Black Lives Matter (BLM) first emerged after the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The movement gained momentum from 2013 to 2014 in response to the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. In 2020 the world was exposed to over 9 horrifying minutes of a police officer in Minneapolis, MN murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck.

From that collective American trauma, the BLM movement began to spread around the world. People in cities large and small protested systemic racism, oppression, and the extrajudicial killing of Black people – because though the local manifestations may be unique, white supremacy and its legacies have impacted our global society in ways that ring familiar across many cultures.

Although the media has given less time and attention to this movement in the last year, BLM still needs your support.

 

Keep Educating Yourself

Go beyond the headlines and buzzwords to learn more about the important political, economic, and social issues at play.

 

Stay Involved

These are just a few of the organizations advancing the mission of racial justice. Since the work doesn’t stop when the headlines change, consider how you can lend continuing support.

 

  • Black Lives Matter – Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc – A member-led global network of more than 40 chapters that organize and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
  • NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Founded in 1940 as the first civil and human rights law firm in the US, the LDF fights for full racial equality.
  • Black Visions Collective – “A Black-led, Queer and Trans centering organization” building collective power among Black communities and dismantling systems of violence.
  • Know Your Rights Camp – A legal defense initiative to provide legal resources to those who have been arrested or met with violence while fighting injustices.