User:DraconicDark/Black Lives Matter Portal
Portal maintenance status: (February 2019)
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Introduction
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people and to promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The movement began in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rekia Boyd, among others. BLM and its related organizations typically advocate for various policy changes related to black liberation and criminal justice reform. While there are specific organizations that label themselves "Black Lives Matter", such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the overall movement is a decentralized network with no formal hierarchy. , there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself has not been trademarked by any group.
In 2013, activists and friends Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi originated the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter became nationally recognized for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two more African Americans, Michael Brown—resulting in protests and unrest in Ferguson, Missouri—and Eric Garner in New York City. Since the Ferguson protests, participants in the movement have demonstrated against the deaths of numerous other African Americans by police actions or while in police custody. In the summer of 2015, Black Lives Matter activists became involved in the 2016 United States presidential election.
The movement gained international attention during global protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. An estimated 15 to 26 million people participated in Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, making it one of the largest protest movements in the country's history. Despite being characterized by opponents as violent, the overwhelming majority of BLM demonstrations have been peaceful.
The popularity of Black Lives Matter has shifted over time, largely due to changing perceptions among white Americans. In 2020, 67% of adults in the United States expressed support for the movement, declining to 51% of U.S. adults in 2023. Support among people of color has, however, held strong, with 81% of African Americans, 61% of Hispanics and 63% of Asian Americans expressing support for Black Lives Matter as of 2023. (Full article...)
Selected general articles
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Jari Jones (born 1991) is an American trans Femme activist, performance artist and creative. Jones was a cast member, script consultant, acting coach, and producer of Port Authority. (Full article...) -
Image 2We Stand With You is a 2020 mural of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor by artist Christian Grijalva, installed in Portland, Oregon. (Full article...)
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Image 3On November 22, 2014, Tamir E. Rice, a 12-year-old African American boy, was killed in Cleveland, Ohio, by Timothy Loehmann, a 26-year-old white police officer. Rice was carrying a replica toy gun; Loehmann shot him almost immediately upon arriving on the scene. Two officers, Loehmann and 46-year-old Frank Garmback, were responding to a police dispatch call regarding a male who had a gun. A caller reported that a male was pointing "a pistol" at random people at the Cudell Recreation Center, a park in the City of Cleveland's Public Works Department. At the beginning of the call and again in the middle, he says of the pistol "it's probably fake." Toward the end of the two-minute call the caller states that "he is probably a juvenile", but the dispatcher did not relay either of these statements to Loehmann and Garmback.
The officers reported that when they arrived at the scene, they both continuously yelled "show me your hands" through the open patrol car window. Loehmann further stated that instead of showing his hands, it appeared as if Rice was trying to draw: "I knew it was a gun and I knew it was coming out." The officer shot twice, hitting Rice once in the torso. According to Judge Ronald B. Adrine, "...On the video the zone car containing Patrol Officers Loehmann and Garmback is still in the process of stopping when Rice is shot." Rice died the following day. (Full article...) -
Image 4Individuals and organizations throughout the United States and the world have responded to the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and riots. (Full article...)
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Image 5On April 2, 2015, 43-year-old African-American Eric Courtney Harris was fatally shot during an undercover sting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Harris ran from authorities unarmed. While Harris was being subdued, Tulsa County Reserve Deputy Robert Charles Bates, 73, claims he confused his personal weapon, a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver, for a Model X26 Taser. Bates shot Harris in the back when he was on the ground. According to the Tulsa County Sheriff's office, he immediately said afterwards, "Oh, I shot him! I'm sorry." Bates was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter (unintentional homicide resulting from criminal negligence) and sentenced to four years in prison, and was released after serving 18 months. (Full article...)
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Image 6Muhiyidin El Amin Moye (April 22, 1985 – February 6, 2018), also known as Muhiyidin d'Baha, was a leading Black Lives Matter activist known nationally for crossing a yellow police tape line to snatch a Confederate battle flag from a demonstrator on live television in Charleston, South Carolina, in February 2017. (Full article...)
