It seems that every day we are seeing another article in the news about Black Lives Matter. From the good deeds done by the movement and the important issues they bring up to legal troubles and problems with authority figures. We hear a lot about this movement and the actions they take, but do we know exactly what they want? The name encapsulates the largest ideal of the movement, black lives matter, and that there must be steps taken socially, economically, and culturally in order to create true equality. But while many on-lookers say that they "agree with Black Lives Matter," they might not, in fact, know what they are agreeing with.

Black Lives Matter has been compared to the Civil Rights Movement in its goals of equality and acts of civil resistance and disobedience, but the key difference in the movements can be found in the lack of organization and the decentralization of leadership in Black Lives Matter. This allows for anyone to join the movement and bring their own ideas and values to the table, which is beneficial to it, but it also means that there are people who present themselves as members of the movement who preach ideas that others might not agree with or stand for.

It is hard to compare the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter because of the context in which each took or is taking place. The former occurred when segregation still existed and Jim Crow laws ruled America. Black Lives Matter was popularized by social media and hashtags. They are supported largely by progressive millennials and the president of the United States is, for the first time in history, a man who is not white but, also, African-American. But they also differ in the manner in which they push their ideas onto society. The Civil Rights Movement was led by Dr. Martin Luther King who followed in the peaceful footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, while Beyonce, a supporter of Black Lives Matter performed her song making evident her "blackness" in a Black Panthers-esque outfit.

In no way am I personally saying that black lives do not matter or that I disagree with their main goal. I am giving a look at the movement itself in an objective way to present some of the issues that people have seen with it. I believe that this is, as their website says, "a movement not a moment," and it certainly has the potential to turn the tide for the better. Black Lives Matter has shifted the American people's attention to issues like police brutality and bias as well as general inequality. Now they must be more publicly acknowledged by prominent politicians who can push legislation to actually make a difference, such as allocating funds to public higher education and upgrading poorer neighborhoods (Bernie Sanders has stated that these are ways that he would try to eliminate inequality). The land of the free and home of the brave is more than ready for this revolution.