User:DraconicDark/Black Lives Matter Portal
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Introduction
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people and to promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The movement began in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rekia Boyd, among others. BLM and its related organizations typically advocate for various policy changes related to black liberation and criminal justice reform. While there are specific organizations that label themselves "Black Lives Matter", such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the overall movement is a decentralized network with no formal hierarchy. , there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself has not been trademarked by any group.
In 2013, activists and friends Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi originated the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two more African Americans, Michael Brown—resulting in protests and unrest in Ferguson, Missouri—and Eric Garner in New York City. Since the Ferguson protests, participants in the movement have demonstrated against the deaths of numerous other African Americans by police actions or while in police custody. In the summer of 2015, Black Lives Matter activists became involved in the 2016 United States presidential election.
The movement gained international attention during global protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. An estimated 15 to 26 million people participated in Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, making it one of the largest protest movements in the country's history. Despite being characterized by opponents as violent, the overwhelming majority of BLM demonstrations have been peaceful.
The popularity of Black Lives Matter has shifted over time, largely due to changing perceptions among white Americans. In 2020, 67% of adults in the United States expressed support for the movement, declining to 51% of U.S. adults in 2023. Support among people of color has, however, held strong, with 81% of African Americans, 61% of Hispanics and 63% of Asian Americans expressing support for Black Lives Matter as of 2023. (Full article...)
Selected general articles
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3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets, also known as 3 1/2 Minutes, is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Marc Silver. The film is based on the events surrounding the 2012 murder of Jordan Russell Davis and examines the shooting itself, as well as the subsequent trial, media coverage and protests that resulted from the shooting.
The film premiered under its original title 3 1/2 Minutes at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2015, later winning the Special Jury Prize for Social Impact. The film was then bought by HBO Documentary Films, and premiered on HBO on November 23, 2015. On December 1, it was one of 15 films shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for the 2016 89th Academy Awards. (Full article...) -
The Black Lives Matter street mural in Indianapolis is a large, colorful mural reading "#BLACKLIVESMATTER", with a raised fist, that 18 artists painted across a downtown roadway in August 2020, as part of the George Floyd protests. The mural is located on Indiana Avenue, the historic hub of the city's Black culture, on the same corner as the Madam C. J. Walker Building.
18 individual local African American artists created the artwork, each artist responsible for one of the images in the message, and organized activists working with local Black Lives Matter groups. In contrast to several of the other Black Lives Matter street murals created around the same time, Indianapolis's is not painted in yellow road markings, but instead consists of many different contributions from artists painting in their own distinct style, which comes together as a single artwork. (Full article...) -
BLM mural in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Many artworks related to the Black Lives Matter movement were created in New York City, during local protests over the murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans. (Full article...) -
John Thompson is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for the 67A district from 2021 to 2023. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 5, 2021. Prior to seeking elected office, Thompson was an activist supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and directed a local social justice organization. (Full article...) -
On June 13, 2020, two community activists local to the Tallahassee area, 19-year old Oluwatoyin Salau and 75-year old Victoria Sims, were found murdered in Tallahassee, Florida.
The suspect, Aaron Glee Jr., who was 49 at the time of the murders, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and felony murder among other charges. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping to avoid the death penalty, which the prosecution sought. However, Glee was sentenced to life in prison on September 22, 2023. (Full article...) -
"Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America's Most Racist Town" is a YouTube video by American filmmaker Rob Bliss, published on July 27, 2020. The video consists of Bliss holding a sign reading "Black Lives Matter" in Harrison, Arkansas, a town that has been dubbed "America's Most Racist Town" due to its connections to white pride riots and the headquarters of the white supremacist terrorist hate group the Ku Klux Klan. During the video, multiple white passersby drive by and shout racist obscenities. As of June 2023, the video has over 12 million views on YouTube, but as of April 2024, the video has gone private.
"Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America's Most Racist Town" was filmed from July 9-11 in Harrison using a GoPro. The video's release was notable for being amongst protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. "Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America's Most Racist Town" received criticism from Harrison officials, including mayor Jerry Jackson. (Full article...) -
The bust of George Floyd is a sculpture of George Floyd (1973–2020), an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer during his arrest in Minneapolis. Initially situated in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, it is currently displayed in Union Square, Manhattan.
