Following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager shot during a physical altercation in a gated Florida suburb there was a nationwide outrage sparked by the result of the case. Unfortunately, seventeen year old Trayvon Martin was just the first in a string of senseless homicides involving racial profiling and police brutality resulting in the deaths of a number young African Americans. Tamir Rice, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, Jonathan Ferrell, Sandra Bland, Samuel DuBose and Freddie Gray are just a few examples of those unjustly killed at the hands of the police and these are just the cases that managed to garner nationwide attention due to social media, just imagine the number of similar
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Inspired by the civil rights movement and others before it, the Black Lives Matter movement seeks to protest to gain political acknowledgement of the atrocities facing the black community in America and work with political leaders to rectify the issues that have plagued our communities for far too long. On their website, the Black Lives Matter movement describes itself as “an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” However, the movement does not only seek advancement for African Americans, but for all, regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation. The Black Lives Matter Movement is very progressive in support of gender issues such as equal pay and reproductive rights for women and eliminating discriminatory policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which are all also huge talking points within our social atmosphere …show more content…
In their attempts they’ve not only trampled on the fundamental definition of what it means to be an American, but they’ve created misconceptions on the purpose of the movement. For example, there are those in opposition to the black lives matter movement who seem to believe that the movement insinuates that black lives are of more importance than others, but this is a classic example of misinformation. Black lives matter activists only seek to gain the acknowledgement that black lives matter just as much as anyone else’s, no more, no less. So I believe those who make the argument that “All Lives Matter” have completely missed the purpose of Black Lives Matter. To say that “All Lives Matter” detracts from the issues at hand, which is the fact that within our society, the black community is being systematically villainized, murdered and incarcerated at an alarmingly disturbing rate that far surpasses any other ethnic
Inspired by the civil rights movement and others before it, the Black Lives Matter movement seeks to protest to gain political acknowledgement of the atrocities facing the black community in America and work with political leaders to rectify the issues that have plagued our communities for far too long. On their website, the Black Lives Matter movement describes itself as “an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” However, the movement does not only seek advancement for African Americans, but for all, regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation. The Black Lives Matter Movement is very progressive in support of gender issues such as equal pay and reproductive rights for women and eliminating discriminatory policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which are all also huge talking points within our social atmosphere …show more content…
In their attempts they’ve not only trampled on the fundamental definition of what it means to be an American, but they’ve created misconceptions on the purpose of the movement. For example, there are those in opposition to the black lives matter movement who seem to believe that the movement insinuates that black lives are of more importance than others, but this is a classic example of misinformation. Black lives matter activists only seek to gain the acknowledgement that black lives matter just as much as anyone else’s, no more, no less. So I believe those who make the argument that “All Lives Matter” have completely missed the purpose of Black Lives Matter. To say that “All Lives Matter” detracts from the issues at hand, which is the fact that within our society, the black community is being systematically villainized, murdered and incarcerated at an alarmingly disturbing rate that far surpasses any other ethnic