Black Lives Matter Movement Shakes Up, Wakes Up the World with Protests
Photo Courtesy of @rjg.iii on Instagram
People march down the streets of New York City, New York, for the BLM movement. Photo taken on June 2, 2020.
October 26, 2020
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement shook the nation into countless marches, protesting harsh police brutality, and ill-treatment towards African Americans.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man was killed after a police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes on May 25, 2020. This led to an uproar. Protests have occurred all around the world with the participation from supporters. On June 6, there were over 15 million people who protested in cities all around the world to protest the several deaths of African Americans who were victims of injustice.
Nations came together to bring justice for all the Black men and women killed as a result of police brutality including Floyd.
The inability for these few “bad apples” to be properly sentenced caused outrage in protesters and their rage also affected the police officers and departments responsible for their involvement in the murders.
A specific case of this was the burning of the Minneapolis Police Station. Hundreds of spectators began to chant “burn it down, burn it down,” as the fire began on May 28, only a few days after the death of Floyd.
Sophomore, Emiliano Ayala, said, “There obviously needs to be reformation and requirement changes in order to be a police officer.”
Ayala added, “I feel like the protests are a great way to get our voices heard and get a message out.”
Opposing sides pleaded that “All lives matter.” This led to celebrities speaking out on social media about their thoughts on the Black Lives Matter protests.
Well known model Bella Hadid posted, “I’m sure all of you feel the same way, but my sadness has viciously turned into anger…this will not be overlooked!!”
15-year-old Andrea Haro, attended one of the many BLM protests in Santa Ana and gave insight on what she experienced.
“We were chanting, demanding justice for those who we have lost to police brutality,” said Haro.
She felt safe and at home seeing crowds of people come together to spread awareness for people who lost their lives as a result of police brutality and she found it extraordinary.
Haro saw that protests were being given a bad reputation.
“At first I was really worried just because of what I was hearing from the media and I was scared I was going to be put in danger,” said Haro.
Sophomore, Cecilia Mejia, attends Godinez Fundamental High School.
Mejia said, “I think the BLM movement is so amazing and inspirational.”
For her, the BLM movement is not about making one racial group superior, it is about making them equal.
Mejia felt empowered, “It is a fight for equality that we’ve been fighting for, for decades.”
A peaceful protest in Seattle, Wash., June 1, quickly turned violent with the use of batons, pepper spray, and tear gas. Protests are said to often be peaceful and only turn violent because of police officers.
Many cities such as New York, Miami, and Los Angeles have had countless protests to give light to the names of those who were murdered. In early June, a large group of protesters in Hollywood of over 20,000 people gathered to protest the death of George Floyd. This was the largest protest of the year for the BLM movement.
The allegations of excessive police force on social media posts skyrocketed after the protests and the countless deaths of African Americans. People turned to social media as an outlet and as a billboard to announce these cases and get justice.
Even with the increase of police murders of innocent Black Americans, the government and courts have not pressed charges on most of the officers involved. This sparked even more outrage in protesters who are looking for justice to be served.
Jonathan Prince, a 31-year-old Black man, was killed by Wolfie City Police officer Shaun Lucas on October 3 at a local gas station.
In a recent tweet, Ben Crump, a Trial Lawyer for Justice, made a memorial post for Prince.
He tweeted, “Jonathan Price was a “pillar of the community” and was simply trying to help those in need… but was assaulted, tased, shot and KILLED on Saturday by Wolfe City police. When will the open season end on our Black brothers and sisters?? We demand #JusticeForJonathan!!”
According to the Texas Rangers, the investigation on his death found that Officer Lucas used deadly force that was not “objectively reasonable”
These kinds of tragedies are what started the BLM protests in the first place. This case is only one out of the countless deaths caused by unnecessary police brutality.
With the never ending deaths of innocent African Americans, protests will continue to strive for change. This is not a mere phase, it is a movement that will continue to support BLM until equality and justice is fulfilled.
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Genesis Chevez • Mar 3, 2021 at 7:21 pm
The first thing that comes to my mind by readying the article is the word unfair just on how police pick and choose.I agree with the writers of this article “ill-treatment towards African Americans” I believe that there has been so many situations showing evidence on how poor police treat people of color.Nothing has came to an end the people that are supposed to be protecting us are doing us harm.”Over 15 million people protesting “which was stated in this article an incredible number of people fighting for others that their voice couldn’t be heard.The fight doesn’t end till we all see changes on how police handle situations in different ways where no one is harmed.
Mariajose Guillen • Mar 1, 2021 at 12:09 pm
I agree with this article because POC need to be heard and not shut down. In my opinion i think that everyone should be heard and their opinion should matter even if they are a person of color. I feel that it is sad how we have to protest and “demand” to be heard. Its sad because our opinion and voice should be heard and we shouldn’t have to protest for our lives since that should be a basic human right. Although i don’t agree with the police stations being burnt down since protest were supposed to be peaceful but in many places the police started the violence and led us to attack back. It’s also sad how little kids fear being killed by police. At such a young age they are already fearing for their lives. What happened to George Floyd is only one of the many “unnecessary” police brutality deaths.
Andrea Haro • Dec 11, 2020 at 6:07 pm
This was such an amazing article. I 100% agree with every statement. I believe our voices have been silenced for way to long and it is finally time we are able to be heard. With that being said many people still believe our voices will one day be lost but in this article it states ¨This is not a mere phase, it is a movement that will continue to support BLM until equality and justice is fulfilled.¨ and I fully agree. Many people believe we will get our statements out and end up forgetting about it. But we will never forget, we will never forget all the people we have lost merely because of the color of their skin. We will keep fighting until our voices are heard and everyone we have lost has gotten the justice they deserve. Black Lives Matter.
Johnathan Lopez Gallardo • Nov 17, 2020 at 11:07 am
I totally agree with this article because so many people of color never get there voices heard they are always shut down.People of color should not be treated different or mistreated they should be treated equally just like everyone.“It is a fight for equality that we’ve been fighting for, for decades.”This quote shows how people of color want justice and equality they are fighting to get that.This is very unhappy because so many people get killed and hurt by other people because of the skin color they have.
Alondra Piñon • Nov 16, 2020 at 10:29 pm
The uproar should have began way before him (not saying that it’s bad that it did). People should have taken into their views that there was mistreatment against the African-Americans. It’s been going for a long time now and I think it is truly amazing how people can come together for the defense of humanity. I agree with the entire article saying that we should speak up and that our skin color shouldn’t define if we do or not. If we don’t like it we will speak our mind no matter color, race, age, gender, etc. We shouldn’t be put down when we are speaking up for something we know is wrong. People’s minds were “closed parachutes,” they needed to open them in order for them to work. To work on addressing the issue in a way that helped out.
Michelle Alarcon • Nov 6, 2020 at 7:10 pm
I agree with this article because getting your voice heard is significant. Since some do not want to protest but people should not be silenced. It’s disappointing to see people being injured because of their skin color. Also because police officers being afraid of their skin color. In the article, it says ” The inability for these few “bad apples” to be properly sentenced caused outrage in protesters..” The “bad apples” in this article are the police officers. BLACK LIVES MATTER!
Krystal Santos • Nov 5, 2020 at 11:28 am
I agree with this article because it is important to have your voice heard. People should not be silenced because others don’t want to cause chaos. Just as the saying goes “Sometimes you have to fall before you fly” this applies to the real world. It’s sad to see people get hurt because of the color of their skin. Some people are acting like little kids trying to avoid this, but you either move with or without everyone.