Guiding Principles of #BLM
We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front.
We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.
We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.
We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.
The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.
-Entry from blacklivesmatter.com
When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir.
Michel Martin interviews Patrisse Khan-Cullors for NPR regarding her published memoir called "When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir." Patrisse Khan-Cullors is one of the three women who in 2013 started using #BLM as an organizing tool to express their frustration, anger and pain over the violent deaths of unarmed black children and adults.
Here's a sneak peek into the 7-minute interview:
What she says to those who perceive Black Lives Matter as anti-white
"It's unequivocally not true. Black Lives Matter is really Black Lives Matter Too. It is not a phrase that is about excluding — it's a phrase that is about focus. We are focusing on black people because time and time again, we become the subjects of neglect."
BLM Articles
- The Black Lives Matter movement, crime and police brutality: Comparative study of New York Post and New York Daily NewsArticle written by Brian Chama for European Journal of American Culture, September 2019. FROM ABSTRACT - It is a comparative study that analyses the reportage by the tabloids New York Post and the New York Daily News. It focuses on the shooting of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old African American killed by a police officer Jason Van Dyke. It engages literature mainly from scholars on African American studies. It also interviews African Americans on their perception.
- Cop Fragility and Blue Lives MatterBy Frank Rudy Cooper for the University of Illinois Law Review, 2020. This Article illuminates a heretofore unrecognized source of police resistance to criticism by utilizing diversity trainer and New York Times best-selling author Robin DiAngelo's recent theory of white fragility. "White fragility" captures many whites' reluctance to discuss ongoing racism, or even that whiteness creates a distinct set of experiences and perspectives. White fragility is based on two myths: the ideas that one could be an unraced and purely neutral individual--false objectivity--and that only evil people perpetuate racial subordination--bad intent theory. Cop fragility is an analogous oversensitivity to criticism that blocks necessary conversations about race and policing.
Streaming
Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform for public libraries and universities that offers films and documentaries. Dominican University subscribes to Kanopy and you can start browsing here. Or, you can click the logo above to check out Kanopy's curated list of films tackling social and systemic injustice. They have compiled 52 films to get you started. Don't forget to have your Dominican Log In information on hand!
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What is Black Lives Matter?
Black Lives Matter is a global, chapter-based, member-led movement that began as a hashtag, a response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer, George Zimmerman. #BlackLivesMatter was the social media rallying cry of three black radical organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. According to blacklivesmatter.com, “Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ humanity, our contributions to society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” In 2014, following the death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO, Black Lives Matter galvanized and organized a collective response, called the Black Life Matters Ride. More than 600 people from all over the country gathered to make two commitments: to provide support to the teams in and around St. Louis, and to return to their respective homes to spearhead local activism. Since then, Black Lives Matter has used its protest strategies to disrupt local politics as well as the campaign events of presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump; activists learned to create opportunities to swap strategies, to avoid government surveillance, and to encrypt their smartphone communications. Time Magazine salutes Black Lives Matter's transformation from “an organic uprising” to “organized blocs with specific demands” that attend to issues of police brutality and injustice. Black Lives Matter has about 30 official chapters and by upholding their principles, new chapters can acquire a charter; the network is growing. In 2015, Black Lives Matter was on the short list for Time ‘s Person of the Year. The movement and its local chapters have garnered a wide range of responses to their collective call, from #alllivesmatter to the tragic events at Charlottesville, VA. Despite the counter-protests, Black Lives Matter continues to effect change and to introduce a vocabulary for confronting American society's various social ills.
-CREDO Entry from Encyclopedia of African-American Writing
Must access on campus or have DOM ID for off campus access
An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi
Born out of a social media post, the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked discussion about race and inequality across the world. In this spirited conversation with Mia Birdsong, the movement's three founders share what they've learned about leadership and what provides them with hope and inspiration in the face of painful realities. Their advice on how to participate in ensuring freedom for everybody: join something, start something and "sharpen each other, so that we all can rise."
