The United States of America has for decades conditioned the world into thinking that it indeed was and still is the beacon of freedom. The 1st Amendment of the constitutional law has become synonymous with a trite that is quoted in the most unsuspected places. However, not so far in History after the abolitionist movement took place in the USA, and the black slaves were lawfully freed – instances like Rosewood Massacre and Tulsa war served as a reminder that perhaps, the racism had indeed seeped deep in the culture of the American land. And perhaps, laws alone did not do much justice to help mitigate the cause of Black People and perhaps, there was still a dire need for the institutional as well as, societal racism to be dismantled from the ground up.
The 21st century seemed like an era for American Redemption, it had just gained the status of a world superpower and no place on earth seemed as safe and free as America – especially for the minorities. But this veneer was soon shattered as the hashtag “Black Lives Matter” started trending on various social media platforms following the murder of an unarmed 17-year-old Black teen, Trayvon Martin, by the hands of George Michael Zimmerman. To add to the tragedy, George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man (at the time) pleaded self-defense for the murder of an unarmed teen and was soon acquitted with no additional charges. This particular incident was the starting point for what was to become an international phenomenon. This incident also gave a much-needed insight into the very systematic nature of Racism and the fact that even in the 21st century, racism was still thriving in the nooks and crannies of the American dream. However, Trayvon Martin was just one of the many black lives that would meet a tragic demise and George Zimmerman was one of many white Americans that were to get acquitted with little to no penalty for taking a human life.
The movement started gaining more heat as the cases of brutality against black people started to make it to mainstream media. For instance, not soon after the demise of Martin – Eric Garner’s brutal murder by a New York Police department (NYPD) officer was caught on tape and went viral. In another instance, Michael Brown, another Black man was shot to death by a white police officer in Ferguson. And through these tragedies, the black lives matter movement became not just a glaring reminder, but a sine qua non for people of color.
It can be said that the Black lives matter (BLM) was the modern-day black civil rights movement with the internet and social media at its pivot points (According to Hooker in "Black Lives Matter and the paradoxes of US Black politics: From democratic sacrifice to democratic repair"). The protests entailing these tragedies amassed cities and then states – from Ferguson to Baltimore, Missouri to Maryland. It became a social conundrum, however, one thing was for sure that its cultural and social impact could not have been – in any way – denied. Ever since the first protest took place, around 30 different BLM chapters emerged from all across the United States with the same demand each time which was to, “eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities ...” (Read more about it here). And for the most part, this movement was the only social force pushing the authorities to serve justice where it was due. For instance, BLM members in Chicago successfully fought for the dismissal of Police Chief Officer, Charlie Beck under the campaign, “Decolonize LA City Hall.” On the other hand, in New York, BLM members demanded a National Day of Remembrance for the victims of police violence which did not go as successfully. Even with some policy failures and several unmet demands, the movement had a rather historical impact on National Conversations vis à vis policing. The movement also penetrated into the political landscape of the country with the foundation of “Black Futures Lab,” that aims to foster and nurture Black political power during elections.
It is also important to point out the
very multi-dimensional nature of BLM and how it became a sort of “catch-all”
for the people of color fighting against racism in the United States. It was
not only able to tap into the political arena but its cultural and social
impact was even huge. With Twitter being at the forefront and every hashtag
relevant to the movement instantly becomes a sensation, the movement was successful
enough to garner the attention of the most elite cohort from all around America. The
hashtag only grew more meaningful as more black victims surfaced. For example,
in 2014 the #BlackLivesMatter was shared 39.2 million times on Twitter, while
in 2020 – after the unfortunate murder of a Black male, George Floyd – the
number of tweets grew more than twofold, making it around 100 million retweets
per month (Kivvit Stats) – pushing the protest forward in new ways.
It was not only the government or the people that were actuated by the BLM movement; giant corporations were also propelled
to show solidarity to save their own repute. Around 62 Fortune 500 companies
openly expressed that they stood for the BLM cause. Many corporations
found themselves under fire for their ill-treatment of people of color, for
example, Conde Nast’s Food Publication “Bon appetite” was largely criticized for
its mistreatment of BIPOC employees and for underpaying them as compared to
their white peers. As a consequence, half of the staff resigned as a token of
support for their mistreated colleagues.
In just seven years, the movement has seen exponential growth. It paved its way from merely condemning the authoritative
figures to fighting for changes in the government, corporal policies, and
legislation. In addition to this, the social media statistics vehemently back the
movement, proving that it is indeed reminiscent of the modern revolution for
black people and that it will maintain its grip on society in years to come.
No comments