#BlackLivesMatter - Beyond the Hashtag

Black lives matter (BLM) is a global activist movement that campaigns against racism, discrimination, and violence towards black people.

The world is hurting. The Black community is fighting for their lives. Radical change is necessary. To change, each one of us need to become aware of how racism lives within us and how it is perpetuated through us.

Catalyzed by George Floyd’s death, America and the world has seen the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement grow exponentially. Despite this on-going crisis, many young people join the protest to reform the past and stop racism. Racism is not limited to the issue of ‘a few bad cops’ in the United States, rather it's the thought within people that needs to change.

Real Talk

If I hear one more person say “Black Lives Matter” I think my head will explode. The slogan, powerful when first popularized by black people after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012 in the US, has now become so everywhere that it lost almost all meaning. A way for people to endlessly repeat “I hate racism” while doing nothing to actually, besides repeatedly post on social media.

Even racists hate racism. That’s why they’re always looking for ways to excuse what they do.

“It’s not my fault – black people are just a bit more criminal than white people.” “I’m not being racist – it’s just that a lot of Muslims are terrorists.” “I’d love to recruit a black person – it’s just that they’re not quite the right fit for this role.”

They’re the words people say in private – or don’t say – when they’re making the decisions that really matter. They are the words that determine whether someone gets that job, or that business contract, or that university place, or that rented room.

Change

So there it is: we have officers disproportionately targeting black people, and nothing said to them in advance about being aware of the danger of racial stereotyping. This is where leadership really counts: the day-to-day decisions, at the most senior levels, that affect thousands of lives. To make lasting change, blacks ultimately have to get out of their houses and into the rooms where these decision-makers operate.