The sculpture sits on a marble base, with the 6-foot (1.8 m) bust being made of layers of CNC-cut okoumé plywood. It was created by artist Chris Carnabuci and unveiled by Floyd's brother Terrence, as part of the 2021 Juneteenth federal holiday, saying "My brother was the sacrifice, so I need y'all to continue to pay attention and keep my big brother's name ringing in the ears of everyone." It was moved to Manhattan on 1 October 2021 and displayed next to busts of Breonna Taylor and John Lewis. Each bust is part of the See in Justice public art exhibition. (Full article...) -
George Floyd protest in Grand Army Plaza in May 2020
New York City has been the site of many Black Lives Matter protests in response to incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The Black Lives Matter movement began as a hashtag after the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin, and became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Garner was killed in the Staten Island borough of New York City, leading to protests, demonstrations, and work towards changes in policing and the law. Following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020, the global response included extensive protests in New York City, and several subsequent changes to policy. (Full article...) -
The shooting of Ralph Yarl was on April 13, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. The 16-year-old African American teenager was shot twice after ringing the doorbell at the wrong house while dispatched to pick up his twin brothers.
Andrew Daniel Lester, an 84-year-old white man, was charged on April 17, 2023, with armed criminal action and first-degree assault, the equivalent of attempted murder in Missouri. The Clay County district attorney stated that there was a "racial component" to the shooting. If convicted, Lester faces 10 years to life in prison. (Full article...) -
Jeffery Shaun King (born September 17, 1979) is an American writer and activist. He uses social media to promote causes of social justice, particularly Black Lives Matter in the United States.
King was raised in Kentucky and received his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. After briefly teaching high school civics, he became a pastor. In 2008, he founded the Courageous Church in Atlanta and led it for four years. During this time, King launched a number of internet campaigns, including HopeMob.org, which he co-founded with Chad Kellough. He later received a master's degree from Arizona State University. As a writer, King has previously been a regular contributor to Daily Kos, the New York Daily News, and The Young Turks. In 2018, King co-founded the Real Justice PAC, and launched The North Star website. In 2020, he founded the non-profit group Grassroots Law Project. (Full article...) -
On July 26, 2013, 32-year-old Larry Jackson Jr. was shot dead by Austin Police Department Detective Charles Kleinert in Austin, Texas. Jackson was at the scene of a bank robbery earlier that day in central Austin. When questioned by Kleinert as to why he falsely identified himself to a bank employee, Jackson ran. When Kleinert caught up to Jackson a struggle between Jackson and Detective Charles Kleinert ensued. One gunshot was fired, fatally striking Jackson in the back of the neck.
Kleinert was indicted by a grand jury on the charge of manslaughter. In October 2015, a judge dropped the charge against Kleinert. (Full article...) -
Manuel Ellis was a 33-year-old African American man who was killed by police during an arrest on March 3, 2020, in Tacoma, Washington by the Tacoma Police Department. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department initially claimed that Ellis had attacked a police car and officers, leading to the arrest. State prosecutors quoted civilian witnesses as saying that Ellis did not attack the police car or officers; they also said it was the officers who attacked Ellis after a conversation. Video of the incident showed officers repeatedly punching Ellis, choking him, using a Taser, and kneeling on him. State prosecutors stated that "Ellis was not fighting back", citing witness statements and video evidence. A police radio recording showed that Ellis said he "can’t breathe". Ellis told officers "can't breathe, sir" multiple times, according to prosecutors. Ellis was hogtied, face-down, with an officer on him, for at least six minutes, and a spit hood was placed on his head in this position, stated prosecutors. Ellis died at the scene while receiving medical aid from paramedics.
In early June 2020, Ellis's death was ruled by county medical examiner Thomas Clark as a homicide due to "hypoxia due to physical restraint", and with "contributing conditions of methamphetamine intoxication and a dilated heart". Prosecutors, in May 2021 documents, quoted Clark as saying that additional evidence that emerged after the autopsy concluded indicated that "Ellis's death was not likely caused by methamphetamine intoxication", and further indicated that restraint caused the death. (Full article...) -
On January 13, 2019, George Robinson, a 62-year-old Black man, died two days after a violent arrest by three Black police officers in Jackson, Mississippi. According to a grand jury indictment, the officers pulled Robinson out of a car, threw him headfirst into the pavement, and struck and kicked him multiple times in the head and chest. Robinson was treated at the scene but within hours lost consciousness and later died at a hospital. The state coroner ruled the death a homicide.
After an internal Jackson Police Department investigation cleared the officers of wrongdoing, one of the officers continued working for the Jackson Police Department, and the other two were hired by a police department in a nearby town. Following the George Floyd protests a year later, as well as a lengthy grand jury review, all three officers were indicted for second-degree murder on August 5, 2020. (Full article...) -
On August 5, 2016, Jamarion Rashad Robinson, a 26-year-old African American man who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was shot 59 times and killed in a police raid in East Point, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The shooting occurred when at least 14 officers of a Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce from at least seven different agencies, led by U.S. Marshals, forcibly entered the apartment of Robinson's girlfriend to serve a warrant for his arrest. The officers were heavily armed, including with submachine guns. The warrant was being served on behalf of the Gwinnett County police and the Atlanta Police Department, and authorities said they had sought his arrest for attempted arson and aggravated assault of a police officer. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Robinson had been repeatedly ordered to put down a weapon and that officers who had been involved in the shooting reported Robinson fired at them three times.
