Making All Black Lives Matter

The murder of Trayvon Martin kick-started the Black Lives Matter movement. I think this particular event, although it wasn’t unusual, ignited such a response because he was an innocent young black boy who was killed only because the white man who took his life assumed that he was doing something illegal purely because of the color of his skin. This movement was perceived as radical at the time, but it simply came as a response to the hardship that the black community was facing at the time. The state of the economy and the African-American person's position in the United States at, and leading up to, the point of Trayvon’s murder were contributing factors. At the time America was in an economic crisis, and this especially affected people of color. I think the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black Power movement are similar in this way because both came from African-Americans being fed up with their treatment in a system that has never been created to see them thrive. The Black Lives Matter movement is considered problematic, and the response is the “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter”. However, in my opinion, saying black lives matter is not an attack on anyone else's life. Its purpose is to draw attention to the fact that black people are at an obvious disadvantage in the social structure. Trayvon Martin was murdered because America has created a system in which black people are more likely to be incarcerated and to be considered a criminal. After Zimmerman was cleared of all charges in the murder of Martin, it became clear that the lives of African-Americans in the United States do not matter. Which is clear because the American economy was founded on the backs of people of color during slavery. Black lives were always used to benefit white people, and the Trayvon Martin case highlighted this. From this, the need for the Black Lives Matter Movement emerged.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 1, 2019 at 5:55 PM

    I agree with Callie's deduction that the Black Lives Matter movement emerged out of a deep frustration with America's economic and social treatment of black lives. Unfortunately, Trayvon's murder was indeed not unusual; black bodies have been destroyed almost ritualistically throughout history by America's racist structure. The stark innocence of Trayvon combined with the gated community of his murder site and the acquittal of Zimmerman were all factors that resulted in a public outcry of grief and injustice. The comparison between the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black Power movement is an important one; both were indeed grown out of rage and pain, and both seek to affirm black worth and agency amidst a system that does not value their lives, traumas, or contributions. However, Black Lives Matter has the benefit of black feminist framework, making it more specifically inclusive of black womanhood and intersectional issues that the Black Power movement did not quite address in its time. The Black Lives Matter movement is definitely controversial on the basis of its name, but I agree that this controversy stems from deep ignorance and a misunderstanding of its goal. To express "Black Lives Matter" is not to say all other lives do not matter, but to instead acknowledge that black lives are disproportionately at risk and devalued, more so than any others. People who respond with "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" are ignoring the specific traumas and obstacles black people face; it is a shame that these are always expressed in rebuttal to "Black Lives Matter," as if the idea that black lives should receive particular attention and uplifting is so offensive it must be shot down or attacked. Trayvon Martin's case did not necessarily give birth to the outrage black people have been feeling about their disenfranchisement and displacement, but it certainly did highlight the attitude of the criminal justice system toward African Americans, allowing for a clear foundation of the Black Lives Matter movement.

    Hannah Flick

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