What is the Black Lives Matter movement?
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a social movement that started in the United States of America (US). The movement aimed to spread awareness about the racism experienced by African-American or black people in the US. The main goal of the movement was to protect black people from the American police, who is more likely to injure or kill black people than white people.
How did the Black Lives Matter movement begin?
In 2012, a black teenager named Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman claimed that he killed Martin because he looked suspicious.
The BLM movement was started in 2013 by three women - Alicia Garza, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, and Opal Tometi. This movement began because George Zimmerman was not punished for killing Martin.
How did the BLM movement grow in 2020?
The BLM movement grew in 2020, when George Floyd, a black man was killed by Derek Chauvin, a police officer in Minneapolis. A video of the incident went viral on the internet, in which Chauvin was seen killing Floyd.
People across the world were angered by the death of George Floyd and joined the movement. As a result, Chauvin was punished for the murder in 2021. However, there are many similar cases where the policemen are never punished.
What was the result of the BLM movement?
Not everyone supported the BLM movement. Several groups said that racism against black people did not exist in the country.
Despite the criticism, the BLM movement helped spread awareness about the issues faced by black people. The movement also helped in changing a few laws and policies. For example, some cities and states in the US have banned the use of chokeholds (which caused the death of Floyd).
Black Lives Matter is an ongoing movement and will continue to change the lives of black people in both big and small ways.