Reference Sources
- Black Lives Matter Research StarterBy Michael Ruth, Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2020
- Black Lives Matter 2013-From Encyclopedia of African-American Writing
- A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter MovementWritten by founder Alicia Garza for Encyclopedia of African-American Writing
Books & eBooks
Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? by Call Number: E185.86 .A28 2017ISBN: 9780872867390Publication Date: 2017-05-15"This collection of short meditations, written from a prison cell, captures the past two decades of police violence that gave rise to Black Lives Matter while digging deeply into the history of the United States. This is the book we need right now to find our bearings in the chaos."--Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States "[Mumia’s] writings are a wake-up call. He is a voice from our prophetic tradition, speaking to us here, now, lovingly, urgently.”--Cornel West "He allows us to reflect upon the fact that transformational possibilities often emerge where we least expect them.”--Angela Y. Davis In December 1981, Mumia Abu Jamal was shot and beaten into unconsciousness by Philadelphia police. He awoke to find himself shackled to a hospital bed, accused of killing a cop. He was convicted and sentenced to death in a trial that Amnesty International has denounced as failing to meet the minimum standards of judicial fairness. In Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?, Mumia gives voice to the many people of color who have fallen to police bullets or racist abuse, and offers the post-Ferguson generation advice on how to address police abuse in the United States. This collection of his radio commentaries on the topic features an in-depth essay written especially for this book to examine the history of policing in America, with its origins in the white slave patrols of the antebellum South and an explicit mission to terrorize the country’s black population. Applying a personal, historical, and political lens, Mumia provides a righteously angry and calmly principled radical black perspective on how racist violence is tearing our country apart and what must be done to turn things around. Mumia Abu-Jamal is author of many books, including Death Blossoms, Live from Death Row, All Things Censored, and Writing on the Wall.
The New Jim Crow by Call Number: HV9950 .A437 2012ISBN: 1595586431Publication Date: 2012-01-16In a bold and innovative argument, a rising legal star shows readers how the mass incarceration of a disproportionate number of black men amounts to a devastating system of racial control. This is a terrifying reality that exists in the UK as much as in the US. Despite the triumphant dismantling of the Jim Crow laws, the system that once forced African-Americans into a segregated second-class citizenship still haunts and the criminal justice system still unfairly targets black men and deprives an entire segment of the population of their basic rights.
Kanopy Streaming
On July 10, 2015, Sandra Bland, a vibrant 28-year-old African American from Chicago, was arrested for a traffic violation in a small Texas town. After three days in custody, she was found hanging from a noose in her cell. Bland's death was quickly ruled a suicide, sparking allegations of a murder and cover-up, and turning her case and name into a rallying cry nationwide.
From the Oscar(r)-nominated, Emmy(r)- and Peabody Award-winning team of directors/producers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND examines this story in depth, revealing previously unknown details. The film follows the Bland family and legal team from the first weeks after her death as they try to find out what really happened in that jail cell in Texas. Embedded with the family and their lawyers, the filmmakers tracked the story for two years, drawing on key documents, jail footage and interviews with those closest to the events.
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, WHOSE STREETS? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri. Grief, long-standing racial tensions and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. Empowered parents, artists, and teachers from around the country come together as freedom fighters.
As the National Guard descends on Ferguson with military grade weaponry, these young community members become the torchbearers of a new resistance. Filmmakers Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis know this story because they are the story. WHOSE STREETS? is a powerful battle cry from a generation fighting, not for their civil rights, but for the right to live.
LAW & ORDER surveys the wide range of work the police are asked to perform: enforcing the law, maintaining order, and providing general social services. The incidents shown illustrate how training, community expectations, socio-economic status of the subject, the threat of violence, and discretion affect police behavior.
This documentary welcomes dialogue around racial inequality, policing, and the Criminal Justice System by focusing on Eric Garners case. We hope viewers will increase their understanding of issues plaguing Black and Brown Communities by witnessing a massive group of protesters unite for the purpose of justice.
Eric Garners case centers at the struggle between new age policing that involves policy and laws that aggressively target Quality of Life offenses known as Broken Windows; selling Lucy cigarettes is considered one of these crimes, which Mr. Garner was known to do but contrary to belief he was not doing on the day he was killed, he was actually breaking up a fight prior to law enforcements arrival.
This film was shot in 2014. At the time it was completed we hoped that the 70,000 plus people who voiced their concern over the Eric Garners death would help to cease further causalities, unfortunately the opposite was true.
Since, law enforcement weaponry is more powerful than it has ever been. A steady increase in police killings has occurred from 2013-2015. In 2013 there were 771 killings, 2014 about 1100, and by 2015 the year concluded with 1201. An unacceptable portion of these citizens were unarmed.
As of August 2016, 734 people have been killed by U.S. police since January 1. It is going to take a new generation of thinkers to create a new system, one that is equal, loving, and for all people. Hopefully our film will help to spark great ideas and discussions surrounding the solutions and changes needed to achieve a new Criminal Justice System.
Black Lives Matter LibGuide
For more information on Black Lives Matter, check out the Black Lives Matter LibGuide by clicking the image above!
