Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence toward black people. BLM regularly organizes protests around the deaths of black people in killings by law enforcement officers, and broader issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.

In 2013, the movement began with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter became nationally recognized for its street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two African Americans: Michael Brown, resulting in protests and unrest in Ferguson, and Eric Garner in New York City. The originators of the hashtag and call to action, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, expanded their project into a national network of over 30 local chapters during 2014-16. The overall Black Lives Matter movement, however, is a decentralized network and has no formal hierarchy. Concurrently, a broader movement involving several other organizations and activists emerged under the banner of "Black Lives Matter" as well.

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, including those of Jonathan Ferrell, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Samuel DuBose, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile.

News Wire - November 2016 and earlier

• 5 poll takeaways on white support for Colin Kaepernick
• #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool FAQ: Answering why hundreds of Seattle educators are wearing “Black Lives Matter” shirts to school
• Police chief’s apology shows Colin Kaepernick’s protest is working, but fan ugliness continues
• Nation's largest police group apologizes for cop-related deaths
• Young football team has season canceled for taking a knee
• ‘The Woke Tailgate’: The Brave of Buffalo Kneel in Solidarity With Colin Kaepernick
• Minnesota: Video Shows Black Man Being Arrested For Apparently Walking In Street
• NFL players who protested during the national anthem in Week 6
• Bills Fans Tackle ‘Muslim’ Colin Kaepernick Dummy
• T-shirts sold outside Bills game include rifle sight on Kaepernick
• Journalist Kicked Off Flight for Wearing 'Black Panther' Hat, Upside-Down Flag Tee
• Watch Your Back: How Chicago Cops Enforce Their Code of Silence
• 'Black is not a weapon': Celebrities star in stunning PSA against police brutality
• Plane crew almost lets man die because they refuse to believe black woman is a doctor
• Slurs shouted, police called after players kneel during national anthem, Pa. coach say
• Virginia Basketball players join kneeling movement to take a stand
• Students Are Pulling a Kaepernick All Over America — and Being Threatened for It
• Milwaukee in Flames: The Night the Pigs Got Bricked
• Colin Kaepernick Has a Right to Hate Both Candidates
• Colin Kaepernick Calls Trump And Clinton "Proven Liars" Who Were "Trying To Debate Who's Less Racist"
• Imagine Being Such a Piece of Shit That You Show Up at a Black Lives Matter Protest in a Gorilla Mask
• More Than Just Victory On Paper: From Roanoke to Kaepernick
• Here are all the police killings since just the beginning of September
• Can’t Hold Us Down
• Police Violence: American Epidemic, American Consent
• Maybe Donald Trump Is the Real Ferguson Effect
• Police Killings Won’t Stop
• Henry Rollins: White America Couldn't Handle What Black America Deals With Every Day
• College football players in Michigan, other athletes raise fists in protest during anthem
• Black Man Calls Baltimore Police For Help, Gets Punched in the Face, Dies in Hospital
• Cops in Charlotte Keep Dashcam Video of Killing Under Wraps, as Major Opposition Builds Throughout the City
• Charlotte: The protester shot by the police has passed away. The police have arrested another activist in hope of framing him.
• Who Decides When a Protest Becomes a Facebook “Disaster”?
• Charlotte Protesters Shut Down Freeway, Steal And Burn Cargo From Semis
• Twitter Thread Busts a Myth About the New Right
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Have Been Killing A Civilian About Every 2 Months
• Rebellion in Charlotte
• Charlotte: Protesters Trash Police Car After Pigs Kill Unarmed Black Man
• Charlotte police deploy tear gas on protesters in North Charlotte
• Police In North Carolina Fatally Shoot Man Witnesses Say Was Disabled, Unarmed
• Tulsa police release footage of officer killing unarmed black man with car trouble
• Oklahoma Officer Fatally Shoots Unarmed Black Man In Alarming Video
• Black man fatally shot by white Tulsa cop was unarmed
• Black man shot by Tulsa police had hands ‘in the air,’ says pastor who reviewed video of the shooting
• “Blue Lives” Don’t Matter Because Blue Lives Don’t Exist
• Virginia Basketball players join kneeling movement to take a stand
• Students Are Pulling a Kaepernick All Over America — and Being Threatened for It
• Milwaukee in Flames: The Night the Pigs Got Bricked
• Colin Kaepernick Has a Right to Hate Both Candidates
• Colin Kaepernick Calls Trump And Clinton "Proven Liars" Who Were "Trying To Debate Who's Less Racist"
• Imagine Being Such a Piece of Shit That You Show Up at a Black Lives Matter Protest in a Gorilla Mask
• More Than Just Victory On Paper: From Roanoke to Kaepernick
• Here are all the police killings since just the beginning of September
• Can’t Hold Us Down
• Police Violence: American Epidemic, American Consent
• Maybe Donald Trump Is the Real Ferguson Effect
• Police Killings Won’t Stop
• Henry Rollins: White America Couldn't Handle What Black America Deals With Every Day
• College football players in Michigan, other athletes raise fists in protest during anthem
