Black Lives Matter Rewind: This is What You Missed
According to the Washington Post, African Americans are more than three times as likely to be shot and killed by a police officer than white Americans, even though they account for less than 13 percent of the U.S. population. When George Floyd was killed by a police office in Minneapolis, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was rekindled. The movement led people from across the country to reflect on the severity of systemic racism against African Americans and to further advocate for their rights. A Washington Post study demonstrates the primary motivation behind the BLM movement: to achieve racial equality for all.
Peninsula junior Amanda Rucker is a member of the Black Student Union (BSU) at Peninsula and strongly believes in BLM’s cause of eliminating racial injustices and working toward a safer world for Black individuals in the US.
“I was born in Alabama and my parents were [judged] because they are an interracial couple,” Rucker said. “My grandfather was judged and arrested based on the color of his skin. It sickens me to think that just because of the color of your skin, you can be subjected to unfair treatment.”
After Floyd’s murder, a multitude of racial injustices against African Americans gained attention and sparked outrage nationwide. One example is Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back seven times by police on Aug. 23 outside of an apartment complex in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The shooting happened in front of Blake’s three children and was caught on video. Outrage spread quickly, bringing attention back to the BLM movement, which was gradually declining since the height of the protesting this past summer. The deaths of George Floyd, Elijah McClain, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans at the hands of the police led millions of people to demonstrate on streets across the country in hopes of bringing about reform in police departments, though many police brutality cases have yet to be brought to light.
Peninsula junior Grecia Merino-Cornejo is a BLM and general civil rights activist who hopes that more of these cases will be brought to court and that additional federal action will be taken to prevent further lives from being lost. However, she is worried that BLM is losing momentum.
“I think the movement has definitely been dying down,” Merino-Cornejo said. “That is insane to me because Black Lives Matter is not a trend.”
After the protesting in June, the public support for BLM faded. According to the Washington Post, 61 percent of Americans supported BLM in mid-June; more recent polls show that general approval has dropped to 48 percent. This could be because many Americans have now associated the violence occurring at protest locations with the peaceful protesting itself. Most believe that the violence at protests has caused people to view the BLM movement in a negative light.
“It upsets me that people associate the riots with BLM,” Merino-Cornejo said. “[The riots] were often caused by outsiders who were jumping into the action. When you look at the footage, you see that the police were starting the violence [by throwing] tear gas or shoving protesters.”
Peninsula Coed Choreo dance coach Danyel Moulton uses her social media platforms to speak about the BLM movement. She has been aware of the issue of racism all her life and has experienced it firsthand, strengthening her support of the movement. Moulton believes that the riots should not deter others from advocating for the cause.
“If people are not willing to support this movement because of the riots, I urge [them] to find out why the riots have started in the first place and why these people are targeted because of their race,” Moulton said.
Although the general support for BLM has somewhat died down, progress is still being made. The advancement in Breonna Taylor’s case significantly boosted morale, as it was recently seen in front of a Kentucky grand jury in September. Taylor’s family will be paid $12 million by the city of Louisville, and changes will be instituted within the police department with the aim of preventing future deaths by officers. This progress makes participants of the movement hopeful and encourages them to continue working toward equality, although the officers were not formally charged with murder.
Merino-Cornejo believes there is much left to be done in regards to the BLM movement. She encourages students to get involved and learn about the movement in every way that they can, for it does not matter how old one is, there are always ways to take action.
“Our generation does not yet hold positions of power, but there are still so many things we can do for this cause,” Merino-Cornejo said. “We can stay informed and write letters, go to marches and sign petitions. The important thing is that we keep this movement alive and that we do our best to [ignite] change.”