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A "Black Lives Matter" street mural has been painted in Cincinnati, in the U.S. state of Ohio.
The mural appears on Plum Street between Eighth and Ninth streets. (Full article...) -
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Assa Traoré (born 1985) is a French-Malian anti-racism activist and leader of the Truth and Justice for Adama Committee, named after her half-brother, Adama Traoré, who died in police custody, the circumstances of his death having been disputed. An autopsy raised in court indicated he may have suffered asphyxiation after his arrest, which was admitted by one of the Gendarmes who held him. Since Adama's death she has attempted to challenge the institutions of France, rallying activists from black neighbourhoods and engaging medical experts to try to get to the bottom of his death. On July 18, 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, she participated in the "Marche pour Adama" (March for Adama), and called for the prosecution of the gendarmerie regarding her brother's death.
For her services to the Black Lives Matter campaign, she received the BET's Global Good Honouree Award. In 2020, she was named one of Time magazine's "Guardians of the Year". (Full article...) -
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Marissa Johnson (born 1990/1991) is an activist who attained notoriety when she interrupted U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at an August 2015 rally in Seattle. Her activism has been associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. She is a founder of a Seattle-based justice group called Outside Agitators 206, which was disbanded when she became a cofounder of the Seattle chapter of Black Lives Matter around September 2015. (Full article...) -
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"Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America's Most Racist Town" is a YouTube video by American filmmaker Rob Bliss, published on July 27, 2020. The video consists of Bliss holding a sign reading "Black Lives Matter" in Harrison, Arkansas, a town that has been dubbed "America's Most Racist Town" due to its connections to white pride riots and the headquarters of the white supremacist terrorist hate group the Ku Klux Klan. During the video, multiple white passersby drive by and shout racist obscenities. As of June 2023, the video has over 12 million views on YouTube, but as of April 2024, the video has gone private.
"Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America's Most Racist Town" was filmed from July 9-11 in Harrison using a GoPro. The video's release was notable for being amongst protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. "Holding a Black Lives Matter Sign in America's Most Racist Town" received criticism from Harrison officials, including mayor Jerry Jackson. (Full article...) -
Image 11On March 6, 2023, 28-year-old Irvo Otieno died after he was restrained by Henrico County sheriff's deputies and hospital employees at Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, near Petersburg. He was arrested on March 3 for a suspected breaking and entering, and was taken to the hospital three days later after he was found naked in his cell. A total of ten people, seven deputies and three hospital employees, were charged with second-degree murder in connection with Otieno's death. (Full article...)
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False rumors of a police shooting resulted in rioting, arson, and looting in the U.S. city of Minneapolis from August 26–28, 2020. The events began as a reaction to the suicide of Eddie Sole Jr., a 38-year old black man who was being pursued by Minneapolis police officers for his alleged involvement in a homicide. At approximately 2 p.m. on August 26, Sole died after he shot himself in the head as officers approached to arrest him. False rumors quickly spread on social media that Minneapolis police officers had fatally shot Sole. To quell unrest, Minneapolis police released closed-circuit television surveillance footage that captured Sole's suicide, which was later confirmed by a Hennepin County Medical Examiner's autopsy report.
The August "false rumors" riot occurred as the city was still dealing with the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and riots three months prior. Misinformation about the manner of Floyd's murder led to persistent mistrust between city residents and public officials. On the night of August 26, 2020, at least 132 people were arrested for violence and looting, as damage to 77 properties occurred in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan region, including five buildings that were set on fire. Minnesota government officials amassed nearly 1,000 members of law enforcement and 400 Minnesota National Guard troops to keep the peace. An 8:00 p.m. curfew was implemented on August 27, 2020, with 30 people being arrested in the first hour. During the duration of the curfew until it expired at 6:00 a.m. on August 28, over 100 people were arrested, including 80 for curfew violations. (Full article...) -
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On November 11, 2018, Jemel Roberson, a 26-year-old security guard for Manny's Blue Room Bar in Robbins, Illinois, was fatally shot by Ian Covey, a Midlothian police officer responding to a call of shots fired at the bar. Roberson, an African American, was working for the bar as a security guard when four people were shot by a gunman. After Roberson subdued and pinned the shooter to the ground, he was shot by a Midlothian police officer arriving at the scene.
