Helpless and fighting for his last breath, Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014. The death of an innocent African-American is what it took to gain momentum and uprising attention for Black Lives Matter. The Black Lives Matter movement was founded by activists to campaign against racism, discrimination, and police brutality that African-Americans continuously face in today’s society (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2017). Founders, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi, were motivated to establish the movement in 2012 after George Zimmerman was acquitted for shooting an unarmed African-American teenager, Trayvon Martin. All the innocent black lives taken, due to blatant racial discrimination, caused many protests and outrage throughout the years of 2014 – 2016 (Scheb/Stooksbury, 2017). This movement is not only to defend and speak up for those affected by racial inequality but also the humanity inhabiting this country. There have been marches and protests throughout the country to raise awareness. Black Lives Matter allows these prideful African-Americans to practice their liberties, granted by the Civil Rights. There seems to be a commonly-viewed, unacceptable bias given by law enforcement authorities to colored individuals, specifically black. The Black Lives Matter Movement draws attention to the persistent racial inequality that continues to exist in today’s society and educate Americans on the tenacious and harsh abuse of authority enacted by American police.
African-Americans have faced a long history of being challenged with racial inequality and discrimination. In the past, common hardships consisted of slavery, racial segregation, and other blatant acts of racism. Since then, amendments and laws were created to rid some of these issues. In the year of 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was created to abolish slavery. Three years later, the Fourteenth Amendment was created to prohibit any state’s action to deny a person’s equal protection of laws. The equal protection clause declares that every person is entitled to equal protection of the laws, however, it seems that that hasn’t been put to use with African Americans to this day. The Civil Rights act also banned any kind of racial discrimination in public places in 1875 (Turner, 2016).
Despite legal actions enacted by the government to improve civil rights for Black-Americans, the liberties granted by the amendments and Civil Rights Acts have been acted around. In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson, the separate-but-equal doctrine was announced by Supreme Court which allowed racially segregated public places, for as long as there were equal facilities given. However, the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka attempted to overturn that decision and demanded an end to the racial segregation placed in public places. African-Americans have continued to struggle with being politically powerless while in discriminatory environments throughout the United States. Following the Brown Case, The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, banning more racial discrimination in terms of education and employment. Regardless of the many attempts made to put an end to racial inequality or perhaps, improve it in any way, African-Americans still fail to have the Civil Rights that were given to them (Turner, 2016). The constant efforts made to better the lives of people of color tend to be in vain due to continuous violent acts of discrimination against said group, which are commonly perpetuated by white Americans, especially through the use of police officers.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader and activist for the Civil Rights Movement. He, too, led a nonviolent movement (parallel with Black Lives Matter), to achieve racial equality for African-Americans in the U.S. His words, protests, and numerous acts of civil disobedience were attempts to achieve goals that seemed to be close to impossible. In his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech, he stated that, “African Americans will never be satisfied for as long as any black person is victimized by the horrors of police brutality,”. Although, he knew they will continue to face difficulties being an African-American living in the U.S., he had hope. He had a dream that one day America will hold the true meaning that “all men are created equal.” He points out that even after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, African-Americans are still not free, but still sadly crippled by the harsh acts of segregation and discrimination. The Black Lives Matter Movement draws parallels with King’s ideals through their determination to earn justice and equality for Black-Americans (King, 2017).
If black lives do not matter, then all lives do not matter. Black Lives Matter is here to stand up for the lack of value and equity for those of the African descent. The reality is people believe that it is acceptable for black lives to be taken without a consequence, just because they feel unreasonably bothered by their race. Some respond to black lives matter in a contradicting manner by saying “All Lives Matter”. However, those who do tend to counter the phrase “Black Lives Matter” with “All Lives Matter” are usually unable to see the main cause of the movement and how they are fighting for equal treatment of black American lives, and instead choose to see it as an attempt to persuade public opinion to believe that only the lives of black Americans matter. In some cases, some may view it as anti-white rather than it being pro-black. They also dismiss the fact that blacks are treated differently, if not, more poorly than them. Police are known for targeting and blaming black people for partaking in unlawful killing. It is at humanity’s best interest to support black lives in order to promote equal treatment for all Americans (Agozino, 2017).
