#BLACK LIVES MATTER
"#Blacklives matter" What began as a twitter response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the murder of Travon Marin in Florida. The tweet meant to express dissatisfaction over the court . It quickly gained worldwide support and evolved into a massive social movement. The Black Lives Matter movement demand is for a " System Change" Blacks face more unemployment, black neighborhood are more run down, poorer schools, and blacks face more imprisonment and longer jail/prison terms.
Black Lives Matters frame there message for equality and system reform. They mobilize using social media and have held tireless protests, especially in communities with victims, like Ferguson, Baltimore, Oakland, and Chicago. Hunger strikes, letter writing and in some incidents, rioting has broken out.
Documentary # BLACK LIVES MATTER
This documentary reveals the troubling pandemic of law enforcement nationwide, using deadly force against black men. The film focuses on Baltimore, MD, and Chicago, Il. Statistically, of all those in prison nationally 1/3 are black.
In Baltimore: The acquittal of Zimmerman rocked the black community of Baltimore. Then Baltimore resident, Freddie Gray, was arrested and excessive forece by 6 police officers caused Gray to sustain a broken neck, which lead to his death. Baltimore black neighborhoods are very poor. Some of the brownstone homes that have been boarded since the riots that broke out in response to Martin Luther Kings murder in 1968. A Police helicopter circles their neighborhood daily, yet the city fails to provide basic necessary services, such as trash services. The young black men in the neighborhood ALL see themselves Freddy Gray, a target for the police.
Chicago: The other case study for the breakdown in the system the documentary covers is Chicago. With Factory jobs leaving and not being replaced by any other opportunities, Detriot and other manufacturing, factory, towns have unprecedented levels of unemployment. Chicago's "South Side" residences live with gun violence so dire, in response to the question, "What would you say to someone thinking of move to the South Side?" she responds "Don't come here. It's not safe." Her daughter was murdered, when while in a car with 4 other people, when another driver of a car exchanged words with someone in the front seat, he shot all the people in the car. Not only does Chicago have the same excessive force with law enforcement, but the black community is suffering for gun violence. The kids in these neighborhoods are restricted to stay in their homes, when allowed out, they are told to stay on their street. During the taping, a young boy was killed in a drive-by. He had begged his mom to let him play outside and finally, she agreed.
#Black Lives Matter. When you counter with "all lives matter, you are not recognizing the racism against the African American community."
The movement frames their cause of "Black Lives Matter." It's simple and true. Nationally, over and over again, the evidence, especially cell phone video shows police, in almost all the cases, outnumber the black victim, using excessive and deadly force. As a Nation we should be talking about it and finding a fix. Most of the deadly shooting are occurring within seconds of the of the police showing up. The others who have died from injuries related to police beatings , many officers partook in the beatings. There are people, most of them white, who say the BLM movement is crap, If a 17 year-old George Zimmerman had been killed by a 28 year-old Travon Martin, there would not have been an acquittal. Do you disagree? Marissa Alexander, Floridian was defending herself from an abusive husband by firing a warning shot – A WARNING SHOT!!! She was sentenced to a prison term and did 3 years in prison, before being awarded a lesser sentence and parole.
A change needs t come. Until it does, I hope people continue to mobilize, demonstrate, protest, boycott, write letters to politicians, go on hunger strikes, and even riot for change.
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