Reflecting On The 10-Year Legacy Of Black Lives Matter

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Black Lives Matter formally turned 10 years previous on Thursday, leaving us with a whole decade’s value of legacy to ponder over.

Whether or not you just like the group or not, there is no such thing as a denying the affect BLM has had on the world.

What began as a hashtag created by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, which emerged on the scene in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, was one of many largest actions in U.S. historical past.

Researchers have estimated that 15 million to 26 million folks in america participated within the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

Since then, Black Lives Matter has develop into a polarizing group that oftentimes finds itself within the crosshairs of political warfare.

So how did we get right here?

On this piece, we are going to focus on the 10-year legacy of Black Lives Matter in all of its glory in addition to all of its ache. When a catalyst for change is created that change can’t be managed.

In 2018, whereas I used to be working in viewers improvement, I got here throughout a instrument that might permit me to extract social media hashtag information to make higher selections about how and when to make use of sure tags. The Black Lives Matter Motion was in full swing and the hashtag was nonetheless extremely popular amongst Twitter customers, however how standard was very intriguing to me. So I began digging into the analysis software program utilizing particular dates that centered across the motion. I quickly got here to comprehend that the hashtag #Blacklivesmatter was one of the crucial impactful hashtag revolutions the younger platform had ever seen.

After teen Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted in 2013, many individuals took to Twitter to voice their frustrations utilizing the hashtag. It grew right into a social motion in opposition to violence and systemic racism towards Black folks.

Sadly, the analytics platform couldn’t pull information from 2013, so I put my pondering cap on and got here up with different necessary dates centered round moments that have been rallying cries for Black ache.

On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling was killed by police whereas being recorded by a number of bystanders.

On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot and killed by police whereas being recorded on Fb Stay.

These two movies instantly was viral sensations prompting the #blacklivesmatter hashtag right into a frenzy.

Black Lives Matter protestors gather during a peaceful protest in Merrick, N.Y., in 2020

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Don’t simply take my phrase for it, peep the numbers.

In 2016 on Twitter, the hashtag #blacklivesmatter had 31.3 billion impressions, from 11.7 million mentions by 8.7 million customers.

Within the week that Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have been killed by police the hashtag #blacklivesmatter had 10.4 billion impressions from 4.4 million mentions by 3.7 million customers.

Thirty-four p.c of all of the impressions created by the #blacklivesmatter hashtag in 2016 occurred the week that Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have been killed.

The hashtag #blacklivesmatter reached 62 million folks an hour the day Alton Sterling was killed.

In the event you adopted that very same pattern, it will take 5 hours to succeed in all the inhabitants of america and one hour to succeed in all the inhabitants of the UK.

After taking a second to digest the numbers I knew proper then Black Lives Matter was a motion right here to remain. However at the same time as massive because the numbers have been, it nonetheless simply felt like numbers and probably not a bodily motion. Sure, people purchased hoodies and posted movies supporting BLM and the households who misplaced family members; the entire 9, however the motion nonetheless felt prefer it lived on social media.

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All of that modified on Could 25, 2020, when George Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin after being arrested for allegedly utilizing a counterfeit $20 invoice. After the world watched Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes, the oldsters took to the streets with a objective and Black Lives Matter was now at your entrance door.

In keeping with Brookings, 94% of the individuals who joined the protests after Floyd’s loss of life reported racial justice and/or police brutality/Black Lives Matter as certainly one of their causes for becoming a member of the crowds. This made Black Lives Matter extraordinarily standard and in addition highly effective.

The nationwide protests in 2020 have led to significant adjustments together with the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, the George Floyd Legislation Enforcement Belief and Integrity Act, the Ending Certified Immunity Act, and an Govt Order on Protected Policing for Protected Communities. Many cities and states additionally adopted legal guidelines centered across the homicide of George Floyd.

BLM’s newfound recognition put a goal on the group’s again, with conservatives collaborating in each smear marketing campaign doable to attempt to harm the motion. By 2020, a lot of the founders had moved on from the group, however it continued to develop. In keeping with its web site, the group has greater than 40 chapters everywhere in the world.

However the group hasn’t been devoid of scandal and controversy. After asserting its creator home in 2022, many critics questioned the acquisition of the $6 million Southern California residence and the way the group was utilizing its funds.

Though the recognition of the group has waned within the final three years after the homicide of George Floyd the motion remains to be robust, with about half of U.S. adults saying they nonetheless help the motion, in keeping with Pew Analysis.

Prefer it or not, Black Lives Matter was certainly one of if not the biggest social actions America has ever seen, and Black folks ought to by no means let it die or be forgotten.