When I think about what was relevant in 2020 I think about things like quarantine, coronavirus, and BLM. And personally, a big part of my 2020 was the BLM movement. I understand that statement is highly confusing to others who weren’t as curious as I was, but I personally cared a lot about the movement and the change that could come from it. I cared so much because I didn’t, and still don’t, like to live in a world where I know that other humans are facing inflammatory events in their day-to-day lives and no one is doing anything about it.
Racism exists all over the world and impacts everyone. This has spurred the skyrocketing of the racial movement known as Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murder. Black Lives Matter, often shortened to simply just “BLM”, works to fight for a world where the lives of black people are no longer systematically targeted. They also affirm the lives of black LGBTQIA+ folk, disabled folk, undocumented people, people with records, women, and black people all along the gender spectrum. All of these statements were made and currently exist on the “About” section of their official website.
Police brutality and systemic racism are major contributors to the systemic oppression of the Black community. Police brutality and systemic racism is the root behind the murders of:
George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was suffocated to death by officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd was pinned to the ground to be arrested for allegedly trying to pass a counterfeit $20 dollar bill by Chauvin, where he put his knee on his neck, inhibiting Floyd’s ability to breathe properly. Floyd repeatedly told officer Chauvin that he couldn’t breathe. The officer continued to keep his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, even after Floyd had died and stopped responding. The other 3 officers who aided in the murder of George Floyd were Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Thao, Lane, and Kueng were all charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. The death of George Floyd is mainly what brought the world’s attention and spotlight onto the Black Lives Matter movement.
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman who was shot during a no-knock search for drugs in Taylor’s apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. She was shot 8 times in her sleep in her apartment and died in her sleep. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, believed the search was a break-in and called 911. He shot his licensed firearm at the plain-clothed officers who entered Taylor’s home, believing it was one of Taylor’s ex-boyfriends. The 3 officers who entered Taylor’s home were Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankinson, and Jonathan Mattingly. The bullet that Walker shot hit Mattingly in the thigh, Mattingly then fired at least 6 rounds in response. Cosgrove was determined to be the one who fired the shot that was fatal to Taylor.
Elijah McClain, a 23- year-old black man who was held down in a carotid by officers: Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, and Randy Roedema. He was approached by police who were responding to a 911 call reporting that McClain was acting “suspicious”. Officers called out several times to McClain before McClain stopped and answered them, one of the officers then grabbed McClain’s arms. In body camera footage, McClain can be heard saying: “I am an introvert, please respect the boundaries that I am speaking. Leave me alone”. While being held in a carotid hold, McClain was in clear distress and vomited several times. When more people arrived at where the officers and McClain were, the police officers made claims like: McClain had “incredible, crazy strength”, that he had attacked the officers when they tried to restrain him, that he was “definitely on something”, and that he was “acting crazy”. The actual cause of death is unclear, but an autopsy report showed that a multitude of factors added together could have killed him. While keeping McClain in a carotid hold, officers called first responders. First responders injected McClain with ketamine, then he was put into an ambulance. While in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, McClain had a heart attack. He then died days after he was declared brain dead. After his death, officers Woodyard, Rosenblatt, and Roedema were all put on administrative leave, but they have since been reinstated. However, Elijah McClain’s death did not come without any form of justice. Despite it being announced that no criminal charges would be filed, McClain’s family filed a lawsuit against the city of Aurora, Colorado. The interim chief of the Aurora Police Department placed a ban on all carotid holds, including the one used on Elijah McClain. Additionally, it was announced that there would be an investigation on whether the police had been using “patterns and practices” that may have stripped people of their constitutional rights.
With the amounts of unfair and untimely deaths caused by systemic racism, police brutality, and much more, it is very clear that the entire Black Lives Matter movement is a crucial civil movement. But to keep in mind, when the movement went viral all over the internet and social media, many people posted black squares on their Instagram feeds and participated in #blackouttuesday. I remind you that these so-called “efforts” are not helpful whatsoever to the movement. It is a simple thing you can do in 5 minutes without putting any actual thought into the action and the meaning behind it. I urge you to make meaningful efforts to the movement. Do things like:
Support and buy from any black-owned businesses
Donate to a charity
Educate yourself about racism all over the world, not just in America
Call out others when they do something racist, insensitive, or offensive and teach them to do better
Listen to black voices and hear them out. They know better about any of this than any non-black person would
Actively speak out about this topic, in real life or on social media, or the internet
Doing all those things, even if it’s just one, will actively help not just the movement but to eradicate racism towards black people.
Now about the “All Lives Matter!” statement made to counter the “Black Lives Matter!” statement. All Lives Matter, often shortened to just “ALM” was made as a response to BLM. Just about every time someone says and preaches “All Lives Matter!”, they are basically preaching “White Lives Matter!”. This is because basically every person who says ALM doesn’t truly believe that all lives matter, but instead says it to discredit and harm the BLM statement. The reason we are fighting to protect the black community is that they are the most at risk currently. Simply put, other races’ lives aren’t any less important than black lives, but it’s that black lives are the ones that are being put at a higher risk than other races’ lives. The same thing goes for “Blue Lives Matter”, but instead of a race, the “Blue” represents the police. This was also created to discredit and harm BLM. The difference between the fake “blue lives” and the very real black lives is that at the end of the day, police can take off their uniforms. They don’t have to walk around in their uniforms daily. They can choose to take their uniform off. Black people do not have that option and freedom. They do not have the ability to remove the melanin in their skin like officers can take off their uniforms. It simply does not make sense to compare the two things.
At the end of the day, people must keep in mind that we are in a constant fight for equality and equity and that we must not make their struggle a trend or hashtag. We’ve got to actually do things to advance the movement and make progress towards the goal, not just post a black square and call it a day.
Black Lives Matter.
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