Nineteen Fifty-Six Vol. 2 No. 5

SHAMIEL MOORE
BLACK LIVES
STILL MATTER
2020 was a crucial year for
social justice in the United
States. Breonna Taylor was
killed by the police in Louisville on
March 13. Not long after, the world
watched as George Floyd was killed
by the police on May 25.
Tension has been built up for years
with the multitude of Black Americans
being killed at the hands of police.
Streets were filled with protestors of
all races throughout the country and
throughout the world and social media
was flooded with #BLM hashtags
and internet performances showing
support.
After months of displays, the
discussion and protests died down
and people slowly stopped talking
about the issues. This is a reminder
that Black lives still matter and must
be a frequent topic for the betterment
of Black Americans’ circumstances.
Black Lives Matter is not simply an
organization or trend, it is a priority
and a mission that must be reinforced
until an actual change in society is
made.
Recent reports have shown that the
support for the Black Lives Matter
movement has slowly declined since
it’s peak in June of 2020. Nobody in
the U.S. was privy to George Floyd’s
murder, as the video showed police
officer Derek Chauvin kneel on his
neck for 8 minutes.
In 1991, Rodney King was assaulted by
police officers on camera. Like Floyd’s
murder, riots spread after King’s
attack. The fact that everyone had
video access to both incidents caused
anger within the Black community,
only with Floyd’s murder, it led to
other nations getting involved.
Protests occurred in countries such
as the United States, England, South
Korea, Italy, Sweden. “I Can’t Breathe”
signs were a global item. Videos were
posted in different languages talking
about this injustice in U.S. history.
For months, there was growing
support.
With all the chaos surrounding the
question, “Do Black Lives Matter,”
young Black people were experiencing
a major shift in their life. UA freshman
Timira Lawson says that the summer
of 2020 was a traumatizing experience.
“I felt like it was extremely harsh and it
could have been handled differently,”
Lawson said. “Now we are more afraid
of cops than ever and it was sad to see
people injured and killed.”
As protests died down and people
stopped making posts, the summer
of 2020 became a dark memory for
most people. Soon #BLM was taken
out of celebrities’ Instagram bios
and the cities were being cleaned up.
Many people felt it was no longer their
obligation to openly show support.
UA sophomore Spencer Lott believes
that people didn’t take the protests
and issues seriously and simply wanted
to keep a clean record.
“I do believe that to an extent
people hopped onto it, kind of like a
bandwagon,” Lott said. “Most of it felt
really shallow and not genuine, and
many of the events felt very temporary
and only after tragedies these issues
are talked about.”
People slowly forgot the traumatic
experience of that summer and moved
on with their lives. But for Black
people, 2020 still lingers. The question
‘Do Black Lives Matter?’ provokes
the option that Black Lives could be
worthless, an idea that has emotionally
damaged many Black people in the U.S.
The question became more politicized
than socially relevant. With the political
system not built in Black people’s favor,
they’re forced to tolerate unnecessary
evils. Police brutality happens often
and blatant racism is extremely
prevalent in the modern day.
There are many people still fighting
for justice despite the BLM “trend” of
2020 being over. Black Lives Matter
needs more than just black square
posts, and social media dances, and
catchphrases, but systemic changes for
the benefit of all Black people.
19