The trend "White Lives Matter" generated controversy on Twitter when nearly 40,000 people took to social media to express their support -- or discontent -- for the hashtag.
The latest development in the conversation about race relations in the United States is a result of the Aug. 26 shooting of Virginia journalists Allison Parker and Adam Ward by former reporter, Bryce Williams. Parker and Ward are white, whereas Williams is black.
Those in favor of the hashtag appear to be responding to Black Lives Matter activists, who fervently utilize social media to gain support. Specifically, the racially motivated murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, as well as the church massacre in Charleston, S.C., ignited #BlackLivesMatter online. The group raises awareness for police brutality, mass incarceration, and structural racism committed against black Americans.
It is unclear if "White Lives Matter" advocates will mobilize like their Black Lives Matter counterparts. However, it is certain that many continue to unapologetically support the ideals of the hashtag.
Not only do those talking about #WhiteLivesMatter in relation to the Virginia shooting fundamentally misunderstand what #BlackLivesMatter is all about, but they also misunderstand the historical context of black systematic oppression.
White lives have always mattered and were at the forefront of legislation well into the mid-20th century.
When the Constitution was drafted in 1787, the intention of those who framed the document was to protect the interests of its citizens: white men.
Consequently, Article I Sec. 2 (slaves count as 3/5ths of a person), Article I Sec. 9 (no power to ban slavery until 1808), and Article IV Sec. 2 (free states cannot protect slaves) were included and upheld in the federal government.
The 13th amendment, which formally abolished slavery, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865, 89 years after the foundation of the United States.
The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling in 1896 mandated legal racial segregation with a separate and unequal status for African Americans.
It wasn't until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, nearly 200 years after the birth of the United States, was discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin outlawed.
And yet, large racial disparities continue to exist in America.
Black Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites for the same crimes.
Many black Americans do not have the same access to quality educational resources needed in order to advance in the marketplace.
And black women earn 64 cents for every dollar compared to white women who earn 78 cents per dollar.
To say that all lives matter is rudimentary. When anyone, regardless of their race or ethnicity, is murdered in the United States, injustice has occurred.
It is unnecessary to emphasize "white lives matter" because mainstream society has reinforced this ideal since the inception of the nation. The black-American experience continues to be distinct, and until that changes, the legitimacy of the slogan "Black Lives Matter" will endure.