On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. The purpose of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) was to eliminate racial discrimination in voting. The VRA was created due to African Americans being denied their right to vote throughout Southern States. There have been reauthorization provisions made, which caused legal challenges. The Shelby County vs. Holder Supreme Court decision decided to disregard and call Section 4(b) of the VRA unconstitutional. This narrowly divided court decision caused the power of the Voting Rights Act to weaken. The Shelby County decision’s impact on the government, caused the jurisdictions to no longer need to seek the U.S. Department of Justice’s approval for any voting changes. Shelby didn’t consider the requirement of preclearance to be unconstitutional, but whoever was determined to need preclearance was. Congress still has yet to create a new formula but until then, jurisdictions under the previous formula are able to make any changes with the federal government’s approval.
On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was brutally shot and murdered by police officer, George Zimmerman. Martin was walking to his father’s home, which was located in a gated community that has been experiencing many burglaries at the time. Zimmerman, who was currently on neighborhood watch, was suspicious of Martin as he was walking by him. Zimmerman’s suspicions caused an altercation between them and led to Martin lying dead, as he was fatally shot in the chest by Zimmerman. Zimmerman’s side of the story was he responded to being attacked and in his self-defense, shot Martin. He later was charged with second-degree murder on April 11th. Following Martin’s death, media went and dug in to both of their backgrounds to paint a picture of the type of characters they were. Zimmerman had a history of resisting arrest, battery on a police officer, domestic/physical abuse on an ex-fiancé. Those close to him said for the most part he had no history of holding any kind of racial animosity. However, whether Zimmerman was racist or not, it doesn’t defend the fact that his act of killing was racially motivated or not. Martin, on the other hand, was just an ordinary teen who had slight troubles growing up, as most adolescents do. The killing of Trayvon Martin caused outrage, protests, and anger throughout the nation (Newman, 2012). Anti-black individuals would say that Trayvon Martin deserved it, but Black Lives Matter supporters were livid. This allowed many people to start taking notice in the police brutality that occurs, more often than it should, in this country.
On July 16, 2016, a 32-year old Black-American, Philando Castile, was pulled over for a broken tail-light in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and was fatally shot by Jeronimo Yanez, moments after. Castile’s girlfriend and their 4-year old daughter was in the car with them. Yanez initially pulled over Castile due to a broken tail light and Castile informed him he had a legally-registered gun with him. Yanez instantly told him not to reach for it as Castile was reaching for his wallet for his driver’s license, registration, and permit to carry a pistol. Fearing for his life, Yanez immediately fired 7 shots, 5 of them hitting Castile. Castile’s girlfriend was filming on Facebook live as this series of events happened right next to her, showing the reality of the police brutality being clearly shown. When Yanez was asked the reason for pulling Castile over, he originally said that it was due to a broken tail light but 16 hours later, he stated that he pulled him over due to him looking similar to a burglary suspect. The Yanez and Castile case clearly shows an example of racial profiling, After the shooting, there was a loaded gun found in one of Castile’s pockets, however with no round chambered. Yanez described Castile’s body language as “defensive” to him. Castile’s last words before his death was “I wasn’t reaching,”. Yanez explained that as he was telling Castile not to reach for it and Castile still continued to do so, it appeared to him that he was disregarding everything he was saying, which made Yanez feel threatened. On Castile’s side, just like any other black man knowing of the many police brutalities occurring, he may have panicked and just wanted to show him his registration and license. He showed no act of harm or resistance and was trying to be cautious and giving information to the officer as needed. Philando Castile’s death was another headline included in the string of fatal police encounters that have been causing outrage throughout the nation (Berman, 2017).
