About

#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives. We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front. We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements. We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise. We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression. The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.

Listen

Muted but listening but learning means letting black people talk. So listen, learn and support. Pause everything and take a stand again racism and inequality.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn hate, and if they can learn to hate they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than it's opposite.

Nelson Mandela

The problem is that white people see racism as consicious hate, when racism is bigger than that.

RACISM IS...

a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people's expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn't care if you are a white person who likes black people; it's still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don't look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we're immediately born into. It's like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It's not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It's a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it's hard work, but it's the price you pay for owning everything.

Scott Woods

PRIVILEGE

The main intent of this video is not to highlight racial differences. Race was only used as a metaphor. Race is a good metaphor though and here's why. African Americans still lag behind the national average in Income level and Poverty measure. This is according to the United States Census Bureau. $36,544The annual median income of black households in 2015, compared with the nation at $55,775. 25.4% The percentage of the black population below the poverty level in 2015, while nationally it was 14.7 percent. What can we do to help and uplift one another, to make this world a better place? It's up to you. This video is used to provoke discussion and understanding only. Please exercise restrain and decorum when commenting. At the end of the day, learn to love one another. 1 John 3:17 But whoever has the livelihood of the world and sees that his brother has need and shuts up his affections from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue but in deed and truthfulness.

Learn

WE CANNOT STAY SILENT ABOUT THINGS THAT ACTUALLY MATTER.

Those who judge others baded on their skin colofr have lost touch with their own souls. The soul cares nothing about race. It has no interest in arbitrary districtions. It has no interest in the form our earthsuit takes. Through the eyes of essence, we see only essence. Through soulful eyes, race is revealed as just another form on the path to wholeness. But it's not the heart of the matter. Our shared divinity is. We are not here together to shame each other God. And God comes in every possible color and form.

A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR GEORGE FLOYDA

Eight minutes, 46 seconds. That's how long a police officer kept his knee on George Floyd's neck. George Floyd struggled, pleading for his life: "I can't breathe," until he drew his final breaths, calling for his mother.

HOW YOU CAN HELP LONG-TERM-EDUCATE

Listening & Learning: Standing in solidarity against Interpersonal racism, Institutional racism, Structural racism.

Here are a few books, movies and podcasts recommendations.

BOOKS

MOVIES

PODCASTS

SAY THEIR NAMES