F1. Black Lives Matter protest
As many of you know, the Black Lives Matter movement had a resurgence during the summer of 2020. The fuel that started it was the death of George Floyd on May 25th. The police were called after Floyd paid for cigarettes with a fake $20 bill. When police confronted him, he appeared intoxicated. They attempted to handcuff Floyd who was resisting arrest. To subdue him, Officer Dereck Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground with his knee firmly placed against Floyd’s head and neck. Floyd was killed by this action as he had underlying health conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. This altercation between the police and George Floyd was recorded by bystanders and soon everybody around the world had seen the video. Protests quickly erupted across the nation, spanning over 150 U.S. cities.
These protests only grew stronger as news of other reports of police brutality and systematic racism. These included the attacks on Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and Jacob Blake. Taylor, Brooks, and Blake were all shot by police officers, but Blake was the only one to survive. Arbery was shot and killed by father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, while on a jog in his neighborhood in Brunswick, GA. This one hits especially home for me as my grandparents live in Brunswick, GA and its scary to think that people capable of such horrible actions lived so close to loved ones.
F2. Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC
These acts of police brutality and racism incited protests of all forms. Some people were so hurt and afraid that they rioted. Minneapolis was one of the worst hit cities with more than 1,050 properties sustaining damages. This being said, over 93% of the protests across the nation have been peaceful. People walked hand in hand, putting their lives in the risk of coronavirus and police brutality, marching to protest the systemic racism in the U.S. Another form of protest came on social media with the effort of Black Out Tuesday. Black Out Tuesday consisted of people posting a single black square with little to no caption to offer a time to reflect on the racism around us. Many cities have showed their support of the Black Lives Matter movement by dedicating a segment of road to be painted with the words “Black Lives Matter.”
A second wave of protests came after the shooting of Jacob Blake. NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, tennis and other professional sports took a pause from playing to protest the injustice of society on people of color. While the protests have died down now, the racism is still there and every abundant.
I appreciate how you mentioned that while there were riots out of anger and being fed up by the racism in our country, 93% of these protests were peaceful, showing that most of these demonstrations were civil. It is amazing to see that despite the pandemic, people nationwide banded together to civilly show their support of wanting this hate to end. I also think that Also, by big groups, such as the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and many other sports teams, using their platforms and voices to condemn the injustice allows for the message to be further publicized, and maybe even resonate with more people.
I feel that the sports leagues and associations recognizing the racial injustices occurring in this country was a good move in order to reach a broader audience. While protests still occur, they have died down as well as the attention on BLM and the racial injustices being addressed across the world. I think that some people tend to think the only thing they can do to help is to go to a protests, but it’s simply not everyone’s scene. So, we can get educated in the safety of our homes, reading those recommended books, watching those recommended films, and befriending people online and making genuine connections. I appreciate your post because it’s a reminder that not everyone has forgotten about us.
When people talk about the protests, they almost always mention the riots. That’s why I liked that you mentioned that so many of the protests were peaceful; they were not there to do any harm. People against the Black Lives Matter movement tried to use the riots against those that were for it saying that the movement did not want change, just chaos. We know that this is not true and yes the riots were a bit extreme at time but to see what people were willing to do for this cause was inspiring. They were willing to burn cities to the ground if meant others would just pay attention and listen for even a moment. It is disheartening to see the media talking about the movement less and less lately as this is something that we can not give up on.
This is definitely a defining part of 2020. It’s going down in the history books for our kids and grandkids to witness. Although the police brutality and white supremacist events that lead to the increase in protests and momentum for the Black Lives Matter movement were horrific, it’s good to see these issues brought to light in order to enact some real change.