About Black Lives Matter Movement

The fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution are inherent for all. There is no question that all people (blacks, Latinos, Indians, or white) were created free and equal with certain inalienable rights. This is a universally accepted principle. Segregation and racism against minorities in this country have been widely discussed, and prominent figures have taken a stand asking people to join in the fight for equality. This stand addresses the significance of black lives. However, contrasting opinions on this grave issue have led to divisive debates and protests.

When black people began fighting for justice and equality, they were not fighting against the police but the barbarity and the unrestrained violence used against them based on their skin color. In addition to correcting their unfair treatment, they also wanted a balance of the power scales. According to observers, more than twice as many unarmed Black people are killed by the police than White people. According to studies, African Americans are more likely to encounter injustices at the hands of law enforcement than white people, not by accident but by design. This begs the question, do the lives of black people matter as much as any other? After the killings of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Kimani Gray, and many others who were black, people started to consider the vulnerability of black people in public spaces. They doubted the legitimacy of the police force used. The black people feared for their lives and no longer felt safe walking in the street.

In November 2012, the incident of an unarmed couple who were shot dead also caught the attention of many people and compelled the black community to protest and stand up for their fundamental right to life. The killing of Michael Brown in 2014 made African Americans realize that they need to wake up and fight against police brutality and the unjust treatment they receive (Garza, 2014). Michael Brown, also a victim of police brutality whose family did not receive justice, was just an innocent man walking in the streets of Ferguson at the time (Garza, 2014). The jury held that there was insufficient evidence to incriminate the police officer who shot Michael Brown.

However, there was a feeling in the black community that the jury was favoring the police and treated the Browns case as if black lives did not matter. There was also a feeling that Black people are often viewed as a threat to society; unfortunately, the mindset is also affecting the upcoming generation (Pilsbury, 2015). Although efforts have been put into creating awareness, the consensus is that not enough is being done to end racism. After the continued killing of black people, the black people decided to form the Black Lives Matter movement to encourage people to stand up and unite against racial discrimination against black people and to fight against the expectation of normality defined by white supremacy.

It is not enough to say that black lives matter without giving reasons as to why it matters. Some of the White people, for instance, have depersonalized themselves from blacks because they feel that they look like criminals, and as they do not show affection towards each other, they should not be treated with dignity. Black lives matter because people are not independent, self-reliant, individualistic creatures who do not need others to flourish (Edwards & Duchess Harris, 2015). Thus society and the police force must treat black people with the dignity they deserve. Conversely, when people talk about black people’s lives, it does not mean that other people’s lives do not matter. More concerns are made of black people simply because they are the ones who are oppressed most by the police. Also, black people should not take advantage of the situation and break the law. If laws are broken, they should face the law but in a just manner. Bad policing has greatly influenced how black people are being treated.

Due to the brutality and violence that the police use, black people have become more resistant to the law in case they are found on the wrong side of the law. The supremacy system should train the police to treat people whether they are criminals or not. The Black Lives Matter protests should not be a way of promoting violence against the police. Instead, it should be a way of creating awareness of what Black people face. Also, it ought to focus on the changes that the supreme system needs to make in addressing various issues when dealing with people and not just Blacks alone. Some people argue that the action of the few do not present or should not be used to judge the action of the majority (Dunham & Petersen, 2017). However, if a police officer commits a crime without appropriate punishment, other law enforcement officers may commit similar crimes with the assumption that they will not be held accountable.

This is why people want the same law to be incorporated into the police and any other person, including the black, if they do not abide by it. As I have mentioned earlier on, black lives matter is simply a reminder to people that for most of American history, black lives have been valued less than white ones, but it does not mean that the lives of the white do not matter. Even after the end of slavery, black people have continued to remain poorer, discriminated and more likely to be killed by the police (Taylor, 2016). This is why black people are fighting for the equal treatment accorded to white people. Black people perceive racism as a way to structure opportunity and award value based on skin color, marginalizing some communities and privileging others. This iconic movement has tried to focus on the weight of the Black struggle in America.

The movement has made an effort to raise awareness of the brutal killings plaguing black people and expose the roots of the struggle for equality. For instance, black people were enslaved by the whites in the early 1700s and 1800s and were forced to work in harsh conditions without pay (Taylor, 2016). The families were also fragmented, separated, and sold; worse; they could not speak up against white people. Additionally, the blacks were separated from the whites by the segregation law. Unfortunately, some of these laws are still present in some of our organizations. The segregation law barred African Americans from purchasing property in the white communities, excluded them from specific jobs, and confined them to substandard schools (Taylor, 2016). This impaired black children’s learning making them feel inferior and impairing their mental development. Despite the change in some laws, there remain a lot of brain-washed white people who think they are the superior race.

