What Is The Black Lives Matter Movement?

“Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood”. These stirring words of Martin Luther King Jr. inadvertently set off a worldwide movement on racial emancipation. There are a number of cases that prove African Americans have been “enslaved, oppressed and dehumanized” for much of American history. The inequality of races creates a barrier between brotherhood and a just society. Through music, movements, actions and protests many people in the United States are fighting against the vicious cycle of stereotypes and racial boundaries for the African American people. A part
The Black Lives Matter Movement represents an effort to counter the violent racism that continues to transfuse throughout American society today. Alicia Garza, a special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance co- founded the Black Lives Matter Movement. This movement against police violence was sparked after many unjust killings of specific African American males. A young innocent and unarmed 17-year old African American male named Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by Officer George Zimmerman while visiting family members in Sanford Florida. Police officer George Zimmerman was charged with murder but during his trial was freed from any criminal charges. After the death of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012, the Black Lives Matter Movement was born. The organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement emphasize the importance of educating Americans concerning the unjust killings of African Americans and responds to the countless number of deaths in a professional way. Alicia Garza says, “What we are dealing with right now is a disease that has plagued America since its inception… We need to move towards a transformative vision that touches on what’s at the root of the problems we are facing” (https://www.thenation.com/article/qa-alicia-garza-co-founder-blacklivesmatter/). In other words,
This is a common question asked by the public since it is such a controversial issue in the media. There is evidence found in FBI documents that show how the US government views the Black Lives Matter movement as a threat. The US government has carefully monitored the movement and found documents specifically from the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that reveal important emails concerning plotted allegations, field reports and presumptions of violence. For example in July 2016 the FBI was warned of attacks against law enforcement after a gunman opened fire at five policeman and killed them during a police brutality protest in Dallas Texas. However, this gunman by the name of Micah Xavier Johnson committed the crime on his own and did not have any known ties to the Black Lives Matter movement or any other groups. After the attack of police officers, an email with the subject line “Dallas TP’s for General Taylor” was found that was along the lines “There is a threat of black supremacists extremists attempting to violently co-opt the upcoming DNC/RNC.” The term DNC/RNC refers to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. In another document, specifically an advisory titled “A Day of Rage Protests across America” read, “Being anywhere near these protests greatly increases the chance that you could become a victim of violence”. This report was used to inform people about the