Covey was placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting was investigated. Witnesses stated that Roberson was wearing a vest that had the word "SECURITY" printed on it, while an Illinois State Police (ISP) preliminary investigation stated he was wearing plain black clothing with no markings identifying him as security. The ISP report stated the Midlothian officer gave Roberson "multiple verbal commands" to drop his gun and get on the ground, while witnesses said the officer shot Roberson "not even five seconds" after ordering Roberson to drop the gun he had in his hand. The State's Attorney's Office decided to not file criminal charges against the police officer. (Full article...) -
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The Ferguson unrest (sometimes called the Ferguson uprising, Ferguson protests, or the Ferguson riots) was a series of protests and riots which began in Ferguson, Missouri on August 10, 2014, the day after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by FPD officer Darren Wilson. The unrest sparked a vigorous debate in the United States about the relationship between law enforcement officers and Black Americans, the militarization of police, and the use-of-force law in Missouri and nationwide. Continuing activism expanded the issues by including modern-day debtors prisons, for-profit policing, and school segregation.
As the details of the shooting emerged, police established curfews and deployed riot squads in anticipation of unrest. Along with peaceful protests, there was a significant amount of looting and violence in the vicinity of the site of the shooting, as well as across the city. Media criticism of the militarization of the police in Ferguson after the shooting was frequent. The unrest continued on November 24, 2014, after a grand jury did not indict Officer Wilson. It briefly flared again on the first anniversary of Brown's shooting. The Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded that Wilson shot Brown in self-defense. (Full article...) -
Image 15Save the Boards is an American nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis that collects and preserves street art that emerged during local protests of the murder of George Floyd in 2020. (Full article...)
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#SayHerName is a social movement that seeks to raise awareness for Black women victims of police brutality and anti-Black violence in the United States. The movement's name was created by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF). #SayHerName aims to highlight the gender-specific ways in which Black women are disproportionately affected by fatal acts of racial injustice. In an effort to create a large social media presence alongside existing racial justice campaigns, such as #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackGirlsMatter, the AAPF coined the hashtag #SayHerName in December 2014.
In May 2015, the AAPF released a report entitled "Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality against Black Women", which outlined the goals and objectives of the #SayHerName movement. In July 2015, Sandra Bland, a woman who had been taken into police custody after a traffic violation, was found hanged three days later in her jail cell. Following Bland's death, the AAPF, the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia Law School, and Andrea Ritchie issued an updated version of the original report. (Full article...) -
Image 17"Formation" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé for her sixth studio album Lemonade (2016). It was written by Beyoncé, Mike Will Made It, Swae Lee, and Pluss, and produced by the former two. It served as the album's lead single, surprise-released on February 6, 2016, through Parkwood Entertainment. "Formation" is an R&B song with trap and bounce influences, in which Beyoncé celebrates her culture, identity and success as a black woman from the Southern United States.
The song received widespread acclaim upon release, with particular praise for the lyrical references, as well as for the production and vocal performance. It was critics' top song of 2016, being named the best song of the year by publications including Rolling Stone, Time, NPR, and Complex. In 2019, it was named the best song of the decade (2010s) by publications including Essence and Parade. "Formation" was also Google's most searched song of 2016. "Formation" won all six of its nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, and was nominated for three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video, of which it won the latter award. (Full article...) -
Image 18Manuel Ellis was a 33-year-old African American man who was killed by police during an arrest on March 3, 2020, in Tacoma, Washington by the Tacoma Police Department. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department initially claimed that Ellis had attacked a police car and officers, leading to the arrest. State prosecutors quoted civilian witnesses as saying that Ellis did not attack the police car or officers; they also said it was the officers who attacked Ellis after a conversation. Video of the incident showed officers repeatedly punching Ellis, choking him, using a Taser, and kneeling on him. State prosecutors stated that "Ellis was not fighting back", citing witness statements and video evidence. A police radio recording showed that Ellis said he "can’t breathe". Ellis told officers "can't breathe, sir" multiple times, according to prosecutors. Ellis was hogtied, face-down, with an officer on him, for at least six minutes, and a spit hood was placed on his head in this position, stated prosecutors. Ellis died at the scene while receiving medical aid from paramedics.
