The Black Lives Matter movement has come together in the United States to raise awareness of racism and violence against African Americans and people of color.
- Black Lives Matter (BLM) means "count black lives" .
- It is an American movement against violence against African Americans and People of Color.
- The movement manages to reach many people with social media and hashtags .
Black Lives Matter is a social movement that originated in 2013 and is directed against racial violence by the police in the United States . She got a lot of attention with the hashtag # BlackLivesMatter , because after the death of the African-American teenager Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman , people were shocked and there was rioting and demonstrations across the country.
" I can't breathe ": In 2020, an African-American was again killed in a police operation in front of the camera in the United States - the images of George Floyd's last minutes went around the world and caused bewilderment. We have summarized the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement here.
Black Lives Matter: foundation and philosophy
The movement with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was co-founded by three activists of the black community in summer 2013: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi acted according to George Zimmerman's acquittal for the killing of Trayvon Martin . Black Lives Matter's philosophy is against racism, police violence, and discrimination against African Americans in the United States.
After George Floyd's death in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement became louder and bigger than ever. Millions of people have demonstrated in the United States . Several thousand also took to the streets in Berlin to show their solidarity from a distance. The website Black Lives Matter Berlin provides information about protest marches in Berlin. They also support the fight against racism.
"Black Lives Matter" commemorates the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis (USA).
© dpa / J eff Baenen
Black Lives Matter: protests and demonstrations
More and more sympathizers of the Black Lives Matter movement demonstrated against the deaths of several African Americans through police actions. The demonstrations kept calling for slogans that reflect what the victims had to suffer. Slogans such as: "Hands up don't shoot." Refer to the death of Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson. The 18-year-old was shot by a police officer with 12 shots. Or also: "I can't breathe" ("I can't breathe"). The sentence refers to George Floyd's death , but also recalls African-American Eric Garner , who died in New York in 2014 after a policeman strangled him after being arrested.
Black Lives Matter on the Internet and social media
Black Lives Matter uses the Internet, especially social media, to make public wherever possible social grievances can be seen. The advertising can thus make your request heard directly. With the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter , which was invented in July 2013, the activists on Instagram reach a lot of people and can directly involve them in their actions. Social media attention is high when it comes to supporting something important. The activists have thus found a large mouthpiece and forum for exchange. Sometimes users have to deal directly with the problem at hand. Thus, BLM , also known to achieve strength through protests. To do this, they hold rallies and demonstrations .
Check out this post on Instagram
How many black lives have to be taken before something is done? We honor those lost and pledge to fight for justice. #BlackLivesMatter
A post shared by Black Lives Matter (@blklivesmatter) on May 29, 2020 at 2:38 pm PDT
Superstars like Beyoncé and Rihanna also commented on Instagram about the death of George Floyd . "We cannot normalize this pain," says Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in a video message.
Check out this post on Instagram
If you want to demand more charges brought on all those involved in the death of George Floyd, click the link in my bio to sign the petition.
A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on May 29, 2020 at 8:13 p.m. PDT
And singer Rihanna writes: “In the past few days, the level of devastation, anger and sadness I have felt has been overwhelming to say the least! Watching my people being murdered and lynched day after day hit my heart hard! ”
Check out this post on Instagram
For the last few days, the magnitude of devastation, anger, sadness I've felt has been overwhelming to say the least! Watching my people get murdered and lynched day after day pushed me to a heavy place in my heart! To the point of staying away from socials, just to avoid hearing the blood curdling agony in George Floyd's voice again, begging over and over for his life !!! The look of enticement, the pure joy and climax on the face of this bigot, murderer, thug, pig, bum, Derek Chauvin, haunts me !! I can't shake this! I can't get over an ambulance pulling up to an arrest, a paramedic checking a pulse without removing the very thing that's hindering it! Is this that fucking normal ??? If intentional MURDER is the fit consequence for “drugs” or “resisting arrest” .... then what's the fit consequence for MURDER ???! #GeorgeFloyd #AhmaudArbery #BreonnaTaylor
A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on May 29, 2020 at 8:10 am PDT
Black Lives Matter: First successes after street protests and social media
#BlackLivesMatter gained national attention in the United States after two African Americans, Michael Brown and Eric Garner , were killed by police officers. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter gave people cohesion when they went on the streets for equality for weeks after this and other deaths .
The hashtag also migrated from the social networks to the demonstrators' posters. An outcry turned into an organized movement with large-scale protests. The first successes were quick. The country was seriously debating police violence and racism. In 2014 , the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was named Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society . The network of the movement continued to spread across the country and its fight against racism had tangible consequences: police chiefs were fired , the President of Missouri University had to resign and the presidential candidates had to position themselves on Black Lives Matter .
Rubric list image: © dpa / Ross D. Franklin