The Black Lives Matter movement is a prime example of society’s determination to fix the main social injustices of our generation. As a movement, it originated in 2013, following several extreme cases of police brutality concerning African-American citizens. Primarily, the followers of this movement listed battling racial discrimination as their top priority while specifically standing up against criminal injustice and basic human rights violations. Black Lives Matter became a slogan for the social movement, being used predominantly in the media. Various social media users have referred to the slogan to voice their opinions on racially-motivated discrimination, as it soon became a controversial topic of discussion. Victims of hate crimes have also used the opportunity to share their experiences with the world, noting how police brutality and discrimination have impacted their lives.
The phrase Black Lives Matter signifies the intention of allowing African-Americans to finally share their experiences and use them to fix major flaws in the current social system. The phrase accentuates the constant lack of awareness about the daily struggles of African-Americans, all due to their race. It is essential to note the specific exclusivity of the issue in relation to other racial groups, as some communities have failed to acknowledge it. Such communities have proposed alternative approaches to the issue, for example, through the All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements. However, unlike the mentioned ideas suggest, the emphasis should be placed on supporting the racial group that has been mistreated and discriminated against for centuries. In that way, Black Lives Matter highlights the idea of providing safe and fair living conditions for African-Americans all around the world.
Although the movement started in 2013, I believe that it would be incorrect to refer to it as a novel movement. Possibly, the use of social media to raise awareness and share one’s experiences can be considered a novelty. Still, the principles behind the campaign have served as the foundation for many organizations and attempts to improve social justice. This consistency can be explained by the persistent racism that has affected millions of African-Americans throughout world history. As the issue remained unresolved for decades of years, it would be fair to assume that people have been mistreated due to their race before 2013 and have spoken up about it before the official movement launch as well. This is evident from the events of the American Civil War in the 19th century, which represented a war against slavery and its proposed expansion. Hence, this significant historical event became one of the first national acts to confront the existing racial injustices.
The Civil Rights movement clearly demonstrates the idea that the Black Lives Matter movement is a continuation of previous similar initiations. The Civil Rights movement occurred in the 1960s in the United States, with its organizers and allies focusing on terminating segregation and discrimination. The movement’s protests voiced social concerns about equal education, voting, and job opportunities. Furthermore, due to the evident violation of their basic civil rights, protests against the oppressive regime were inevitable. In that way, the Civil Rights movement can be viewed as the foundation for the Black Lives Matter movement. Both initiatives aimed to protest against racism in the socio-political systems of the world, acknowledging the struggles of a large part of its population. Similarly, the two movements caused controversial discussions to take place, as with any major social issue. Still, I consider it important to accentuate the idea that this issue revolves around human rights and must not be taken lightly. Moreover, the movements affected not only the United States, bringing people together from all over the world to end racial discrimination.
Contrary to the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Lives Matter movement was specifically consequential to police brutality cases and general violence towards African-Americans. Since segregation incidents have progressively decreased in rates since the end of the 20th century, the next step in resolving the social issue was to regulate the criminal justice system. Hence, the primary objectives of the two causes are objectively different due to the apparent changes in modern society. Issues of public discrimination may not be as prominent in the 21st century, but incidents regarding the murders of innocent African-Americans are just as critical to protest against nowadays.
Therefore, the Black Lives Matter movement signifies an inevitable need for changes to be made in the current socio-political justice system. The urgency of the matter is emphasized by the innocent deaths of African-Americans because of their race. As major historical events have demonstrated, previous attempts to end discrimination and racially-motivated violence have been partially successful. Issues concerning disadvantageous job and education possibilities remain to be relevant topics for discussion. Still, people worldwide must continue fighting for their rights to ensure that equal opportunities are granted to one independent of their race or cultural background.