Demirovic 1

Leonora Demirovic

Mrs. Thomas

English 1102

18 April 2016

WID: What would you grade this as?

I could easily range my thesis grade from an 80-95. It is not perfect nor is it the best it
can possibly be. I say this because as a writer I will always see flaws in my work. I believe that I
have fulfilled each of the requirements to the best of my knowledge, and that I have shown
exponential growth since the start of the semester. I believe that my writing has matured and that
is evident in this thesis.

Reflection: I am so in love with writing. I get this feeling of monumental accomplishment

when I begin to see my work come together in large assignments like this one. I am so proud of
myself. With that said, there is a lot that this paper is lacking in as well. I feel like I could have
brought more sources in that were naysayers and that I could have projected my voice better. I
regret not being able to come up with a concrete inquiry question to explore. I feel as if I did end
up doing that I would regret it because it would have held me back to only exploring that
question. Overall I loved how inclusive this assignment has been, it has brought me a great sense
of accomplishment and I have learned SO much about Black Lives Matter, I can only hope my
readers feel the same way.

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Black Lives Matter: A Commentary and a Learning Experience

Since grade school students have been encouraged to look up to advocates of equal rights
like Martin Luther King Jr. The United States has even created a holiday to commemorate the
work he has done in advancing civil rights for all, but why are we now oppressing the individuals
continuing his work? I am writing this thesis to better understand a movement I have heard a lot
about. I am hoping to be able to learn about Black Lives Matter, and to be capable of bringing
my voice into the conversation. The Black Lives Matter movement has taken a hold of our nation
and has demanded equality for individuals of color. With the United States as a proponent of
racism since its establishment, this issue is not a new beast for our leaders to tackle. Why do we
continue to perpetuate racism? Why are the fighters of racism looked down upon? These are all
questions I have asked myself while researching this thesis. Through my extensive research and
my writing I am hoping to better understand this movement.

To understand BLM and its relation to us, the public, one must understand the beginnings
of the movement. Patrisse Cullors , anti-police violence organizer, Opal Tometi, immigration
rights organizer, and Alicia Garza, domestic workers rights organizer, are all founders of the
Black Lives Matter movement. These women are viewed as the voices for individuals that have
been silenced through systemic racism. They started the BLM movement back in 2012 after the
acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of 17 year old Trayvon Martin. The women
define #BlackLivesMatter as: a chapter-based national organization working for the validity of
black life. (About: Black Lives Matter) The movement is based off of the social injustices
that the black community has faced in post-Civil Rights Movement America.The injustices are
further defined as: Black girls are being used as negotiating chips during times of conflict and

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war how black poverty and genocide are a state violence, and how black women bearing the
burden of relentless assault on our children and our families is state violence, (Black Lives
Matter). The social movement has spread rapidly in the past four years, and one could assume
that the average American is aware of its existence. Depending on the individual you are
speaking to, one may believe that BLM is an excuse for the cultivation of violence, while others
believe that it is spreading the valuable message that racism is no longer tolerable.

The issue of racism has been lurking in history for hundreds of years, scholars have gone
as far as researching the impact of racism on public health. Jennifer Lee-Lyn Garcia P.h.D with
the Department of Health Sciences at California State University and Mienah Zulfacar-Sharif
with the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of California, Los
Angeles conducted an extensive research project on the impact of racism on public health. The
research delved into scientific evidence that has demonstrated that ethnicities that are
discriminated against typically have higher infant mortality rates as well as higher risks for heart
disease, depression and obesity. To base the research off of, Garcia and Zulfacar define racism
as, a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on race, that unfairly
disadvantages some individuals and communities,. They propose their argument that minorities
such as blacks, are impacted by the effects of racism and that most typically have shorter
lifespans than an average white individual. This argument is supported through the incorporation
of the social injustices that the Black Lives Matter movement emphasizes. The scholars conclude
that: We have (1) emphasized racism as a key fundamental cause of health that is crucial in the
work of any public health professional, (2) discussed the importance of distinguishing between
race and racism in public health work, and (3) described how racism goes beyond any isolated
incident because it is structural. (Garcia Zulfacar) Based off of the evidence proposed in the

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piece, I support the conclusions and stand firmly against the continuation of racism in any form,
for it is costing the lives of individuals.

