Black Lives Matter is a Movement not a Moment
Ask yourself this question how would you feel if the justice system failed to protect you? We view police officers as people we can run to for help, but if the tables are turned and they come after you simply because of the colour of your skin tone. The Black Lives Matter movement is a movement made by the people, a movement that started because an innocent life was taken. This movement marches for the equality of marginalized black people and the horrific injustice they have to face against police officers. How has the Black Lives Matter movement impacted the social justice movement around police brutality and the marginalization of black communities? Many factors brought this movement into play but was really shocking is a young man had to be murder in order to get this movement that black lives matter moving. We hear about it all the time or see if online how police officers use violence just because they have the power to. Black communities are here to speak up about the violence they face but this movement has everyone on deck to help end the police brutality against marginalized black communities. The black lives matter movement has bought awareness to police brutality and the marginalization of black communities by showing people what black communities have to go through because of the racism that still exists.
Firstly, we always hear about police brutality, police officers getting away with crimes without getting a slap on the wrist because of their status in our society, but the view points are slowly changing because of the BLM, we see online through footage of police cameras punishing innocent people on the street, Eric Garner a man in New York City was walking on the sidewalk when a group of officers pushed him down. Garner kept repeating, “I can’t breathe” until he suffocated to death. Officer Darren Wilson who is a white male shot a young black teenager on August 9, 2014 which took place in Ferguson for supposedly stealing a pack of cigarettes for a corner store. Mr. Wilson shot eighteen year old Michael Brown Jr. 12 times without proper reasoning. After Wilsons announcement to the public of him not being indict for his actions this brought the town into an uproar. People protested for weeks on end to bring justice to Mike Brown. Mike browns passing made a use mark on the social justice movement, one could say a new beginning, the true starting of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Secondly, Mike Brown’s brought people together Ferguson with a the cluster of people; women in the street standing together and chanting, reporters staking out for hours to days on end, locals wandering around the streets, standing on pavement and street corners everyone was protesting to give black people like Brown justice for wrongfully being murdered without an actual reason other than the colour of your skin. This protest that happened for weeks, opened up eyes to the media starting the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Where people like Mike Brown can get their story out and heard, the horrible police brutality they had to deal with. This hashtag brought people together global to get this movement awareness out. Despite the hashtag only being brought up again to society when more brutality is brought to the black communities but hashtag has bad a huge mark on the movement.
Thirdly, I think that the BLM has changed social justice movement against police brutality and marginalization because we see how society is changing their viewpoints that not everything is so black and white. Through social media and all these stories uprising we have facts to prove our point. More people are seeing that innocent people are getting killed on the streets because of their skin colour and the society is standing up for it. After Mike Browns death people made a riot out of it, protesters stood outside for days for the injustice of an teenager being shot for his skin colour, for Eric Garner being suffocated on New Yorks sidewalk, a soon to be mother pleading, looking at the officer telling him not to shoot her, shot her blank point in the head. Now BLM has made it’s way through the internet which is one of the highest viewed hashtags. This movement started on the streets and made spread it’s way around the world.
In conclusion, the black lives matter made a huge impact on the social justice movement around police brutality and marginalization of black communities. We see today how black communities suffer from police violence without reasoning but with the power of social media and the black lives matter movement, this won’t be just a moment it will be a difference.
