- August 3, 2020 Social Justice
In 2014, when the Black Lives Matter movement began, I was kind of offended by that statement. Of course I believed that Black lives matter, but it sounded so separatist. I was okay with All Lives Matter because I believe they do, but that seemed like arguing against the Black Lives Matter movement.
In recent months, thanks to cameras and news, I have become more aware of just how much the Black community is and has been targeted with systemic racism and personal hatred. I find it difficult to see and hear about the violence to Black people, yet Black people
have lived with this violence since coming to America—slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynchings, Ku Klux Klan burnings, police brutality, prison instead of treatment—the list goes on and on. Someone recently told me it is like going to the doctor with a painful broken arm. What if the doctor said, “Well, all of your bones matter, so let’s look at your legs, back and neck first!”Yes, all lives matter, but Black Americans are the ones hurting now.
Our country is hurting now by the racism of our society.We really need to say and act as though Black lives matter. My favorite sign says, “All lives do not matter until Black lives matter.”