1 Black Lives Matter: a Short History of a Long Movement What Does

Black Lives Matter: A Short History of a Long Movement Demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri 2014 What does “Black Lives Matter” mean to you? What do you think and feel when you hear it? The ideas behind this controversial phrase and social movement are not as new as you may think. Some feel a connection to this phrase while others feel angry or alienated. This display explores the origins of “Black Lives Matter” and the corresponding movement. The declaration “Black Lives Matter” is an assertion of basic civil and human rights and a call for the end of racism and oppression. It suggests that Black lives continue to be devalued and considered inferior to the lives of others. The Black Lives Matter Movement is a response to ongoing dehumanization. It is currently a decentralized broad-based collective of local organizers working for freedom and justice for all Black people regardless of sex, gender, disability, class, nationality, religion, or any other social status. Their goal is to empower people to challenge anti-Blackness and disrupt, through non-violent action, a pattern of state sanctioned violence and racism against Black people and systemic inequality in Black communities around the world. But why do people feel this way? When and why did this start? The ideas behind “Black Lives Matter” and Black resilience, resistance, and persistence is as old as our colonial history. Enslaved people in the Americas were treated as chattel – that is, property - without the rights of human beings. Enslaved status became race based and largely permanent unless an owner decided otherwise. The brutality and inhumanity of slavery led to abolitionist movements around the world and an effort to get people to see the enslaved as fellow brothers and sisters in A former slave, Gordon, humanity. Such efforts led to the following declarations: displaying scars from whip marks. Circa 1863 1 “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?”: London, 1787 Led by Quakers, the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade met in London to discuss strategy for convincing the public that the lives of the Black enslaved mattered as much as everyone else’s. To emphasize the humanity of the enslaved and the injustice of the slave trade, they approved the slogan “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” along with a design for an emblem and seal. “Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?”: Ohio, 1830 By the 1800’s, British abolitionists began to include women in the slogan. It was picked up by the abolitionist newspaper Genius of Universal Emancipation that published a design of a Black woman in chains. Wasn’t equal opportunity and full citizenship achieved when slavery ended? In 1865, 35 years after the “Am I Not a Woman” appeal, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the U.S. (except as a punishment for crime). While no longer considered property, African Americans still weren’t granted the full rights of freedom, equality, and personhood – it was as if their lives didn’t matter. The “punishment for crime” exception in the 13th amendment was exploited. Shortly after emancipation, the criminal justice system was used as a means for continued enslavement and brutal social control of African Americans. For example, Black Codes legally restricted the lives and movements of Black people, including employment. Convict leasing was used to re-enslave; African Americans, arrested with or without cause, were leased out by prison systems to work without pay on plantations and elsewhere, especially in the South. To justify this, Black men were portrayed as inherently dangerous and criminal in media and rhetoric. It became a powerful and enduring image in the American imagination that persists to this day. In addition, the 50-year period after Reconstruction brought a particularly harsh reign of terror down upon Black people and communities. White citizens could threaten, attack, kill, or destroy Black people and their entire communities without fear of prosecution. Sometimes these acts were facilitated by law enforcement. 2 Flag flown by the NAACP in NYC between 1920-1938 Examples include the 1898 Wilmington, NC Massacre, Red Summer of 1919, 1921 Tulsa, OK Massacre, 1923 Rosewood, FL Massacre, and the 1961 Freedom Rider attacks. Lynchings (the extrajudicial group murder of someone accused of an offense) were also common. You could be lynched for harmless actions like trying to vote or looking at someone the wrong way. It’s estimated that in 1892, over 150 Black people were lynched. That’s one Black person every 2-3 days. The last recorded U.S. lynching was James Byrd in 1998. Further, African Americans were disproportionately victimized by police who were often allowed to rob, assault, torture, rape, and murder with impunity as they enforced white supremacy through fear and intimidation (e.g.: Bloody Sunday in Selma 1965). Also common were unconstitutional stops and searches, general harassment, “I am in Birmingham Because injustice is here…. discrimination in jury selection and sentencing, and inhuman prison conditions. Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every This physical danger was added to the daily frustration and degradation of section of the country. Its segregation laws, poor work conditions, and discrimination in schooling, hiring, unjust treatment of housing, voting and all other areas of society. Negros in the courts is a notorious reality. There have been more Didn’t the 1964 Civil Rights Act solve these problems? unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in While King and others fought legalized segregation in the South, African any city in this nation.” Americans in northern and western states were experiencing discrimination and Martin Luther King, Jr. second-class citizenship that wasn’t necessarily codified into law. Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) A movement for self-determination and empowerment emerged in the West to fight the sense of powerlessness that can occur when your country engages in a life-long assault on your rights and human dignity - as if your life doesn’t matter. These efforts led to the following declaration: “Black Power”: Oakland, CA 1966 Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) was initially established to monitor police abuse in Black communities. They formed patrols to protect residents from the routine violation of their rights, including police brutality. Although they legally carried weapons, they didn’t advocate for violence as an offensive strategy. By 1969, the BPP also developed survive and thrive programs - 3 they provided free breakfasts for children, established free medical clinics, helped the homeless find housing, and gave away free clothing and food. While the Black community fought to empower themselves in the North and West, those in the South were having to do the same, despite legal wins against segregation. Many southern communities continued to segregate in violation of the law, and systemic discrimination in employment, schooling, law enforcement, and so on continued unabated. While African Americans chanted “Black Power” in Oakland, Chicago, and New York, Black men in Tennessee declared the following while insisting their humanity be recognized: “I AM A MAN”: February 12, 1968 After a long history of overly long hours, low pay, and dangerous work conditions, the predominantly Black Memphis sanitation workers went on strike after two of their men were killed on the job by malfunctioning equipment that took the lives of others four years prior. The strike attracted the attention of national civil rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. James Lawson who declared "at the heart of racism is the idea that a man is not a man, that a person is not a person. You are human beings. You are men. You deserve dignity." Signs carried by strikers reading “I Am A Man” became a symbol of the fight for human dignity. Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike March 29, 1968 It’s now the 21st century – these historical problems have been solved, right? Unfortunately, the history, oppression, and ideas underlying the phrase “I AM A MAN” still exist today. In addition to the historical impact of hundreds of years of dehumanization and discrimination, African Americans are still fighting for the fulfillment of basic rights. With cameras now ubiquitous, negative reactions to African Americans engaging in daily living have been recorded and shared publicly. Ranging from insulting (police called on an eight-year-old for selling bottled water) to life threatening (an officer aiming his gun at a man who was using a plastic tool to pick up trash in his own yard), these incidents have once again led to rising frustrations that Black lives are given little consideration. Along with differential treatment in housing, employment, schooling, and daily life, there is extensive data and evidence showing the persistence of discrimination in the criminal justice system that disproportionately affects Black communities. A series of questionable deaths for which no one was held accountable inflamed tension and stoked activism. Trayvon Martin’s story was the spark. 4 February 26, 2012 George Zimmerman, a member of the neighborhood watch in Sanford, FL, sees 17- year-old Trayvon Martin walking down the street as Martin returns from the store. Believing he looks suspicious, Zimmerman calls Sanford police and begins to follow Martin, against the direction of the dispatcher. There is an altercation and Zimmerman shoots and kills Martin who is unarmed. Mounting pressure and criticism of the handling of the case eventually led to an investigation. Over a month after the incident, on April 11, 2012, Zimmerman was formally charged with second-degree murder for the death of Trayvon Martin. Based on an argument of self-defense, on July 13, 2013 a six-person jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the killing of Trayvon Martin, leading people to declare: “Black Lives Matter”: July 13, 2013 In response to the not-guilty verdict, Alicia Garza begins a series of social media posts.

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