The Black Lives Matter Movement: The Black Lives Matters Movement

The black panthers used the media to their advantage and rapidly began to grow capturing the attention of thousands of Americans. As a result of the party's growth, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began to make their way into the federal law enforcement advocating racist and violent abuse towards people of color. The leader at the time, President Hoover began to notice the advancement of the movement and feared "the rise of the black messiah", and the white allies who united to support the movement. As a response Hoover created Cointelpro, "a secret operation, to discredit black nationalist groups." Members of the movement were followed and harassed on a day to day basis . Hoover identified The Black Panther Party as the primary threat against …show more content…
It was founded by activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi after the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2013. Martin was a 17 year old African-American boy from Florida who was wrongfully shot and killed due to racial profiling by police officer George Zimmerman. On the evening of the murder, Zimmerman had been on patrol when he reported seeing a suspicious black man that looked up to no good. Martin was visiting family in Florida at the time and had gone to the gas station to purchase a bag of skittles and ice tea. He was on the phone with his girlfriend when he noticed that he was being followed, and that's when she advised him to run. Zimmerman got out his car and followed him and the two got into a physical alteration. Zimmerman shot unarmed Martin and moments later he was declared dead. Zimmerman was first charged with the murder by later release on the grounds of self-defense. A media uproar began which created a national debate against racial profiling in America. Later on in 2014, the movement organized their first national protest in Ferguson, Missouri in response to the murder of Michael Brown. Brown was an 18 year old African-American man who was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Wilson had fired twelve bullets at unarmed Brown and a witness reported seeing Brown with his hands in the air while being shot. Protesters now chant the phrase "Hands up don't shoot" during …show more content…
It was proven that blacks are three times more likely to be killed by police and 98% of these events do not end with an officer being charged with a crime. Another study done by the Justice Department stated that based on the Police Public Contact Survey, black drivers are 31% more likely to be pulled over during traffic stops than white drivers. This statistic supports the "driving while black" argument. The phrase "driving while black" refers to black drivers being pulled over by police mainly because of racial profiling. This happens often because of the belief that minorities are more likely to be caught with illegal contraband in their cars. The #BlackLivesMatter campaign has gained so much international recognition due to social media. As a result of the world we live in today, the media has become such a powerful way to inform the public of important issues currently happening in the world. The Black Lives Matter Movement has gained thousands of supports and went viral because of social