Headlines were made when Brittany “Bree” Newsome climbed the South Carolina state Capitol and removed the confederate flag from the building. Newsome was arrested and charged with defacing a monument, according to CNN. The removal of the flag gained a lot of press attention and Newsome was interviewed by people from Democracy Now and she appeared on the Nightly Show. But other than her removing a flag while the issue of race is a popular topic, what else do we know about “Bree the Superhero.”
Newsome has been an activist for years and she was arrested back in 2013 during a sit sparked by voters' rights. Also, as a teenager she was voted coolest teenager and made an animated film, which granted her a scholarship. Newsome went to New York University. She later was the first African American undergrad to win the Wasserman Award.
Everyone is familiar with the term black lives matter, whether it be through the hashtag “#blacklivesmatter”, t-shirts, or simply word of mouth, the movement is taking over. This movement came along in light of the racial tensions between white police officers and colored people. However, what about the people who created the movement?
#Blacklivesmatter was created by three colored women who grew concerned with the state of black lives in America. The three founders Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi used social media to create the slogan Black Lives Matter. Alicia was the first to use the slogan and the Hashtag was created when the co-founder used it too on Facebook, putting a hashtag before it.
Patrisse Cullors, the fullbright scholarship recipient and UCLA graduate, is from the Los Angeles California area. She is queer. Her passion for the cause came from her brother being brutalized in jail when she was just 19 years of age. Collurs was thrown out of her house for “coming out” to her family. The Black Lives Matter movement also includes other movements as well. When visiting the website one can see they also include the hashtag #queerlivesmatter, and a fact displayed on the home page is the average life expectancy for a black lesbian is only 35 years.
Opal Tometi, the last founder of the movement is a Nigerian immigrant. She came to the United States in 1983. #Immigrantlivesmatter is one of the many other hashtags promoted on the Black Lives Matter official website.
The four woman mentioned above have spark media attention nationwide but, it's each unique journey that has brought them so much success. The successes each woman has accomplished is only the beginning of what they wish to accomplish in the long run.
