which is I find a bit hard to believe but who am I to judge.
Another example comes from Prince Jackson.
Yes Prince we know that all lives matter, of course they do. But if all lives mattered, black lives matter would not need to be a movement. But just as a refresher, I would encourage everyone to listen to bae MJ's song They Don't Care About Us, because it gets it.
"Black Lives Matter, to use an analogy, is like if... if there was a subdivision and a house was on fire. The fire department wouldn't show up and start putting water on all the houses because all houses matter. They would show up and they would turn their water on the house that was burning because that's the house that needs the help the most. — My generation's taken on the torch of a very age-old fight for black liberation, but also liberation for everyone. Injustice anywhere is still injustice everywhere. — The best thing white people can do is talk to each other, having those very difficult, very painful conversations with your parents, with your family members. — I think one of the critical questions for white people in this society is, 'What are you willing to risk? What are you willing to sacrifice to create a more just society?'"
The all lives matter movement always seems to pop at the worst of times, these are a group of people who refuse to see that black people in America and all around the world are more likely to be racially abused/or killed by the police. Why? Because they are beginning to feel discomfort at losing a bit of their privilege, equality to them feels stifling and that scares them to death. Also, the racial makeup of the movement is majority white which is pretty ironic considering that white people are never really put into a position where the fate of their lives rests in the hands of the police.
"It's OK, I'm right here with you"
Recent peace protests show that we are uniting as one, we are right here with each other. This might just be evolving into a modern day civil rights movement whereby black people worldwide are standing up against police brutality and racial injustice, it is a movement that I am proud to be a part of and stand for. Let us all unite because in the words of Charlie Chaplin "Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance."
Until next time,
Savannah
xoxox
