Het verhaal achter Black Lives Matter
george | Black Lives Matter | floyd | I can’t breath | justice For George Floyd
America is in complete disarray… … after the death of the 46 year old George Floyd. This footage went viral. During his arrest, after allegedly buying a pack of cigarettes… …using a counterfeit 20 dollar bill… …a police officer placed his knee on Floyd’s neck… …for a total of 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Who cried out at least 16 times: “I can’t breath.” Floyd loses consciousness and dies. The officer is accused of murder.
“Bro, he’s not moving!” People are furious. A wave of protests propagate through the United States… …against police violence and racism. Peaceful protests across the country during the day… …but of which some, especially at night, turn grim… …with lots of violence by both protesters and the police. The following can be heard at every protest:
With one slogan in particular: This last one is more than just slogan. It is also the name of the movement… …behind the protests, which are now being heard and seen more than ever. Even far outside the American borders. But what is the meaning behind these three words? This is the story behind Black Lives Matter. It starts with a love letter on Facebook. With a tragic motivation. In 2012 vigilante George Zimmerman shoots and kills… …unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
When Zimmerman is acquitted one year later… …an outburst of indignation follows. This wasn’t particularly the first time. Civil rights activist Alicia Garza reacts to the acquittal with the love letter… …written for the black folks in which she introduces the sentence: “Black lives matter.” “We do not deserve to be killed with impunity. We need to love ourselves and fight for a world in which black lives matter. Black people, I love you. I love us. We’re important. Our lives matter.” Her words catch on fast. Among others by artist Patrisse Cullors who creates the hashtag. …the #blacklivesmatter quickly becomes the mantra of online protests… …against the neglect of and racism violence against black Americans.
The movement evolves even further when writer Opal Tometi joins the association to turn Black Lives Matter into a platform. An organization is born that also pleads for among others… …woman and gay rights. They claim to be inspired by the civil rights movement of Martin Luther King… …the more radical “Black Power”, the Anti-Apartheid Movement… …hip hop, LGBT Q activist groups and “Occupy Wall Street”. Where they stand for is best described by themselves: I’ll cover those last words in a bit.
It doesn’t take long before the Black Lives Matter protests… …move from online to the streets of America. The cause, police officer Darren WIlson shoots and kills unarmed teenager Michael Brown… …and the police officer is aquitted. The footage from then are similar to footage from now. Civil rights activist who demonstrate peacefully… …and harsh confrontations with the police. And that repeats itself in the years after. During the times excessive violence is used against the black community. Like with the death of Eric Garner in New York… …Freddie Gray in Baltimore… …and very recently Ahmaud Arbery in the state of Georgia.
And now George Floyd in Minneapolis. But if on the one hand you see this… …and on the other hand this… …should Black Lives Matter be considered peaceful or looking for direct conflict? The organization itself is very clear about this: Yet videos like these remain in abundance: protests paired with violence. All this violence during the protests… …obviously is strongly condemned here in the US. The looting after Floyd’s death in Minneapolis… …was certainly sparked by anger, frustration and revenge. But other elements were quickly exposed… …abusing the situation. For example left wing extremist activists… … were also out on the streets. And right wing extremist groups… …stirred up the chaos even more. And yes, there were also regular rioters and criminals… …that took the opportunity to rob stores… …all under the creed of Black Lives Matter.
How is this possible? An important cause is that Black Lives Matter’s organisation is decentralized. So it isn’t governed by a hierarchic system. Local departments, of which there are 16 in the US and Canada at the moment… …operate independently to make a difference in their own city or region. Meaning there isn’t one leader like in the times of Martin Luther King and his Civil Rights Movement. Black Lives Matter is both a hashtag for online activists… …and a slogan to shout during protests… …and the name of a social movement… …and a collection of tons of different activist groups who plead for equal rights.
Everywhere in the world. Here in The Netherlands, people also protest under the flag of Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter is attractive from various perspectives. But as a result it has become a catch-all term. That’s what makes it difficult to precisely define what Black Lives Matter stands for. And it leaves room for multiple interpretations; in the media, among activists and by critics. In most cases Black Lives Matter is used at peaceful protests.
But the name is also used to justify violence against the police by shouting the slogan while assaulting police officers. This is how words from a love letter that incites peaceful protest… …can be twisted by others to incite violence. Which is why the entire movement has to account for acts they didn’t commit themselves. For example from New York’s ex-mayor and Trump’s confidant Rudy Giuliani’s perspective: And thus we arrive at the counter movement: “All Lives Matter.”
A critical response towards Black Lives Matter. Because does that mean other lives do not matter? The reasoning behind All Lives Matter is that everybody is equal, regardless of ethnicity. And that society is supposed to be colorblind. “Yes, that is true” is Black Lives Matter’s opinion as well. But their objection to All Lives Matter is that because of racism and racist violence, this equality doesn’t exist yet. To illustrate this reasoning this cartoon is widely shared. Yes, of course all houses matter… …but when one is on fire, that house should really be extinguished before any others. Back to George Floyd. Because why is it that especially now things are escalating?
One reason of course is the shocking footage of Floyd’s death. Which was captured in detail by multiple cameras and witnesses. And was watched in no time by millions via social media. But, in these crazy times, there are more causes. This America-expert summarizes them: “The times are different. It’s like a perfect storm in a country.
Which is in an economic crisis, a political crisis, a healthcare crisis… …and where police violence is often present in black communities… …which are more vulnerable to the corona virus. In a very politically unsettled country which is what makes it feel different.” Not only in America, across the entire globe. Here in The Netherlands the pain is also felt.
That is what the protesters want to make clear. From Groningen to The Hague and from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. “Racism affects everybody and racism is surely present here in The Netherlands.” So…, where are we at?
Reality is that large parts of the black population in the Western world… …after a history with slavery and severe oppression… …still have to deal with inequality when it comes to… the distribution of wealth, job opportunities… …education, healthcare, housing… …and have to deal with racism and racist police violence. And that this footage… …and this footage… …will continue to repeat themselves if nothing changes.