In 2013, three activists in the United States—Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi—created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in response to the miscarriage of justice in the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the man who killed Trayvon Martin. What began as a social media post quickly grew into a global cry for justice, equality, and the recognition of Black humanity.
#BlackLivesMatter resonated deeply because it named a painful truth: that Black lives have too often been treated as if they don’t matter as much as the lives of others. The many, many wrongful deaths: Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Daniel Prude, and thousands of others, form a tragic, shameful list that is impossible to ignore.
For the first time, it seemed the world was finally beginning to acknowledge the full scale of the injustice, the full breadth of systemic racism. A critical mass of public awareness spread like a wave. The police brutality. The barriers to healthcare and education. The underpayment and exploitation of Black labor. The mass incarceration. The vigilante violence. The murders. Way too much. For far, far too long.
Black Lives Matter has been more than a movement, it has ushered in a stand for change, truth, and justice. And in this time of polarized political unrest and the alarming resurgence of the far-right, the message has been more urgent than ever.
Now is the time for action, for solidarity, and coalition. Because Black lives do matter, very, very much.