How Black Lives Matter Rose From ‘Radical’ Group to Respected Voice for Social Justice

When a Florida jury acquitted Trayvon Martin’s killer in July 2013, the verdict dashed hopes of justice for the 17-year-old stalked and fatally shot by a white neighborhood watch coordinator who claimed self-defense, but it birthed a movement that has mobilized the world around racial justice for Black Americans. Seven years later, Black Lives Matter stands at the helm of the social justice outrage powering protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in broad daylight by a white officer who was recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.

During a virtual town hall earlier this week, former President Barack Obama directed some of his remarks specifically to young men and women of color.

“I want you to know you matter, that your lives matter, that your dreams matter,” said the nation’s 44^th President.

Perhaps, there is no more legitimate stamp of approval than one issued by Mr. Obama, who remains widely respected at home and abroad. His summation of the fundamental message of Black Lives Matter signals a significant milestone in BLM’s evolution from a scrappy, rebellion of young Blacks with a penchant for headline-grabbing confrontations to a full-fledged global force capable of galvanizing support for sustainable changes in public policy. Their grassroots resume and street cred are marked by protests over the killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and the litany of other Black Americans killed by police.

“I started this week feeling hopeful, but also I’m shocked, honestly,” said Alicia Garza, one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter. “I mean, this week, you know, we heard President Obama say, ‘Black Lives Matter’ and put out in a list of organizations that you can take action with that the work that Black Lives Matter is doing is important in this moment. He actually names the Movement for Black Lives and the Black Futures Lab…what a difference seven years make.”

Garza made the remarks during a webinar Wednesday night and recalled the early days when critics attempted to paint the organization as a terrorist group and countered the statement, ‘Black Lives Matter’ with ‘All Lives Matter’ or ‘Blue Lives Matter’.

Earlier this week, the longtime TV announcer for the Sacramento Kings, Grant Napear, lost his job after tweeting ‘All Lives Matter’ when DeMarcus Cousins’ queried Napear for an opinion of Black Lives Matter. Napear’s fate reflects the public elevation of BLM’s work for social justice. Bonneville International, which owned the station where Napear worked said, “The timing of Grant’s tweet was particularly insensitive.”

And, amid the lingering pushback against ‘Black Lives Matter’, celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Seth Rogen have attempted to explain the philosophy behind the phrase.

As protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder continue their global ripple, Garza said, “My heart is also broken because I don’t fetishize what rebellion means or looks like. The reality is while people are rising up, while they are stepping forward to say,  ‘We have to change what’s happening in this society’, we’re out here because once again, once again, a Black person’s life has been extinguished at the hands of the people who are supposed to keep us save.”