The Misunderstanding of the #Blacklivesmatter in the United States

Writing this essay really meant a lot to me and it helped me get everything off of my chest. I wanted people to see how bad it felt to be known as the most hated race. I faced many challenges with this topic because there was so much to write about and I’m glad that I was able to accomplish that. I had to summarize everything that I wanted to write down into this beautiful paper. In the first and second draft, it was pretty good.

It pointed out where I should start, what I should add, and what I should take out. I am pleased with the overall paper. I had so many helping hands on this assignment, and I really thank them all. My favorite sentence was at the end in the conclusion.

I wrote one of these lyrics that i sung when I was in elementary school. I wrote those lyrics because that’s what I was thinking about the whole time when writing the paper and also thinking about the black lives matter.

I am probably going to be concerned about my conclusion because I feel that it is powerful, but I still needed some work on it. I would be happy to revise this paper for the portfolio. I really like talking about this topic. It makes me fall more in love with my race.

There are those people who sit there and let life play out without any say, and then those who stand up for what is right.

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On February 26, 2012, a young black teen was killed by a police officer. He was walking home from the corner store on a rainy day with a bag of skittles and a can of Arizona iced tea in his hand. He encountered the police officer a few minutes after leaving. No one really knows what happened during that time. The bullet hit the young man in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officer went to trial and was then released later that day. He walked out a free man. This is how the rise of the #blacklivesmatter began. We choose to stand up because it’s the right thing to do. We want to support our races. Sometimes the choices we make can affect our personal lives. Today, a football player stood up for what he believed was right by taking a knee during the national anthem. His actions made him lose something that he loved ever since he was young. Both stories received praise for their bravery and created a group of people fighting for what was right.

The #blacklivesmatter was created by three radical black organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. This project was brought about in 2013 after Georgev Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s killer, was released. The hashtag was created to say that all black lives matter. The hashtag later became popular. Everyone was using this hashtag in remembrance of Trayvon Martin. Two years later after the Trayvon case, a man by the name of Michael Brown was also killed by a police officer. Tension started to build between the blacks and the whites. The #blacklivesmatter was only just a hashtag, but now it turned into a protest.

The Black Lives Matter movement was created after the Michael Brown case. The black race thought that it was a good idea to support each other with rioting in Ferguson. After a while the riot finally stopped and everyone returned home, taking their movement to their own cities. They even created a website for their movement. They tell you what it’s about, the history behind it, supporting the movement, and donating funds to them. “The Black Lives Matter Global Network is a chapter- based, member-led organization whose mission is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes”. They wanted to let their voices be heard by those who hadn’t payed much attention to it.

The Black Lives Matter movement has finally opened up the eyes of the public. People became aware of multiple cases that dealt with an unarmed black man being killed by the police force. The movement is trying to work towards a goal where black lives are no longer being killed. The BLM movement is trying to get people to point out the unfairness that police officers have on the black race; treating them wrong.

Now there are some very ignorant people in the world; we all should know that by now. They like to stir up a lot of fights. This is one of the reasons why America is struggling with racism for many centuries now. There are many white people that don’t like or support the #blacklivesmatter. They believe that the hashtag means that no other race matters but theirs. This is why the public came up with #AllLivesMatter to show that all lives other than the black lives matter too”. The problem with #AllLivesMatter is they think #BlackLivesMatter is about supremacy when it’s about equality as in black lives matter TOO” (@rpkenn). The only reason why the black race has this hashtag is because we are the only ones that care about our own race. No one else seems to care about or actually think that we matter.

News flash, the black race do matter too. On Newsweek there was an article talking about how majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of black lives matter. At the end of the article were many comments. One comment in particular stood out the most. “We should get rid of black people” (Nicky Shot). When looking at this comment it doesn’t really surprise you. You already know how some people are against the black race. Of course many people replied to this statement saying that she was being very ignorant and ugly. Then later in the comments Nicky replied to one of the commenters, “James Robinson I am a beautiful, caring and considerate person. Please don’t be rude”. Can you believe she had the audacity to call herself a caring and considerate person? How can someone be that racist and then consider themselves considerate? How is that being considerate or caring? This is just one of many arguments they have about the #blacklivesmatter.

A new discovery was being made. Apparently the law enforcement also came up with a hashtag. #BlueLivesMatter was also founded due to the Michael Brown case as well. As of right now the Blue Lives Matter webiste has 73,108 followers and are looking for more supporters. Like the BLM website, Blues Lives Matter also has a mission. That mission is to gain support from citizens of America. Many people are bullying police officers due to their brutality on the black race. The riots from the BLM movement wasn’t necessary, but people have to realize that when you kill their race off of something dumb like their appearance and nothing else, then that’s when they get mad and want to fight back. The Blue Lives Matter also was created to show people that not all cops are bad. Not every cop is as violent as the next. The law enforcement doesn’t like the fact that all cops are being put into one category as bad or violent.

