Social media reporting is on the rise as cellphone videos quickly go viral, with global video sharing allowing the world to bear witness to tragedy and injustice. Social media has changed the game when it comes to policing, reporting and social organizing, allowing non-mainstream narratives to gain traction and popularity. The #BlackLivesMatter movement has been one of the most successful social media movements, created in 2012 after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's killer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted and Martin was posthumously placed on trial for his own murder. Founders of the movement Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors saw a need to build an online forum where Black people and their allies could spark dialogue surrounding anti-Black racism and foster social action and engagement. Their hashtag movement is all about affirming the importance of Black lives while making sure the hashtag exists not only on social media but also in the streets to create political-social change.
However, very quickly after #BlackLivesMatter took off on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, the founders saw adaptations of their hashtag popping up on various social media -- #AllLivesMatter, #BlueLivesMatter, #MigrantLivesMatter, etc. Despite the numerous murders of Black people that were publicized through endlessly shared citizen reports and cellphone videos, many saw the Black Lives Matter hashtag as unnecessary, privileging the plight of Black folk over the lives of others. Unfortunately, for some, the name of the movement was interpreted to mean that only Black lives matter. For many Americans, the continued need to struggle for Black liberation in the United States has largely been erased by the mainstream narrative, with racism and the struggle for Black lives thought to be a part of our history and not our present. Those who pushed for the All Lives Matter hashtag, in particular, didn't understand the urgency and necessity of specifically affirming that Black lives matter.
Deeper research into the #BlackLivesMatter movement, though, shows that the movement is actually full of love and nuance for all lives. They understand their work to improve the entire world as beginning with improving and liberating Black lives. On blacklivesmatter.com/herstory, it is specifically stated that "When Black people get free, everybody gets free. This is why we call on Black people and our allies to take up the call that Black Lives Matter. We're not saying Black Lives are more important than other lives, or that other lives are not criminalized and oppressed in various ways. We remain in active solidarity with all oppressed people who are fighting for their liberation and we know that our destinies are intertwined." The #BlackLivesMatter movement, created by three incredible, queer Black women, is working to shift the idea that racial justice is only the work of cis-gender Black men to protect cis-gender Black men. While Black liberation movements in the past have been centered around straight cis-gender Black men, #BlackLivesMatter seeks to reach across intersectionalities and affirm the lives of queer and trans people, disabled people, black-undocumented people, people with records, Black women and all who have been historically marginalized in Black liberation movements. The movement calls for human rights and dignity for all, with their hashtag centering on the loving affirmation of Black lives.
Rather than attempting to privilege Black lives over other lives, the #BlackLivesMatter movement is striving to point out that Black lives do matter -- and when we look at the evidence social media reporting has allowed us to witness, it is obvious why they see the need to remind us all that Black lives matter. The tragic litany of names that we have all memorized over the past few years is a flashing warning sign that the United States is not the land of the free for everyone, that the murder of children is not just something that happens outside of our borders, and that constantly saying that "America is the greatest country on Earth" does not mean we do not have work to do. If what we really, truly believe is that all lives matter, then we have to show it -- it is time to stand and fight for Black lives and their liberation, so we can all truly be free. #BlackLivesMatter
