“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”, remarked Martin Luther King Jr. The protests that followed the death of 46- year-old African American George Floyd after police choked his neck by his knee, is gaining momentum, and is in no mood to end. These protests are not limited to the USA only but are being seen in every corner of the globe, especially Netherland, Berlin, Australia. Many of the protestors restored to violence, mugging, burning and plundering public places, government institutions, and other similar activities. President Donald Trump has deployed the military to stop riots and curb the activities of protestors. Curfew has also been imposed.
But the hashtag turned protest Black Lives Matter is triggering waves of protests in the USA. People all over the world are united on this very sensitive issue of racial discrimination and injustice being done to Black Americans as injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Celebrities, famous leaders, and other famous personalities are also raising their voices against this by trending Black Lives Matter.
However, this is not the first time that such violent protests broke out over a similar matter in the USA. Many times such outrage surfaced among the people on brutality and injustice being practiced there on Blacks.
Black Lives Matter Movement
Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence towards black people. This movement began in the summer of 2013, after George Zimmerman’s acquittal who shot dead Trayvon Martin, a 17- year-old African-American boy, the movement began with the hashtag #Black Lives Matter on social media. The movement was co-founded by three black community organizers: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi.
The movement gained national recognition for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans: Michael Brown—resulting in protests and unrest in Ferguson, a city near St.Louis—and Eric Garner in New York City. The movement once again returned to national headlines and gained further international attention during the global protests against Floyd’s death by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