• Black Man Calls Baltimore Police For Help, Gets Punched in the Face, Dies in Hospital
• Cops in Charlotte Keep Dashcam Video of Killing Under Wraps, as Major Opposition Builds Throughout the City
• Charlotte: The protester shot by the police has passed away. The police have arrested another activist in hope of framing him.
• Who Decides When a Protest Becomes a Facebook “Disaster”?
• Charlotte Protesters Shut Down Freeway, Steal And Burn Cargo From Semis
• Twitter Thread Busts a Myth About the New Right
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Have Been Killing A Civilian About Every 2 Months
• Rebellion in Charlotte
• Charlotte: Protesters Trash Police Car After Pigs Kill Unarmed Black Man
• Charlotte police deploy tear gas on protesters in North Charlotte
• Police In North Carolina Fatally Shoot Man Witnesses Say Was Disabled, Unarmed
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• Tulsa police release footage of officer killing unarmed black man with car trouble
• Oklahoma Officer Fatally Shoots Unarmed Black Man In Alarming Video
• Black man fatally shot by white Tulsa cop was unarmed
• Black man shot by Tulsa police had hands ‘in the air,’ says pastor who reviewed video of the shooting
• “Blue Lives” Don’t Matter Because Blue Lives Don’t Exist
• Football, the Flag and the Right to Speak Our Minds
• Historian Chronicles How White Rage Erupts Whenever Blacks Seek Equality
• NFL Commentator Shannon Sharpe to White Folks, ‘Don’t Tell Us What to Grieve For’
• Let’s Help White People Truly Lose it Over Colin Kaepernick
• Why People Suspect Police Involvement in Death of Darren Seals
• The entire Seattle Seahawks team will protest the national anthem at opening game
• Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest has had the opposite effect of what people were expecting for his NFL career
• 'Blue lives matter' law used in arrest of New Orleans man who shouted slurs at police
• Ferguson activist Darren Seals dies at 29
• More White Young Adults Support BLM. But There’s Still One Big Issue
• Colin Kaepernick of San Francisco 49ers to donate jersey sales proceeds
• Majority of White Youth in US Supports Black Lives Matter
• Black Lives Matter and Palestine: A historic alliance
• Soccer player Megan Rapinoe kneels as 'nod to Kaepernick'
• Tampa officials call for peace in wake of Levonia Riggins shooting
• What Does Black Lives Matter Want?
• Where Movements Meet: Black Lives Matter Organizers Visit #NoDAPL
• Seahawks' Jeremy Lane remains seated during national anthem
• Colin Kaepernick National Anthem Protest Continues As Other Players Join
• Zirin: Comparing Kaepernick to Rae Carruth is sick and appalling
• 'F— that guy': NFL execs really hate Colin Kaepernick, report says
• An NFL Executive Compares Kaepernick to a Man Who Murdered a Pregnant Woman
• NFL execs: Kaepernick is a 'traitor,' hated as much as Rae Carruth
• Leaked 2015 Memo Told Dems: ‘Don’t Offer Support’ For Black Lives Matter Policy Positions
• Black Man Shot Dead For Not Holding Door Open For Woman At McDonalds
• Colin Kaepernick Isn't Unpatriotic, Levi's Is
• Colin Kaepernick Is Righter Than You Know: The National Anthem Is a Celebration of Slavery
• NFL facing new PR disaster over Colin Kaepernick protest
• Why Colin Kaepernick was right not to stand for the national anthem
• What the NFL Players’ Union Chief Has to Say About Colin Kaepernick’s Protest
• Colin Kaepernick Refuses To Stand For Anthem: "There Are Bodies In The Street" [Update]
• Colin Kaepernick and the test of American freedom
• If you think millionaire athlete Colin Kaepernick is too rich to protest, you don’t understand activism
• Vikings' Alex Boone rips ex-teammate Colin Kaepernick for lack of respect
• Kansas City: Someone from crowd shoots at KC police after officer-involved shooting, tasing
• How Black Lives Matter L.A. Undermined and Co-Oped the Movement for Ezell Ford
• A Writer With Writers: #BlackLivesMatter: Understanding Race, Revolution, & Resistance
• Affluent and Black, and Still Trapped by Segregation
• Law Enforcement Killed 90 Oakland Residents Since 2000, And 74 Percent Were Black
• Milwaukee’s invisible racial cage
• Liberal foundations are trying to deradicalize Black Lives Matter with giant donations
• Questions raised about CNN editing of comments by Milwaukee shooting victim's sister
• Videos Surface of a Death in Custody the LAPD Didn’t Want Released
• Milwaukee Deserves to be Burned to the Ground (Gonzo and Conjure ’16)
• Milwaukee is the hardest US city for African-Americans by a number of metrics
• Policing Black Radicalism
• How Bad Prosecutors Cause Bad Policing
• What Does Black Lives Matter Want?
• Milwaukee Police Are Controlling Narrative About Their Own Officer's Deadly Shooting
• Milwaukee and the Millionth Straw
• Baltimore Police Lieutenant Resigns After Calling Black Lives Matter "Thugs"
• Racial Violence in Milwaukee Was Decades in the Making, Residents Say
• Milwaukee's deep history of racial tensions
• Milwaukee: Videos show Milwaukee protesters pelting riot cops with bricks, rocks, and debris
• Milwaukee: Tensions Flare For 2nd Night Of Milwaukee Protests Following Police Shooting Of Armed Suspect
• Milwaukee: Violence erupts after officer-involved shooting
• Protesters burn gas station, cars after fatal officer-involved shooting in Milwaukee, WI
• Videos from Milwaukee
• Florida Officer Who Shot Librarian in Training Session Once Let His Police Dog Maul Biker
• Ypsilanti, Michigan: Vigilante Privilege: Cops Harass Anti-Racist Activists