To put BLM into the context of United States history, Khury Petersen-Smith, activist and
longtime member of the BLM movement comments on the dynamics of the new movement
against police violence and institutionalized racism. When describing the origins of the
movement, Petersen states,

The movement follows in a tradition of Black struggles in the United States whose
impacts far exceed the numbers of people involved and go well beyond their point of
origin. The civil rights revolt, for example, cracked open the Cold War conservatism of the
McCarthy era and inspired more than a decade of mass social struggle on many other
fronts..(Petersen)

Deduced, Peterson is stating that the BLM movement is simply another facet of the Civil Rights
Movement, which never ended. The statement also introduces the idea of intersectionality,
meaning that oppressive institutions are interconnected and cannot be dealt with separately.
Throughout the piece Petersen elaborates on the struggles the movement has encountered,
While the resistance has inspired a new radicalization, it has also polarized society. Racist
forces are beginning their own mobilization in response to the protests. Chief among these are
police organizations, such as the St. Louis Police Officers Association, which has defended the
cops actions repressing protest in the streets of Ferguson,. Peterson goes on to encourage future
activists to stand tall against oppression. This emphasis on rebellion against oppressors is one of
the core values of the BLM movement.

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As I was researching my topic, I found that more conservative individuals like Michael
Barone, conservative political analyst, and senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner
are likely to speak out against the movement. Barone has been in the political science field for
over 20 years. He is an opposer of the movement and goes as far to state that the Black Lives
Matter movement has been working against its core values, the preservation of black lives. He
suggests that some of the demands of the movement have already been put into place hundreds
of years ago by our constitution,

Consider the BLM demands. Some are anodyne. Who is against better training for
police officers? We already have independent (usually elected) prosecutors. The law
already limit(s) the use of force by police.. Even the New York Times has noticed.
So far this year, murders are up 76 percent in Milwaukee, 60 percent in St. Louis, 56
percent in Baltimore, and 44 percent in Washington, D.C, (Barone)

Barone claims that the Black Lives Matter movement is asking for already instituted laws and
that the increased amount of murders in various cities is the result of increased tensions between
the black community and local police forces. While this claim is entirely factual, Barone is
focusing on the fallacies of the movement, and has chosen to ignore key components that BLM
focuses on, like asking leaders to prohibit discrimination against black men during routine police
stops.

With the unsheathing of police brutality in recent years, tensions between the public and
officers has grown exponentially. David French, attorney and staff writer at the National Review,
claims that the radical narrative of the BLM has harshly impacted our trust in law enforcement.

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French bases his argument off of a research project conducted by the Washington Post that
outlines every single police shooting to ever occur,

In response to the allegations of Black Lives Matter activists, the Washington Post
launched an unprecedented, case-by-case study of police shootings. After a year of
research, the data are in, and they confirm the conservative position: The police use force
mainly to protect human life, the use of force against unarmed suspects is rare, and the
use of force against black Americans is largely proportional to their share of the violent
crime rate,(French)

The conclusions of this study were that our police do not discriminate as much as we believe
they do. French goes on to state that police officers that are corrupt deserve nothing less than the
due process of law and prosecution, but the number of these cases are incredibly low. Although
French brings up a valid point, supported by concrete evidence, the issue of corrupt officers is
still relevant today, and must be battled by United States leaders.

