Black Lives Matter

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An NAACP flyer campaigning for the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 1922, but was filibustered to defeat in the Senate. Dyer, the NAACP, and freedom fighters around the country, like Flossie Baily, struggled for years to get the Dyer and other anti-lynching bills passed, to no avail. Today there is still no U.S. law specifically against lynching. In 2005, eighty of the 100 U.S. Senators voted for a resolution to apologize to victims' families and the country for their failure to outlaw lynching. Courtesy of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Some Exhibits to Come – One Hundred Years of Jim Crow
Mammy Statue JC Museum Ferris
Bibliography – One Hundred Years Of Jim Crow
Claude, age 23, just months before his 1930 murder. Courtesy of Faith Deeter.
Freedom’s Heroes During Jim Crow: Flossie Bailey and the Deeters
Souvenir Portrait of the Lynching of Abram Smith and Thomas Shipp, August 7, 1930, by studio photographer Lawrence Beitler. Courtesy of the Indiana Hisorical Society.
An Iconic Lynching in the North
Lynching Quilt
Claxton Dekle – Prosperous Farmer, Husband & Father of Two
Joshua Glover Plaque
Some Exhibits to Come – Three Centuries Of Enslavement
Harriet Tubman, "The Conductor," with fugitive slaves in Underground Railroad station
Bibliography – Three Centuries of Enslavement
Ancient manuscripts about mathematics and astronomy from Timbuktu, Mali
Some Exhibits to Come – African Peoples Before Captivity
Shackles for Adults & Children from the Henrietta Marie
Some Exhibits to Come – The Middle Passage
Slaveship Stowage Plan
What I Saw Aboard a Slave Ship in 1829
Arno Michaels
Life After Hate: A Former White Power Leader Redeems Himself

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Black Lives Matter, sometimes shortened to “BLM,” is an anti-racist movement that highlights racism and the disparities that evolve from racism, including police brutality and other anti-Black violence. Black Lives Matter gained popularity online after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer was recorded and shared by a bystander. In response to the video, which shows officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, protests erupted around the world. These protests were often met with police violence, some of which has been declared illegal while protestors have been falsely arrested.

The momentum continued to draw attention to police violence, both as more Black lives were taken and as previous stories came to light. Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Breonna Taylor are also victims who the movement has recognized. Thanks to the attention given to these cases, some of the perpetrators have finally faced justice, including Derek Chauvin, who has been convicted with murder.

BLM also encouraged police reform and greater investigations into policing, with some activists calling for reparations  or to defund the police and reroute funds to other social programs that may be more effective. The movement has further brought attention to international conflict and raised funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some ways, the movement reflects the previous Civil Rights Movement, which lasted through the 1960s to 1980s including the Black Panther Party, which provided community assistance. Because of this, the movement has been recognized for its historical significance. 

However, the movement has come under fire for protests that turned violent, for focusing too much on Black men, and for mismanaging funds raised.

A nonprofit organization, The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, also exists. Some people may refer to it as simply “Black Lives Matter.”

See all of our Black Lives Matter content below, starting with the most recent.

Louisiana deputy shown slamming Black woman to ground by her braids in viral video

October 18, 2021

In the video, an unidentified JPSO deputy is seen holding Shantel Arnold’s wrist as she is lying on her back on the sidewalk. In the graphic and disturbing video, the deputy is seen dragging Arnold along the pavement. He then lifts her up and slams her to the ground several times. 

Black Girls and Women Killed At Rate of 4 Per Day In 2020 As Homicides Increased

October 7, 2021

The FBI and CDC found that Black girls and women were the most often killed among female demographics last year.

Man arrested for allegedly vandalizing George Floyd statue

October 5, 2021

Michael Beals has been charged with criminal mischief for defacing the bronze-finished bust of Floyd on Oct. 3 in Union Square Park.

DOJ Announces New Limits on Chokeholds and No-Knock Warrants

September 15, 2021

By Rachel Pilgrim, TheRoot.com The agency acknowledged that the tactics lead to unnecessary deaths but doesn’t outright ban them in the new directive. In the past year, the calls to end fatal encounters with law enforcement have only gotten louder. Many of the physical restraints and apprehension tactics that result in the unnecessary deaths of Black people are legally protected and allow officers to get away with taking lives. Now, a new directive attempts to cap the number of people dying in encounters with the law. On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced new limits on chokeholds and no-knock warrants in a new policy for federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and DEA. The new policy comes more than a year after the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor during a botched police raid executing a no-knock warrant and seven years after Eric Garner’s death sparked debates over police chokeholds Read the full article here. To learn more about police reform in the wake of the fight for justice for the murder of Breonna Taylor here. More Breaking News here.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Lawsuit Filed Over Century-Old Confederate Statue in the Majority-Black City of Tuskegee, Alabama

September 12, 2021

Macon County officials covered the base of a Confederate statue, Friday, June 12, 2020, in Tuskegee, Ala., after it was vandalized with spray-painted obscenities. The Alabama county is seeking to remove the statue that sits in a town square. Photo: Kim Chandler (AP)

Corporate America’s $50 billion promise

August 24, 2021

After the death of George Floyd, corporate America promised African American’s millions of dollars towards economic development, but has it been successful?

Special News Series: Rising Up for Justice! – Congress approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday

June 17, 2021

The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. The House voted 415-14 Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday.

Special News Series: Rising Up for Justice! – Black Lives Matter protesters make Palestinian struggle their own

June 16, 2021

BLM recently came out in support of Palestinians’ fight for liberation. A rally in New York City linking defunding the NYPD with ending aid to Israel highlights a growing awareness that these anti-colonial struggles connect us all.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – A Timeline of What Has Happened in the Year Since George Floyd’s Death

May 25, 2021

The country has both struggled to confront its history of racial division while continuing to succumb to it. Here’s a look back at all that has transpired since the killing of Mr. Floyd.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – George Floyd’s Family Meets With Biden Amid Negotiations Over Police Reform Bill

May 25, 2021

President Biden lauded the courage of George Floyd’s family after meeting with them on the first anniversary of his murder by a Minneapolis police officer, a killing that launched protests and calls for police reform nationwide.