Black+Lives+Matter

=The Significance of the Black Lives Matter Movement=

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The Black Lives Matter Movement is vital to African Americans who want to see real change and growth in the society. The purpose of the Black Lives Matter Movement is to provide justice and scrutiny to African Americans who are racially profiled. The Black Lives Matter is a platform to confront the underlying issue of racism that white America is afraid to discuss.



Trayvon Martin’s death is considered to be the epicenter or catalyst of the Black Lives Matter Movement. This infamous case caused an uproar when George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense during a scuffle in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. The case of Trayvon Martin has produce hashtags such as #DrivingWhileBlack and #WalkingWhileBlack. Furthermore, the case have created a stigma that African Americans risk being gunned down by police due to the color of their skin. The Black Lives Matter Movement became nationally known for its protests and street demonstrations. The movement was created by three organizers: Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. The movement is considered to be the "modern" American Civil Rights Movement because with the use of social media, especially Twitter, this is an initiative to resolve the deep rooted issue of racism that still exists in the United States.



Since the outrage of the Trayvon Martin's verdict, supporters of the movement have organized street demonstrations and protest in similar cases such as the shooting deaths of Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and among others. The shooting of Micheal Brown sparked chaos when Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot the unarmed teen on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. On November 22, 2014, Tamir Rice, a twelve year old African American, went to a park in his neighborhood. As he took out his toy gun, someone presumed that it was a real gun and called the police. Within seconds after he arrived, Timothy Loehmann shot twice at Tamir Rice, which result in his death a day later. On July 10, 2015, a police officer pulled over Sandra Bland because she forgot to turn on her signal. There is a footage that shows that the police officer Encinia repeatedly threatens her and says, “I will light you up” with the taser in his hand. He profusely throws her on the ground and arrest her. Unfortunately, three days later, Bland allegedly committed suicide. One thing that Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice have in common is that they were targets due to the color of their skin. In the case of Tamir Rice, the media fails to report that the police officer was mentally unstable and has troubling history with not following guidelines under law of justice. As an African American, Rice was considered to be threatening to a nearby witness who felt the need to call police authority. In fact, the dispatcher misinterpreted Rice’s age and the image of the gun which persuaded officer Loehmann to fatally shoot Tamir Rice. African Americans sympathized with the case of Rice as they compared him to Emmett Till. In the mid-1950s, Emmett Till died at the age of 14 for allegedly flirting with a white woman. These two young boys were both victims of racial hate crimes. While in the case of Sandra Bland, authorities believed that she committed suicide in her jail cell, but many people believed that the evidence is insufficient to presume her death as a suicide and questioned her death as a cover up.

Eric Garner Video-Unedited Version

media type="youtube" key="JpGxagKOkv8" width="560" height="315" align="center"

This is a video of Eric Garner, another unarmed African American, who died from a chokehold by a NYPD officer. The eleven minute video is disturbing as Garner repeatedly stated that he can not breathe. This caused mayhem because even though there a video proof, the jury did not convict the NYPD officer. Many people questioned the verdict because Eric Garner is an another African American life taken away in the hands of police.

**Pop Culture**
From artists such as NWA to current musicians such as Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, and Common, the Black Lives Matter Movement has heavily impacted the music industry. NWA or Niggas with Attitude created the song " Fuck Tha Police" to express their frustration towards the judicial system. In addition, its lyrics condones violence against police and bring awareness to racial tensions between young African Americans and the police. In addition, Kanye West, an African American rapper, expressed his concerns regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When live on air with Michael Epps, West told the head of state, George Bush, that he does not sympathize with African Americans.

Bush Doesn't Care About Black People media type="youtube" key="zIUzLpO1kxI" width="560" height="315" align="center"

In this one minute clip, Kanye West express his frustrations against the actions of George Bush regarding the outcome of Hurricane Katrina. West believed that Bush does not like African Americans and is the reason why many African American lives were lost during the tragedy.

Subheadings: Culture Politics Click here to go to home page. Citation


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 * Trayvon Martin's Family Attorney Wears a Hoodie on CNN. Digital image. //Liberty News//. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
 * Perfectly Legal: From Slave Codes to Tamir Rice, Laws on the Books Have Been Designed to Uphold White Supremacy, Keep Black People Oppressed. Digital image. //Atlanta Blackstar//.N.p., n.d. Web.24 Apr.2016.
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 * King, Shaun. "King: Tamir Rice Is Our Modern Day Emmett Till." //NY Daily News//. N.p., 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. @http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-tamir-rice-modern-day-emmett-article-1.2479611
 * Nayak, Neha. "What the Indictons of Tamir Rice and Sandra Bland Have in Common." //Her Campus//. N.p., 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2016 @http://www.hercampus.com/school/ucsb/what-indictons-tamir-rice-and-sandra-bland-have-common
 * Perfectly Legal: From Slave Codes to Tamir Rice, Laws on the Books Have Bee.
 * Petersen-Smith, Khury. "Black Lives Matter." N.p., Issue 96. Web. 03 Apr. 2016
 * "What Happened in Ferguson?" The New York Times. Larry Buchanan, Ford Fessenden, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Haeyoun Park, Alicia Parlapiano, Archie Tse, Tim Wallace, Derek Watkins and Karen Yourish, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.