Black Lives Matter - Short Movement History and Fact Sheet

2013: Black Lives Matter is founded by Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza, and Patrisse Khan-Cullors

  • Black Lives Matter (BLM) was founded in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. It originated as an online movement, stylized as #BlackLivesMatter.

    • Trayon Martin was a Black high school student who was killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman alleged that he was forced to shoot Martin in self-defense, and was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Zimmerman was acquitted. (source: CNN)

  • BLM developed as a chapter-based, member-led organization, dedicated to obtaining justice and addressing systemic racism and violence inflicted on Black communities.

2014: The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, by a white police officer is the impetus for greater growth and development.

  • Michael Brown was a teenager who was shot and killed by a white police officer on Aug. 9, 2014. Brown was walking in the middle of a road with a friend, and was told by a police officer driving by to use the sidewalk. In an ensuing altercation, the officer fatally shot Brown. Protests against Brown’s death turned violent, and businesses were damaged, looted, and burned. Protests continued, and Darren Wilson, the police officer, was not charged. (source: AP)

  • The events in Ferguson were the catalyst for a renewed commitment to fighting anti-Black racism, ending police brutality, changing policy, and supporting Black political candidates. BLM members travelled to Ferguson to support the protests surrounding Brown’s death, and many returned home and established more BLM chapters.

Now: BLM is a movement composed on local chapters dedicated to achieving freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people

  • Following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the emergence of video footage of Ahmaud Arbery’s death, the BLM movement has risen to the forefront of the nation’s consciousness. Social media has allowed disparate counties and cities to join the movement, succeed with grassroots fundraising, and share resources and information quickly.

  • BLM chapters and other anti-racist organizations demand different things. Some demands from BLM organizers include:

    • Defunding, divesting from, or re-modeling the police, and redirecting funds to education, housing, and social services

    • Police-free schools

    • Abolishing capital punishment

    • Decriminalization or legalization of marijuana 

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Taking Action on Police Brutality from Home (Part II)