End Your Silence. Support Black Lives Matter

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The United States is divided right now on many levels. It’s broken up into many factions, but for the purposes of this piece, there is only one area of concern: The Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). There isn’t room for a middle ground in this instance, you’re either pro-Black Lives Matter, or against it. That doesn’t mean that those sitting in silence, don’t have an opinion on the matter, they have one, they’re just not choosing to share it with the public.

As the saying goes, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” However, there can’t be a solution if you don’t understand the problem in the first place. You should not make assumptions about what the movement is about, why it exists, the history behind continued racism in the United States, or what their mission is really about.

It’s Personal

Now is the time for my silence to come to an end. It’s far too easy to adopt the mentality of “it’s not my problem.” because I’m a white and I’ve never been subject to discrimination due to my skin color. I’ll never fully understand what it’s like to feel like an outsider, a minority, or an outcast by society. However, I do support the movement and I do take it quite personally.

My niece and nephews are biracial, having a white mother and a black father. However, no one could know that from looking at the color of their skin. For those just giving them a quick once over, they would be identified as black. Their lives matter more to me than my own at this point in my life. For them, and for all of those that have been or may be discriminated against in the future, I fully stand by the movement.

If you take the time to educate yourself on the movement, I don’t think that you could find a valid reason NOT to support the movement. Though slavery was abolished over 400 years ago, and the civil rights movement ended in the 1960’s when laws were passed to end legalized racial discrimination, it doesn’t mean that true reform actually set in. It’s not over. The laws were changed, but the mentality has lingered. The time has now come for actual social change to come about and it starts with the declaration of 3 words “Black Lives Matter.”

What is the Black Lives Matter Movement?

It’s a statement, a name, a slogan, a hashtag to follow in order to speak up for black communities. This movement did not begin after the murder of George Floyd whereby a policeman held Floyd face down on the ground with his knee on his back for nearly 9 minutes, resulting in his death. It did, however, begin with the death of black child, Trayvon Martin in 2013.

Trayvon was only 17 years old at the time. His murderer was acquitted of all charges, birthing the movement of Black Lives Matter to fight against the injustices towards black people. Trayvon was no the first, nor the last black person to not receive justice for the crime committed against him. He was, however, the spark the inspired the movement to begin. This is not just a fight for Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade or Breonna Taylor. This is a fight for all elimination of racism, inequality, and injustice for all black people, past, present, and future in this country. It’s the fight against racism.

Why some don’t support the movement.

There is seems to be a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to the BLM movement. From its inception in 2013, the argument against the #blacklivesmatter was rebutted by many with the reply “All lives matter.” And why yes, that’s true, it’s also not the point. To quote the stand-up comedian Michael Che “That would be like if your wife came up to you and was like, ‘Do you love me?’ And you were like, ‘Baby, I love everybody, what are you talking about?’”

The movement cannot gain any ground without support on the cause – that simply Black Lives Matter. Not that they matter more, not that they matter most, they just MATTER. If you believe that all lives matter, then you should have no qualm with declaring that black lives matter since they are part of the “all lives” that you say matter. Set the semantics aside, black lives matter.

Another common misconception is that if you’re for the black lives movement, you must be against cops. And that’s clearly not the case. For lack of better phrase, it’s not a black and white or an all or nothing issue. You can respect and have love for law enforcement AND support BLM. It’s about fighting against racists – and some of those people might be cops, but hat doesn’t mean that they get all lumped together.

And last, the other problem is people think that if you believe in the cause, you also support looting and riots. Again, lumping things together will get us no where. They’re all separate. If you choose to march in a peaceful protest, you’re not for looting and rioting.

In summary, when you say you support Black Lives Matter it does NOT mean that you:

• Think only black lives matter
• Hate all cops and law enforcement
• Believe in rioting and looting

It does mean:

• You are against policy brutality
• You acknowledge and are adamantly against systematic racism. See Ben & Jerry’s break down on systemic racism.
• Admit there is an injustice towards black individuals

How to support the black lives matter movement:

No matter who you side with or what party you affiliate with, you should always listen to the other side before forming your opinions. Education is the end of racism. It’s not looting, not protesting, but it has to start somewhere.

Educate yourself with books.

Buy them on Amazon, or rent them from the library.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness 

How to Be an Antiracist

They Can’t Kill Us All: The Story of the Struggle for Black Lives

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

Explore the documentaries on Netflix

Netflix has an entire category now dedicated to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Here are some of the best documentaries that I believe do a great job at telling the story of white supremacy and systemic racism.

13th

This documentary exposes and analyzes the flaws in the U.S. prison system that disproportionately afflict the Black community. 

Watch the trailer:

LA 92

The history of police brutality and the Los Angeles uprisings following the 1992 acquittal of the four white police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King.

Watch the Trailer:

Teach Us All

This documentary analyzes where our country stands since Brown vs. Board of Education and we are still segregated despite this landmark decision.

Merchandise

Showing support for the Black Lives matter movement makes a statement outside in your community. if it’s in your face it cannot be ignored. It puts a spotlight on the issue, where it belongs.