To bring in an unbiased voice, Herbert Ruffin, Syracuse University historian, has been
studying the dynamics of social movements for the majority of his career. Ruffins writing
outlines the progression of the Black Lives Matters movement. He begins by explaining how the
hashtag came about that made the movement explode on social media,

Garza wrote a Facebook post which she titled A Love Note to Black People calling on
them to get active, get organized, and fight back. For Garza, the injustice targeting
black people was a disease called institutional racism that could not be defeated by just
voting, being educated, and pulling oneself up with strapless boots. She ended by telling

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her readers that she loves them and that Our Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter. Cullors
responded to the post with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Tometi added her support
and a new organization was born. (Ruffin)

The use of social media to promote the BLM has resulted in the mass spread of awareness on the
perpetuation of racism in the United States. Social facets like twitter and facebook have played a
massive role in the continuation of the movements efforts. Ruffin goes on to emphasize some of
the key turning points of the movement,

On November 28, 2014, Black Lives Matter adopted a new protest tactic that soon
gained national attention. On that day, Black Lives Matter activists joined with other
grassroots organizations like Oaklands BlackOutCollective to successfully disrupt
holiday season shopping in San Francisco-Bay Area malls and Walmart stores. (Ruffin)

This moment was vital to the spread of the BLM message, it was what has brought the
movement to ground action. Consequently, the protest had negative effects on the activists as
well, it delegitimized the movement due to the harsh light it shed on its participants. The
perception of BLM activists quickly turned from youth activists to disrupters of peace and
violent protesters.

In relation to the image of BLM activists, Barbara Reynolds, former editor and columnist
for USA Today, is an opposer of the way in which the Black Lives Matter movement has put
their ideologies into action. Reynolds, past civil rights activist believes that the movement is
taking the wrong approach to making a change in the United States,

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In the 1960s, activists confronted white mobs and police with dignity and decorum,
sometimes dressing in church clothes and kneeling in prayer during protests to make a
clear distinction between who was evil and who was good.But at protests today, it is
difficult to distinguish legitimate activists from the mob actors who burn and loot. The
demonstrations are peppered with hate speech, profanity, and guys with sagging pants
that show their underwear. Even if the BLM activists arent the ones participating in the
boorish language and dress, neither are they condemning it. (Reynolds)

Her clear disapproval of the methods the movement is fond of says a lot about how BLM
portrays itself to the elderly. She is insinuating that the individuals in the movement are not being
taken seriously because of their unprofessional appearances as well as the unprofessional way in
which the individuals act. Reynolds mentions how her generation of racism fighters gained
respect from country leaders, The 1960s movement also had an innate respectability because
our leaders often were heads of the black church, as well. Unfortunately, church and spirituality
are not high priorities for Black Lives Matter (Reynolds) The obvious differences between the
two movements could be a reason as to why the current has not proven to be as successful as its
former.

I would like to propose one final question to my readers, are we wrong to idolize
individuals like Martin Luther King Jr. and then speak harshly about young individuals who
share common goals with him? Why are we so quick to dismiss the outcries of oppressed
individuals? These are all questions that still float around in my thoughts when I read news
articles featuring BLM.

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Works Cited

Barone, Michael. "Black Lives Matters Agenda Is Costing Black Lives."National Review Online.
National Review, 08 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Cullors, Patrise, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza. "About Black Lives Matter."Black Lives Matter
RSS2.

Haki Creatives, 03 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

French, David. "The Numbers Are In: Black Lives Matter Is Wrong about Police." National
Review Online. National Review, 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Garca, Jennifer Jee-Lyn, and Mienah Zulfacar Sharif. "Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on
Racism and Public Health." American Journal of Public Health. American Public Health
Association, Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

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Herbert, Ruffin G., II. "Black Lives Matter: The Growth of a New Social Justice Movement | The
Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed."BLMr: The Growth of a New Social Justice
Movement | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. Black Past, 01 Jan. 2015.
Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Petersen-Smith, Khury. "Black Lives Matter." Black Lives Matter. International Socialist Review,
Jan. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Reynolds, Barbara. "I Was a Civil Rights Activist in the 1960s. But Its Hard for Me to Get behind
Black Lives Matter." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 30
Mar. 2016.