What does "black lives matter" really mean? Why is "all lives matter" considered wrong and uneducated?

The problem is that many white people, including my past self, do not understand what this movement means. If you're a white person reading this and are confused by the BLM movement, it's not your fault.

I am not here to call out white people and tell them that they are ignorant and insensitive because of their privilege. Why? Because I am a privileged, white female who was once ignorant of the struggles of race inequality around me, and I'm not here to be a hypocrite. However, I am here to tell you one thing: check your privilege.

I am not the most educated and experienced person to tell you about the issues of race inequality, nor do I plan to act like I am. What I have is a very simplistic, straight-forward understanding of why BLM is important, and my goal is to merely shine a light on this movement so that those who are in the dark can step out and see the picture clearly.

So, what is "white privilege?" One does not have to be wealthy to have white privilege, as I once thought. One does not have to live a life without hardship to have white privilege. For some, like Gina Crosley-Corcoran, author of "Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person," the concept of white privilege seems like it doesn't apply to them because of the immense poverty and deprivation they live in.

Crosley-Corcoran wrote, "I came from the kind of Poor that people don't want to believe still exists in this country... Have you ever spent a frigid northern Illinois winter without heat or running water? I have. At twelve years old, were you making ramen noodles in a coffee maker with water you fetched from a public bathroom?...So when that feminist told me I had "white privilege," I told her that my white skin didn't do s*** to prevent me from experiencing poverty."

"That feminist" then directed Crosley-Corcoran to Peggy McIntosh's piece from 1988 entitled, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." After reading McIntosh's piece, it dawned on Crosley-Corcoran that, despite her setbacks, she was still better off than many minorities who lived in similar situations, such as:

• "I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented."
• "When I am told about our national heritage or about 'civilization,' I am shown that people of my color made it what it is."
• "If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race."
• "I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time."

Privilege isn't necessarily always directly related to socioeconomic status. Yes, living in a lower-income household and/or neighborhood, like Crosley-Corcoran wrote about, can come with feeling unsafe and enduring long-lasting wounds from discrimination. Having an unstable situation puts those involved at a severe disadvantage, no matter the skin color. However, those who are white and financially disadvantaged don't have to deal with being looked down upon for their skin color and struggle with financial burden.

Think about it: when was the last time you felt threatened or unsafe just because of the color of your skin, despite how much money you have or how well-off you look? Personally, the only thing that makes me feel threatened because of my skin color is the sun because I can get burnt so quickly. It just goes to show how I have not been negatively affected because of my skin color. Is this a bad thing? No! In a perfect world, no one should feel threatened by other people or things because of his or her skin color.

As Crosley-Corcoran discussed, yes, your level of privilege falls into more categories than just your skin color and financial status. However, her main point is this: "[My piece] is not said to make white people feel guilty about their privilege. It's not your fault you were born with white skin and experience these privileges. BUT, whether you realize it or not, you DO benefit from it, and it IS your fault if you don't maintain awareness of that fact."

Want to check your privilege? Take the BuzzFeed quiz here.

With a better understanding of white privilege in mind, let's tackle the over-arching question: why is the Black Lives Matter movement so important?

To be completely honest, when the BLM movement first started to gain traction within the media a while back, my former, less-educated self thought, "Don't all lives matter?" However, as I've grown older, become more educated, and felt outraged over the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the Dallas Police Force, my eyes have been opened to the deep-rooted, still-present issue of racial discrimination and the true meaning behind BLM. However, as I scroll through Twitter, which has now become my favorite tool for discussion about controversial topics, I see that many are still in the dark about BLM.

As I said earlier, if you're a white person reading this and are confused by the BLM movement, it's not your fault. Many white people, myself included, were raised by people and media that indirectly told us how to view certain races. Sometimes these assumptions many have about other races are automatic and do not truly reflect how they view others.

It's like the saying "think before you speak." Most people have an initial, not so well thought-out impulse in their brains followed by a more coherent, thoughtful comment that exits their mouths. In simple terms, most people find the will to gather a variety of opinions and have a good filter.

So, when you here the phrase "black lives matter," what's your initial impulse? Now, what's your secondary thought? Do you even have a secondary thought? If you don't have a secondary thought, you may not have a fully-formed opinion.

Gabrielle Hanna, creator of The Gabbie Show with over 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube, is a young white female who, in light of this past week's events, released a video entitled, "#BlackLivesMatter vs #AllLivesMatter & Checking My White Privilege." In her video, Gabbie uses a syllogism to illustrate why Black Lives Matter doesn't necessarily mean All Lives DON'T Matter.

"All lives matter. Black lives are lives. Therefore, black lives matter. Notice that nowhere in this logic does saying that black lives matter discredit the fact that white lives matter as well. All lives matter, of course they do. This isn't a trade. Nobody's trying to exchange black lives for white lives... At some point we need to realize that a lot of these deaths are systemic and biased. Nobody's trying to tell you that white people also haven't been killed by officers, and nobody's trying to tell you that black people haven't also killed white people, but there does need to be awareness raised that, if not racism, that at least, at least, a very deep root of prejudice still runs very deep in this country" (The Gabbie Show).

The BLM movement is not about racial superiority or inferiority. If anything, the BLM movement is about achieving equality. Sure, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin" (history.com), but did it completely eradicate prejudice and inequality? No, not at all. Those who were alive during the passing of the Civil Rights Movement and had a hatred for other races did not just stop their hatred due to an Act being passed. Most likely, this prejudice trickled down through the generations, thus bringing us to the violent crimes of racial hatred that happen today.

Black lives matter because for too long their lives have not been placed on as high a pedestal as the lives of white people. Black lives matter because it has become too common to turn on the news and see that another innocent black man has been killed due to predisposed fear. Black lives matter because, just like white, Asian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, Latino, mixed, and other lives, black lives are the lives of human beings, and human lives should be treated with equal value.

It's time to stop putting the value of black lives on the back burner.

Do all lives matter? In a perfect world, yes. The day the BLM movement stops and #AllLivesMatter is acceptable, however, is the day true racial equality is achieved.

Like I said, I am not the most qualified person to be writing about this issue because my whole life has been cushioned by white privilege. If I have said anything wrong, please let me know because I am always looking to grow in awareness of the lives and struggles of others. Nonetheless, I hope you leave this article able to come out of the darkness and into the light about why #BlackLivesMatter is important.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that" (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.).