Personally, I feel like this hashtag is mocking the #blacklivesmatter because this is the one thing that we (the black race) have to show how serious we are about our lives. And for some ignorant people to create their own hashtag to copy us is crazy. Let us (the black race) have our shine. Let us be heard for once. Stop trying to silence us with those other hashtags. We get the fact that all lives matter, but when it comes down to it does the black race really matter to people? If it did, then we wouldn’t be out here daily fighting for that respect from everyone. I get what they are trying to do, but they could come up with their own thing. They didn’t have to use hashtags or anything. There are many other things out there to help get their point across, so I believe that they should take their website and hashtag down. One man in particular took a leap of faith that costed him his job.

Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, took a knee during the National Anthem at Qualcomm Stadium against the San Diego Chargers. There was a lot of tension in the stadium that day. Kaepernick was being booed for taking a knee. The reason for his actions was due to the fact that minorities were being treated wrong. “Social media, San Diego media and national media outlets had buzzed with commentary sparked by Kaepernick, who said he’s protesting police brutality against African Americans and other minorities” (www.beta.latimes.com). His next game was the same.

People were booing him. Two fans held up a sign that addressed Kaepernick’s actions,“You’re an American. Start acting like one” (www.beta.latimes.com). What does being American have to do with anything. He stood up what he believes is right. Ever since Kaepernick took a knee, he became the talk of the NFL. He also got support from other athletes. One athlete who loved Kaepernick’s decision to take a stand was Stephen Curry, a professional basketball player. “I love that. I love that there’s freedom of for speech and Kaepernick can stand for what he believes in. There’s going to be people that agree with him and there’s going to be people that disagree with him, which is what I think our country stands for. Hopefully that’ll drive the conversation to bettering the equal rights and treatment of African-Americans and people of color. I applaud him for taking a stand.

Hopefully the conversation is about what his message was and not the fact of is he going to stand or is he going to sit for the national anthem?’ The conversation was started and will continue”(www.beta.latimes.com). Not only did Kaepernick make an impact on the athletes, but he also made an impact on the citizens of America. Many people walk around wearing Kaepernick’s jersey and it’s not because that’s their favorite team. It is because they like how Kaepernick stood out for what he believed in. People now buy his jerseys to take a stance with him. “I’ve never watched a football game but I’ve just bought a Colin Kaepernick jersey that I will proudly wear. #BlackLivesMatter @Kaepernick7” (www.upprox.com). Before the protest, Kaepernick’s jersey was the 20th best selling jersey, but now after the protest it became the 3rd best selling jersey. Colin Kaepernick truly made an impact on people’s lives. I really do appreciate his leap of faith.

Along with Colin Kaepernick, there was one of his football friends that was involved in police brutality. Michael Bennett was pinned down by the police after they heard multiple shots go off. It wasn’t even him that did it. He was following the police orders and then some cop had the nerve to run over and put his knee in Michael’s back. The next cop went over and held a gun to his head for no reason. In the end the cops let him go because they realized that he wasn’t a thug or a normal black man, but one of the football celebrity athletes. “I have always held a strong conviction that protesting or standing up for justice is just simply, the right thing to do.

This fact is unequivocally, without question why before every game, I sit during the national anthem- because equality doesn’t live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a “Nigger” you will be treated that way,” (Michael Bennett) This is what he wrote after his encounter with the police. You can see how angry he was about this. Realizing that he wasn’t a “thug”,but a famous football player really did stand out the most. It is like they are considering all black people as thugs, and that’s not right. If you look around and see how many influential black people we have in the world, there is a pretty good handful of us. Some are even popular today, such as Oprah Winfrey. With all these influential black people in the world, why are we still treating black people like garbage? This is not right.

In conclusion, I think that the #blacklivesmatter was right for doing what they did. They were standing up for something that needed attention. Don’t get me wrong, some things they did were wrong, like those riots were unnecessary, but you have to understand how hurt we are. We are being mocked, we are being called animals, thugs, and many more.

The most important thing we are doing and have been doing for many centuries now is fighting for that respect. Yes I agree with the public when they say all lives matter, but this time include the black lives too. Treat us like you would to white people. Don’t separate us from the others. America is suppose to be known as the melting pot, so let us all hold hands and put the violence behind us. A word to all the racist folk. I remember singing this song in elementary school. The lyrics went like this, “I’m walking with authority, living life without apology. It’s not wrong dear, I belong here. So you might as well get use to me”. These lyrics is the one thing people need to know about the black race. We are not going anywhere, so you might as well get use to us. We do matter, so stop acting like we don’t. Many centuries ago the white needed us and today they still do. End the racism, come together, and live a happy life.