Black Lives Matter: The Social Justice Movement

Words: 559
Pages: 3

#BlackLivesMatter revision The social justice movement known as #BlackLivesMatter is justified because the maltreatment and discrimination of Black Americans has caused many innocent people to die. Cops have abused their power over the years. That’s why a movement like Black Lives Matter is necessary: to combat police violence against a specific group of people. The movement came to be in 2013 in response to George Zimmerman being acquitted after killing seven-teen year old Trayvon Martin. The fact that the system supported Zimmerman made people feel the need for a movement specifically focused on the problems that make our justice system treat black lives as mattering less than white ones. The movement continued to gain additional attention due to the later deaths of innocent Black …show more content…
In his essay, based on his own experiences, Brent Staples shares how a Black American cannot walk the streets without the prejudice of people thinking he is a predator. “After dark, I often see women who fear the worst from me”. The essay shed light on the fact that Black American males cannot walk in public without being stereotypically thought of being up to no good. Many people like to combat the #BlackLivesMatter movement stating that all lives matter rather than only focusing on Black Americans and that the movement encourages violence and rioting. We as Americans have to realize that the #BlackLivesMatter movement was not intending to single out any race but to open the eyes of public to see that because of the color of your skin you automatically are treated differently. The movement was also never meant to be violent but when supporters took the streets to protest the innocent deaths of these Black Americans it caused others with contradicting opinions to lash out as well. Similar to Brent Staples, Clint Smith shares his personal experiences in his “TED Talk”. Smith describes how he was given a “talk” in order to learn that he couldn't do what