In early June 2020, Ellis's death was ruled by county medical examiner Thomas Clark as a homicide due to "hypoxia due to physical restraint", and with "contributing conditions of methamphetamine intoxication and a dilated heart". Prosecutors, in May 2021 documents, quoted Clark as saying that additional evidence that emerged after the autopsy concluded indicated that "Ellis's death was not likely caused by methamphetamine intoxication", and further indicated that restraint caused the death. (Full article...) -
Image 19Police accountability involves holding both individual police officers, as well as law enforcement agencies responsible for effectively delivering basic services of crime control and maintaining order, while treating individuals fairly and within the bounds of law. Police are expected to uphold laws, regarding due process, search and seizure, arrests, discrimination, as well as other laws relating to equal employment, sexual harassment, etc. Holding police accountable is important for maintaining the public's "faith in the system". Research has shown that the public prefers independent review of complaints against law enforcement, rather than relying on police departments to conduct internal investigations. There is a suggestion that such oversight would improve the public's view on the way in which police officers are held accountable. (Full article...)
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Image 20Oscar Grant III was a 22-year-old Black man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009 by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained Grant and several other passengers on the platform at the Fruitvale BART Station. BART officer Anthony Pirone kneed Grant in the head and forced Grant to lie face down on the platform. Mehserle drew his pistol and shot Grant. Grant was rushed to Highland Hospital in Oakland and pronounced dead later that day. The events were captured on bystanders’ mobile phones. Owners disseminated their footage to media outlets and to various websites where it went viral. Both protests and riots took place in the following days.
Some of the other passengers on the train, along with Grant's girlfriend Sophina, were able to break up the fight. Shortly afterward, the train conductor announced to the passengers that the police had been contacted and were on their way to the station at which they were stopped. As the passengers began to exit the train, Grant and his girlfriend saw the police walking towards them and split up. As they got closer to the train, police started to pick out people they believed to have been involved in the fight. Pirone walked up to two Black men and ripped the jacket off one. Pirone threw three people against the wall and then turned to the train, yelling for everyone involved in the fight to exit the train and come to him. Everyone remained on the train, so Pirone walked into the train to see if there was anyone who looked as if they were involved in the fight. Pirone saw Grant and removed him. (Full article...) -
Image 21On October 26, 2020, Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot by Philadelphia police officers Sean Matarazzo and Thomas Munz at 6100 Locust Street in the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The two officers arrived in the area to respond to a domestic dispute. When they arrived, Wallace walked out of his house carrying a knife. The two officers backed away while telling him to drop the knife shortly before they each fired several rounds at Wallace, hitting him in the shoulder and chest. He later died from his wounds in the hospital. Wallace's family stated that Wallace was having a mental health crisis.
Wallace's killing gained attention after a cellphone video of the incident was posted to social media platforms, where it went viral. Protests against the killing occurred throughout Philadelphia in late October. Peaceful protests took place, as well as several protests which escalated into violence and looting, leading to arrests, injuries to police and protesters, deployment of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and a citywide curfew. (Full article...) -
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The killing of Tony Terrell Robinson Jr. occurred on March 6, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin. Robinson, an unarmed 19-year-old man, was fatally shot by Madison police officer Matthew Kenny during a "check-person" call. Kenny was responding to dispatch reports that Robinson was jumping in front of cars and acting erratically, and that he had harmed someone in an apartment. On May 12, 2015, the shooting was determined to be justified self-defense by the Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. The death was protested by the Black Lives Matter movement; Robinson was biracial, with a black father and a white mother. (Full article...) -
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John Thompson is an American politician who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for the 67A district from 2021 to 2023. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 5, 2021. Prior to seeking elected office, Thompson was an activist supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and directed a local social justice organization. (Full article...) -
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Ijeoma Oluo (/iˈdʒoʊmə oʊˈluːoʊ/; born 1980) is an American writer. She is the author of So You Want to Talk About Race and has written for The Guardian, Jezebel, The Stranger, Medium, and The Establishment, where she was also an editor-at-large.