The case has been highlighted as an example of excessive force by law enforcement officers, systemic racism in law enforcement, a lack of knowledge in police who interact with people who have a mental illness, a lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the actions of police officers, and a lack of use of body cameras by police and U.S. Marshals when serving arrest warrants. (Full article...) -
On June 4, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests in New York state, police officers from the Buffalo Police Department pushed 75-year-old Martin Gugino during a confrontation in Buffalo's Niagara Square, causing him to fall to the ground which left him bleeding from the ear. Gugino was seriously injured, sustaining a brain injury, and was still unable to walk nearly two weeks later. He was hospitalized for nearly four weeks.
Two Buffalo police officers were charged with felony assault in connection with the incident; they pleaded not guilty. Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senator Chuck Schumer condemned police conduct in the incident. President Donald Trump spread false and unfounded conspiracy theories about Gugino in his response to the incident on Twitter. On February 11, 2021, Erie County district attorney John Flynn announced that a grand jury had dismissed the charges against the officers. (Full article...) -
On November 23, 2012, Jordan Davis, a black 17-year-old high-school student, was murdered at a Gate Petroleum gas station in Jacksonville, Florida, by Michael David Dunn, a white 45-year-old software developer, following an argument over loud music played by Davis and his three friends, in what was believed to be a racially motivated shooting.
Dunn was convicted on three counts of attempted second-degree murder for firing at three other teenagers who were with Davis and one count of firing into an occupied vehicle. The jury could not reach a verdict on whether to convict Dunn for the murder of Davis at the first trial. In a second trial, Dunn was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Davis and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus 105 years in prison. (Full article...) -
Jeremy "Bam Bam" McDole was a 28-year-old African American paraplegic who was shot and killed by police in Wilmington, Delaware on September 23, 2015, at 3:00 pm. McDole was in a wheelchair at the time of the shooting. Police responded to a call about a man with a gun. The 911 caller later recanted her statements and has, to date, faced no penalties for the false statements made, which resulted in McDole's death. Camera footage from a bystander showed officers ordering McDole to drop his weapon and raise his hands, with McDole being shot after shuffling his hands near his waist area, but with a gun never being seen and evidence photos of the reported weapon only appearing 6 years after his murder. The Delaware state department cleared the officers of wrongdoing, but concluded that one of the involved officers had shown "extraordinarily poor" police work. A 2020 review by the Delaware Attorney General's Office came to the same conclusion. Both decided against filing any charges. The McDole family sued the city of Wilmington, and in January 2017, a settlement of $1.5 million was reached by the city. (Full article...)
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Nekima Valdez Levy Armstrong (née Levy-Pounds, c. 1976) is an American lawyer and social justice activist. She was president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP from 2015 to 2016. She has led a variety of organizations that focus on issues of racial equality and disparity in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area.
Levy Armstrong was a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis from 2003 to 2016. After concluding her term as an NAACP chapter president and leaving her academic post, she had an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Minneapolis in the 2017 election. She has been a prominent local activist in several protests over the killing of black Americans by police officers. She has been involved in lawsuits to prevent Minneapolis from eliminating single-family zoning, arguing that doing so would harm the environment and communities of color. (Full article...) -
Black Visions Collective (BLVC) is an American nonprofit organization for Black liberation based in Minnesota, founded in December 2017. The group intersects with transgender and LGBTQ communities. Active in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, BLVC has been involved in Black Lives Matter protests. It has lobbied for part of the Minneapolis Police Department budget to be diverted to programs that support people experiencing youth homelessness, opioid dependency, and mental health issues.
In 2019, BLVC received a grant from the Minneapolis Climate Action and Racial Equity Fund to develop an environmental justice leadership panel of people of color and indigenous people. The fund was created through a partnership between the city of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Foundation, and the McKnight Foundation. (Full article...) -
Individuals and organizations throughout the United States and the world have responded to the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and riots. (Full article...)
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On June 18, 2020, Nick Lloyd painted the phrase "Black Lives Matter" in large bright yellow block letters on North Edison Street in Portland, Oregon's St. Johns neighborhood. (Full article...) -
The Wall of Moms is a group primarily made up of women who identify as mothers, who have demonstrated in George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon, as well as other groups in U.S. cities including Chicago, Seattle, and Tampa, Florida. The group's first protest was attended by approximately 40 women; hundreds to thousands have participated since then. (Full article...) -
On the evening of February 2, 2020, Alvin Cole, a 17-year-old black male, was fatally shot by a Wauwatosa, Wisconsin black male police officer Joseph Mensah, outside Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa. The shooting occurred after Cole refused a command from the police to drop the stolen gun he was holding and Cole fired a bullet as he tried to flee. Two shots were fired when Cole was on his hands and knees, and the remaining three shots were fired by Mensah while Cole was face down on the ground. Mensah was the only officer among the five other officers at the scene who fired his weapon.
