![]() ![]() That makes me feel hopeful, but I don't have illusions at this stage that everything is going to change tomorrow.Įven though this time is really intense, it makes me hopeful because this is the second time around. And that it's forcing people across all walks of life, all sectors in our economy, and every corner of the planet really, to assess whether we are where we need to be-and what we need to do to get to where we're trying to go. The fact that Black Lives Matter is such a major part of our global conversation right now. When I'm in my right mind, what I say is, what a time to be alive. The statement asks you, do you believe Black lives matter? And if so, is that the world that we live in right now? And if not, what are we going to do to close the gap there? In this insane moment-in the midst of protests, pandemic, and the faltering economy-what, if anything, is giving you hope?Įverything, actually. You can't say some Black lives matter or they kind of matter or they matter sometimes. Here we are seven years later, and I think what's become clear is that some of the discomfort with this statement is that it forces you to choose sides. It really is a very direct assertion of both a problem and a solution at the same time. “Black lives matter” is so simple and yet so complex. Why do you think the three words “Black lives matter” have so much power? Garza, who also heads up the politics and policy organization Black Futures Lab, recently spoke with National Geographic about this historic moment and what she thinks will happen next. The question now is, Well, what do you mean?” ( Hear from those marching for racial justice.) “Now everybody’s saying Black lives matter. Now, with the death of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter protests have erupted around the world and the words themselves are painted in massive yellow letters on the street leading up to the White House.Īt first “we were fighting people to even say Black lives matter,” says Garza, who created the Black Lives Matter Global Network with Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors. The July 13, 2013, acquittal of George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, sparked her post.Ī year later, the shooting of Michael Brown, another unarmed Black teen, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, galvanized Black Lives Matter to become a national organization. ![]() When Alicia Garza wrote “Black lives matter” in a Facebook post nearly seven years ago, the activist from Oakland, California, never imagined that those words would come to define a global movement. ![]()
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