Black Lives Matter: The Civil Rights Movement

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The death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American boy, in 2012 sparked the “Black Lives Matter” slogan. I was a sophomore in high school visiting The College of New Jersey the first time I heard the term “Black Lives Matter.” I did not understand what exactly the slogan stood for, but the way it made it sound was that black lives mattered more than any other lives. This infuriated me. The movement has since then become an organization that promotes black pride so that African Americans feel safe and want to celebrate their culture. The idea of strengthening their way of life is respectable, but the way in which the “Black Lives Matter” protesters strike, makes it difficult to respect and follow their cause. In result of all the varying …show more content…
The Freedom Riders were also some of these profound characters that were successful in their efforts for the Civil Rights Movement. There were 13 people who made this bus trip back in1961. The idea was to travel through states where segregation was an issue to finally get to Louisiana, where the seventh anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education. James Lawson, a civil rights activist and a member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, commented about the Freedom Rides saying, "Through non-violence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice; hope ends despair. Peace dominates war; faith reconciles doubt…The redemptive community supercedes systems of gross social immorality.” (Harvey 156) Lawson explains that the efforts made by the Freedom Riders were so successful because by using peace and words rather than brutality, people are able to respect the problems the protesters are attempting to fix. When comparing these profound civil right activists to the protesters seen today involved with the “Black Lives Matter” movement, it can be seen that although they are both fighting for the same idea, the black lives protesters take their strikes and methods of getting their point out too out of …show more content…
Disapproval of the “Black Lives Matter” continued to be an issue on the Dartmouth campus after an issue occurred between “Black Lives Matter” protesters and anyone not supporting their cause. The protesters shouted racial slurs and continued harassment even after people tried to evacuate the area. (Whitson) “The tactics, tone, and words of the Black Lives Matter protesters eerily mirrored everything they claim to stand against” (“Eyes Wide Open at the Protest”). These protesters claimed to be fighting for equality in a peaceful manner, but with the extreme negativity surrounding the encounter, it was hard to believe. Enraged by this chaos, people began posting on social media, especially twitter, discussing how they will not support a movement like this (@mandasuedotcom). The actions of these protesters helped me gain perspective as to why people object to the movement. It may be in result of that they claim to be trying to help the greater good, but their actions can promote the idea that they want other races, particularly Caucasian in this issue, to feel inferior to them. When looking back at Dr. King’s efforts, you can see how his non-violent attempts to progress the civil rights movement was very successful compared to the “Black Lives Matter” movement. He was able to get his point across without brutally pushing his ideas down someone’s
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