The demonstrations played out against a backdrop of protests worldwide over the murder of George Floyd. (Full article...) -
In June 2020, the Trump administration began deploying federal law enforcement forces to select cities in the United States in response to rioting and monument removals amid the George Floyd protests. Federal law enforcement elements were deployed under Operation Legend, Operation Diligent Valor, and the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited an executive order regarding "monuments, memorials and statues" as allowing federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual U.S. states, as the federal government "has the right to enforce federal laws, investigate crimes and make arrests" within states.
On June 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C., federal law enforcement deployed riot control tactics and munitions against protesters to expand a security perimeter, which allowed for President Donald Trump to later walk from the White House to the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square for a brief photo op. Days later, anonymous federal personnel in tactical and riot gear began to appear on D.C. streets, with many refusing to identify themselves. In July 2020, federal forces were deployed in Portland, Oregon as part of the PACT, where their use of unmarked cars and officers in camouflage without clear identification badges generated outrage. DHS officials defended the use of unmarked vehicles and unidentified officers in camouflage; acting DHS deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli said "Unmarked police vehicles are so common it's barely worth discussion" and that officers wore the same uniforms and equipment each day, so demonstrators could nevertheless identify them. (Full article...) -
On March 6, 2023, 28-year-old Irvo Otieno died after he was restrained by Henrico County sheriff's deputies and hospital employees at Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, near Petersburg. He was arrested on March 3 for a suspected breaking and entering, and was taken to the hospital three days later after he was found naked in his cell. A total of ten people, seven deputies and three hospital employees, were charged with second-degree murder in connection with Otieno's death. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
- ... that Arkansas legislator Denise Jones Ennett took part in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of the Arkansas State Capitol?
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Selected images
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Protests in May 2020 after George Floyd's death (from Black Lives Matter) -
A Black Lives Matter protest of police brutality in the rotunda of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in December 2014 (from Black Lives Matter) -
A Black Lives Matter die-in over rail tracks, protesting alleged police brutality in Saint Paul, Minnesota (September 20, 2015) (from Black Lives Matter) -
Protest in Brisbane, June 6, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
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Bernie Sanders and Black Lives Matter activists in Westlake Park, Seattle, August 8, 2015 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Black Lives Matter protest on September 20, 2015, against police brutality in St. Paul, Minnesota (from Black Lives Matter) -
Black Lives Matter protest in Aotea Square, Auckland, June 14, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Protest in Fukuoka, June 21, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Black Lives Matter demonstration in Oakland, California, December 2014 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., as seen from space on June 8, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
One-year commemoration of the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson unrest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, August 2015 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Protest in response to the Alton Sterling killing, San Francisco, California, July 8, 2016 (from Black Lives Matter) -
An activist holds a "Black Lives Matter" sign outside the Minneapolis Police Fourth Precinct building following the officer-involved killing of Jamar Clark on November 15, 2015 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Protest march in response to the killing of Philando Castile, St. Paul, Minnesota, July 7, 2016 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Vehicle with a BLM sticker, September 18, 2015 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Al Sharpton led the Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
"Black Lives Matter" on the facade of the Washington National Cathedral, June 10, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Black Lives Matter protest against St. Paul police brutality at Metro Green Line, September 2015 (from Black Lives Matter) -
A BLM protest in Ohio, July 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Map depicting rates of police killings by state in the United States in 2018 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Protest march in response to the Jamar Clark killing, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2015 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Black Lives Matter protest in Berlin, Germany, May 30, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
A "Hands up!" sign displayed at a Ferguson protest in August 2014 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Protest in Vancouver, May 31, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
"What happened to 'All Lives Matter'?" sign at a protest against Donald Trump, January 29, 2017 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Ferguson, Missouri, August 17, 2014 (from Black Lives Matter) -
George Floyd protests at Lafayette Square, Washington D.C., May 30, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Black Lives Matter protester at Macy's Herald Square, November 2014 (from Black Lives Matter) -
Protest outside the U.S. Embassy in London, June 7, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter) -
A demonstrator raising awareness of the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, April 2015 (from Black Lives Matter) -
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The empty pedestal of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol. Subject to increasing controversy since the 1990s, when his prior reputation as a philanthropist came under scrutiny due to a growing awareness of his slave trading, in June 2020 the statue was toppled, defaced and pushed into Bristol Harbour. (from Black Lives Matter) -
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