Understanding Black Lives Matter: A Comprehensive Look at Police Violence and Racial Inequality

2023-07-13 19:31:00

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More than 1,000 people die every year in the United States as a result of police violence. Blacks are three times more likely to be killed than whites.

The Sanford, Florida police had a man on the phone. He reported on a suspect: “The guy looks like he’s up to something bad.” The policeman reacts calmly: “Okay – and this guy, is he white, black, or Hispanic?” Response from the caller: “He looks black.” The policeman asks: “Are you following him?” Caller: “Yes.” Policeman: “Okay, you don’t have to do that.” Shortly therefollowing, residents in the neighborhood hear a gunshot.

It was the death of the then 17-year-old Trayvon Martin at the hands of a vigilante and the subsequent acquittal of the accused that marked the beginning of what would later become a global movement known as Black Lives Matter.

Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.

Trayvon Martin was black, the defendant white – like the majority of the jury. After the accused was acquitted, civil rights activist Alicia Garza posted the words on Facebook: “Black people. Ich liebe dich. I love us Our lives matter.” Garza’s friend, Patrisse Cullors, turned it into the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, meaning black lives matter.

Legend: The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has been around for ten years. IMAGO/Addictive Stock

“Black Lives Matter is our call to action,” Cullors said years later, and Alicia Garza adds, “Race is still on a spectrum between black and white in the United States.”

A year later, father of six Eric Garner died in a police officer’s stranglehold with the famous last words “I can’t breathe”.

“Black Lives Matter” gained in importance. The United States now had its first black president, but racism was not over with it: “Race remains a powerful and often divisive force in our society,” said Barack Obama in his farewell speech from the White House.

Biggest social movement

How right he was was shown at the latest with the case of George Floyd. Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. And he stayed on his knees even following George Floyd stopped moving.

The social movement that followed the death of George Floyd was one of the largest in United States history. Millions took to the streets. And it grew explosively on social media.

In the seven days between the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and the police attack on protesters in Lafayette Park in front of the White House, the internet counted around 3.4 million posts and 69 billion following interactions under the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

«Defund the Police»

But stagnation was already lurking in the face of success. According to a recent survey, fewer Americans support Black Lives Matter today than immediately following George Floyd’s death.

Although more than half of those surveyed still consider “Black Lives Matter” to be right and important, the slogan “defund the police” – depriving the police of money – has cost the movement a lot of sympathy.

When we no longer have to say that black lives matter, we know: we have achieved the goal!

At the same time, police officer Chauvin was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in two trials. Two judgments that give the protesters of the time hope that something will change.

“The goal is to no longer have to hold up signs with ‘Black Lives Matter’,” said George Floyd’s aunt recently on the third anniversary of his death. “When we no longer have to say that black lives matter, we know we’ve achieved our goal!”

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