God created all human life and considers every individual equal in worthiness (Taylor, 2016). Hence, the avoidable killing of black people should be a primary point of focus for authority figures who can collaborate with activists to prevent these senseless deaths. Besides, they must acknowledge and adjust to the disorderly racial conduct that may arise to achieve racial equality. Racism is a community health problem since it is a social illness that impairs an individual’s health and leads to social illnesses (Jee-Lyn Garcia & Sharif, 2015). Either psychologically or physically. The deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown remind health professionals to critically evaluate their work, values, and impact on people.

However, efforts to fight racism should not be left in the hand of health professionals alone (Jee-Lyn Garcia & Sharif, 2015). It is a collective responsibility to acknowledge and confront racism. Black lives matter activists reverberate the principles of an equal society rooted in social justice and values all lives equally. They assert that researchers and physicians should interact widely with the African American community to understand the effect of injustice in their lives. These professionals are not required to be minorities. In the end, this would indicate that people, especially whites, are ready to advocate for social justice as it was during the civil rights era. Black lives matter because they are robbed of their dignity.

To ensure society can address the brutality and injustice of black communities, it must acknowledge the presence of police violence and racism. Awareness and acknowledgment is the first stage for us to establish a solution. It is imperative to comprehend that justice has yet to be achieved for those who struggle. Our objective is to ensure that justice-loving people act towards justice. Additionally, with all the evidence, we should stand and work together from a place of love and authority rather than distress and rage. (Dunham & Petersen, 2017). Whether black or white, people’s lives depend on being served with equal justice under the law. Systemic racism goes beyond the individual intent to discriminate the black people. The black lives matter movement is not only concerned with the rights of the blacks but of the whole nation.

Rather than pointing fingers at a few individuals, they are arguing for the change in society and institutions regarding how they perceive black people. People also feel that the policing system, rather than individuals, makes them unsafe. When people and the supremacy are addressing the issue of black lives matter, they should all have an open mind. However, the Black Lives Matter movement has faced much criticism because some people believe that it is a hate group and encourages racism and violence (Garza, 2014). In contrast, others think there has been a lack of clarity on the objectives. Thus, for them to reach a common consensus with policymakers, they suggested a need for community representation in the police force. This individual will be well informed of the challenges faced in the community and give feedback to the police department on how to make improvements. The Black Lives Matter movement advocates for creating separate departments to investigate and provide evidence on brutality cases as the court relies on police investigations.

The police system’s main prerogative is to enforce law and order; thus, it cannot be responsible for convicting its own rule breaks. Police officers who break the law should be subjected to the same laws as civilians. To lessen black people’s slaughter, it would be crucial for the policing system to focus on other training plans, such as de-escalating conflict and interacting with people of different backgrounds, rather than training primarily with firearms (Dunham & Petersen, 2017). When police officers gain new ways of addressing conflict, firearms would be the last resort when interacting with a suspect, not unless in a worst-case scenario. Police training should focus on de-escalating solutions when dealing with fellow humans. It is vital to heed that racial inequality is not entirely a manifestation of economic imbalance (Edwards & Duchess Harris, 2015). Black people have faced systemic inequities in the education system, economic opportunities, and justice system. Further dialogue on creating awareness and actions is necessary since up-to-date black people still face racism and discrimination daily.

However, as people are trying to come up with solutions to reduce the killings of black people, the crimes that are being committed by blacks should not be ignored. Crimes such as black-on-black violence should not be overlooked (Pilsbury, 2015). Moreover, once we can curb the police killing of the blacks, we can deal with the other problems that the community face on a large scale through good parenting and mentoring of children at a young age to grow morally upright. There is a genuine need to address such concerns.

Black lives matter because, just like everyone else, black people were created free and equal and endowed with those inalienable rights protected by the law. Every black person is a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars” they have a right to be here (Taylor, 2016). As Dr. King rightly noted in his classic speech, I have a dream. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they signed a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note promised that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is time for the promise to receive their due.

References

1. Dunham, R. G., & Petersen, N. (2017). Making Black lives matter: Evidence-based policies for reducing police bias in the use of deadly force. Criminology & Pub. Pol’y, 16, 341. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12284.
2. Edwards, S. B., & Duchess Harris, J. D. (2015). Black lives matter. ABDO.
3. Garza, A. (2014). A herstory of the# BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza [Web log post]. Retrieved from the Feminist Wire website: http://www. thefeministwire. com/2014/10/blacklivesmatter-2.
4. Jee-Lyn García, J., & Sharif, M. Z. (2015). Black lives matter: a commentary on racism and public health. American journal of public health, 105(8), e27-e30. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302706.
5. Pillsbury, S. H. (2015). Black Lives Matter. Ohio St. J. Crim. L., 13, 567.
6. Taylor, K. Y. (2016). From# BlackLivesMatter to black liberation. Haymarket Books.

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