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Week 4: Black Lives Matter

Several readings from this week not only provided information about the Black Lives Matter Movement, but addressed the many myths and criticisms that surround it. Started in 2014 as a response to the Trayvon Martin shooting, the international movement began as a commitment to end police brutality and has grown to be an "affirmation of Black folks’ humanity, [their] contributions to this society, and [their] resilience in the face of deadly oppression." However, despite their work toward equality, many see the organization as only deepening racial tensions in the United States. "Counter-movements" like All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter have risen out of response or even retaliation for what they perceive is an attack on non-black citizens and specifically police officers.
 
I find it discouraging that these responses come about due to major misconceptions regarding the movement's true intentions. A quote from the Pitt article that I found particularly encapsulating described why the Black Lives Matter movement is for black lives: "because historically they have not." All lives cannot matter if black lives do not, so what the people declaring "all lives matter" don't understand is that they Black Lives Matter movement is fighting for that sentiment. However, they must do so by focusing on the black community and the injustices it continues to face. I think that Jesse Williams, who is an actor, made a compelling speech that really emphasized why the movement must focus on the black community rather than the idea that "All Lives Matter."

Black Lives Matter is accused of being disorganized and is criticized for not being more like the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. However, Pitt draws similarities between the two most significantly in that the Civil Rights Movement was not well-received during its time either. The majority of Americans did not approve of the peaceful protest and resistance tactics the Civil Rights Movement employed. Quite honestly though, the fact that there are still so many similarities between the two movements when they occurred nearly 50 years apart may be the most unsettling thought I had while engaging in this week's readings. Pitt talks about how both movements emphasize the humanity of black people, but my questions is why do we still need to do that 50 years after a generation of people fought incredibly hard to do so. And why are there so many misconceptions and myths surrounding a movement fighting for justice and equality? 

In this day and age, information is available in literal seconds-- so why must the Black Lives Matter movement fight so hard to get its intentions understood? I leave this week's readings with a lot of questions, mainly how can I be an ally in and out of my classroom. But also, why our country seems to have not made as much progress as a majority of Americans believe we have as a nation. 

Comments

  1. Victoria RestlerFebruary 5, 2018 at 8:12 AM

    Thanks for your post Haley. It feels like we are in a time of reckoning, following Obama's presidency and this idea about the arc of history bending towards justice. For many of us (progressive white folks among others) it feels like that arc has twisted back the other way. I really appreciate your questions and I hope we will address them tomorrow in class.

    Best
    Victoria

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eleanor deMuthFebruary 6, 2018 at 9:55 AM

    Hi Haley,

    Thank you for your post! I'm sorry my comments are late. I really like the questions you expressed at the end of your post. Particularly the questions about social media and Black Lives Matter. You would think that with our advanced systems of social media the Purpose and goals of Black Lives Matters would be fully understood and well know by everyone. However, this isn't the case as the articles suggest. I as you, find this very interesting, but I think this fact speaks volumes. Without directly staying, this fact suggests that even the power of social media and communication isn't strong enough to change the oppressive and racists systems that are already in place. Social media and communication is only one key part to the process of changing the systems. I myself am still working on answering these questions and learning more!

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