Just this year (2018), Stephan Clark, another unarmed black man, was fatally shot by Sacramento police. Another innocent life taken in the blink of an eye caused by an officer’s misjudgment. Officers thought that Clark was holding a gun and when he was found, the only thing in his hand was an iPhone and no gun was found. Police say the reason behind them firing the gun was because they “feared for their safety,” (Berman, 2018). Yet, these cops are still able to get back in the field, continue doing their job, and even get paid leave during their time off. When police act unreasonably, it violates the rights given by the Fourth Amendment, which serves a purpose to protect its people and the laws created under it. However, the Supreme Court seems to always give officers the benefit of the doubt and greater credibility. Therefore, how can African-Americans feel safe in a nation where it is uncertain they are able to rely on their given rights? This country continues to have ongoing tension and troubles involving race. Police pulling black individuals for little things, such as a broken tail light, just because they sense suspiciousness, confirms the racial profiling that goes on in society today. The death of these black men has showed a truth in reality of what is truly wrong with the American criminal justice system. Statistics show that black teenagers are 21 times more likely to get fatally shot than white teenagers. This has sparked up a national conversation regarding the different perspectives of racial profiling depending on one’s identity (Turner, 2016).
“I am 70-years-old… and yet I never fail to have an Emmett Till flashback moment when a police car pulls up behind me,” says Jimmy E. Jones. On a warm August day in 1955 in Money, Mississippi, Emmet Till boldly says “bye baby” to a young white woman as he was leaving a store. Due to Emmett Till violating the racial norms at the time, he later was kidnapped, brutally murdered, and was tossed in the Tallahatchie River. Subsequently, an open-casket picture of Till made an appearance on Jet magazine to showcase the blatant tactics used for racial intimidation. Jones talks about his own thoughts, experiences, and feelings behind the life of being black in the United States. Although, he has many close friends/associates of various ethnicities/religions that are or used to be police officers, it doesn’t counteract his fear of being an African-American that must encounter with a white police officer, who thinks he may be doing something wrong and/or breaking the law. And he constantly lives in fear of his life and safety as an individual with any police interaction, when their jobs are supposed to serve to protect you. The murder of Emmett Till clearly sends a threatening message out to colored people that these are the consequences you’ll face for stepping out of line (Jones, 2017).
The SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center) is a U.S. organization made to keep track of recent hate crimes and actions of domestic hate groups and other extremists. Throughout the years, they have defeated and gotten rid of some of America’s most notorious hate groups by suing / exposing them for their murders and violent acts. There are currently 954 hate groups that are operating in this country. All of the hate groups listed on the SPLC website are ones who vilify individuals and criminally offend a person or property because of their race, religion, disability, ethnicity, gender, and etc. Black Lives Matter has been requested to be listed as one of the hate groups on SPLC, however it isn’t considered one because it shows no hate to any group of people. It simply stands up for the justice for the innocent black lives that have been lost due to police brutality and racial inequality. The perception that some may see Black Lives Matter is a hate group that is racist illustrates society’s issue of accepting the fact that racial injustice continues to be pervasive to this day (Cohen, 2016).
It is true that all lives do matter, however we raise attention and stress the fact that black lives matter because of the multiple cases involving innocent African-American lives getting shot and gunned down by police for unjust, racist, and bigot reasons. The Black Lives Matter movement examines the 13th/14th amendments and the Civil Rights granted to African-Americans. Despite of the Civil Rights and amendments that should be enforced, in the cases discussed, it’s clearly shown the racial inequality and misjudgment given by police to Black-Americans. Everyone is subject to have equal protection of the laws but that doesn’t seem to be the case for those of the African descent. Legal authorities should find more ways to prevent any more of these killings to happen. This movements objective is to gain local power and mediate the violence put out on the black communities by State officials. We all need to better ourselves to achieve a world where black lives are no longer intentionally or systematically blamed for demise. People have attempted to denounce the Black Lives Matter movement with All Lives Matter, but the bigger picture of it is that BLACK LIVES MATTER TOO. Those who aren’t affected by the irrational killings done by the police or have to face constant discrimination in today’s society, could care less about the movement because they aren’t in the shoes of a black person, who has to face these violent crimes and fears in their everyday lives. The killings of black males like Trayvon Martin, Stephen Clark, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, and many more, comes to show how nothing has really changed. How many more police fatalities involving black lives will it take for change to really be made? Through the number of fatal police shootings and discriminatory acts done, it evidently shows that violence caused by racism is still a current issue. The Black Lives Matter movement serves a purpose to demand change to prevent more of these cases from happening, or even put an end to it.