Born in Denton, Texas, and based in Seattle, Washington, in 2015, Oluo was named one of the most influential people in Seattle, and in 2018, she was named one of the 50 most influential women in Seattle. Her writing covers racism, misogynoir, intersectionality, online harassment, the Black Lives Matter movement, economics, parenting, feminism, and social justice. (Full article...) -
Image 25On November 4, 2018, Tamla Horsford was discovered dead in the backyard of the Cumming, Georgia, home where she had been attending a slumber party with other "football moms" the night before. The 40-year-old was a mother of five.
The Forsyth County Sheriff department initially ruled the death an accident, stating that the "multiple blunt force injuries" were related to Horsford likely falling from the balcony due to "acute ethanol intoxication". A second autopsy requested by her family revealed further abrasions to her body. The family's attorney also stated that lack of evidence, types of injuries discovered, and mismatched witness accounts strongly suggested homicide. On February 20, 2019, Major Joe Perkins of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office announced that the case would be closed and that there was no evidence of foul play. (Full article...)
Did you know...
- ... that Arkansas legislator Denise Jones Ennett took part in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of the Arkansas State Capitol?
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Selected images
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Image 1A Black Lives Matter protest of police brutality in the rotunda of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in December 2014 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 2Black Lives Matter protest on September 20, 2015, against police brutality in St. Paul, Minnesota (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 3Protest outside the U.S. Embassy in London, June 7, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 4George Floyd protests at Lafayette Square, Washington D.C., May 30, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 5Ferguson, Missouri, August 17, 2014 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 6"Black Lives Matter" on the facade of the Washington National Cathedral, June 10, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 7An activist holds a "Black Lives Matter" sign outside the Minneapolis Police Fourth Precinct building following the officer-involved killing of Jamar Clark on November 15, 2015 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 8The empty pedestal of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol. Subject to increasing controversy since the 1990s, when his prior reputation as a philanthropist came under scrutiny due to a growing awareness of his slave trading, in June 2020 the statue was toppled, defaced and pushed into Bristol Harbour. (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 10Vehicle with a BLM sticker, September 18, 2015 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 12Black Lives Matter protest in Aotea Square, Auckland, June 14, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 13Map depicting rates of police killings by state in the United States in 2018 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 14Bernie Sanders and Black Lives Matter activists in Westlake Park, Seattle, August 8, 2015 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 15A Black Lives Matter die-in over rail tracks, protesting alleged police brutality in Saint Paul, Minnesota (September 20, 2015) (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 16Black Lives Matter protest at Herald Square, Manhattan, November 2014 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 17Protest march in response to the Jamar Clark killing, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2015 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 18Black Lives Matter demonstration in Oakland, California, December 2014 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 19Al Sharpton led the Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 20One-year commemoration of the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson unrest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, August 2015 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 21Black Lives Matter protester at Macy's Herald Square, November 2014 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 22Protest march in response to the killing of Philando Castile, St. Paul, Minnesota, July 7, 2016 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 23Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., as seen from space on June 8, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 26Demonstration at Christiansborg Slotsplads, Copenhagen, June 7, 2020 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 27"What happened to 'All Lives Matter'?" sign at a protest against Donald Trump, January 29, 2017 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 28Black Lives Matter protest against St. Paul police brutality at Metro Green Line, September 2015 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 31A demonstrator raising awareness of the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, April 2015 (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 32Protests in May 2020 after George Floyd's death (from Black Lives Matter)
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Image 33Protest in response to the Alton Sterling killing, San Francisco, California, July 8, 2016 (from Black Lives Matter)
In the news
- 16 May 2024 – Murder of Garrett Foster
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott pardons Daniel Perry, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing a man at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. (The New York Times)
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