What is Black Lives Matter?
Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin in 2012. Remember that supporting Black Lives Matter means supporting ALL black lives (LGBTQ black lives, disabled black lives, etc).
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Supporting Black Lives Matter Online / Staying Safe Online
Given how interconnected our world is, staying safe online is extremely important. Read this article to learn more about how you can support the movement online, while keeping your information secure.
Thank you Shelly for suggesting this article!
Thank you Shelly for suggesting this article!
Black Lives Matter in 2020
In 2020, the national Black Lives Matter foundation raised over $90 million dollars, it announced in a report in late February 2021. The foundation reported that its website saw almost a 5,000% increase in traffic this year (Jones). Early in February 2021, the foundation launched a financial relief fund to help people who were struggling during the pandemic. This foundation is planning to make up to 3,000 grants of $1,000 each to people who it determines are most in need. This survival fund is a part of the organization’s focus on economic justice for Black communities. The fund’s first recipients have been families of victims of police brutality, grassroots organizers, formally incarcerated people, transgender individuals, and single parents (The Associated Press). Black Lives Matter also gave $21.7 million to 30 organizations and local BLM chapters, 22 of which have LGBTQIA leaders (Jones).
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What About "All Lives Matter"?
"All Lives Matter" was created in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Some feel that it insinuates that other lives are worth less. This is not the purpose of Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter aims to fight for the equality of everyone’s life.
Learn more:
Learn more:
- "Why 'All Lives Matter' is such a Perilous Phrase" (The New York Times)
- "Why You Need to Stop Saying 'All Lives Matter'" (Harper's Bazaar)
The cartoon below explains "All Lives Matter"
Credit: Kris Straub
Do People Even Support Black Lives Matter?
In short, yes (see the graphic). Americans across different racial and ethnic groups have expressed support the Black Lives Matter movement. Support for the movement has drastically increased since the murder of George Floyd.
Learn more about how support for the Black Lives Matter movement has surged in 2020:
Learn about how support has declined since then here |
The graphic shown comes from the Pew Research Center in the report "Amid Protests, Majorities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups Express Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement". The report has more statistics on this topic as well.
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