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• Florida Officer Who Shot Librarian in Training Session Once Let His Police Dog Maul Biker
• Baltimore: 'Lock Up All The Black Hoodies': DOJ Report Details Abuses By Baltimore Police
• Another Police Murder in Chicago: The police’s flippant behavior towards their victims confirms that the institution will never reform itself
• Jewish organizations’ response to Black Lives Matter platform demonstrates inability to engage with reality in Israel
• Black Lives Matter Activists Put KKK Hood on Frank Rizzo Statue
• American Simone Manuel speaks out on police brutality, race after earning Olympic gold
• Florida: Officer in uniform refused service at Walmart
• Los Angeles Police Shoot and Kill 14-Year-Old Latino
• Report exposes a 'Stop Snitching' culture among Baltimore police
• How the Baltimore Police Department Abuses African Americans
• A white homeowner called 911 to report ‘hoodlums’ outside. Then he fatally shot a black man.
• Chicago: Demonstrators Rally Against Fatal Police Shooting of Unarmed Teen
• SNCC Legacy Project Endorses the Movement for Black Lives Policy Platform
• Chicago cops switched off bodycams and high-fived after shooting unarmed black teen
• Dream Defenders Statement on the Condemnation of M4BL Platform by Some Pro-Israel Groups
• Charlotte: Dozens march in a 'Black Lives Matter' rally
• Black Lives Matter Activists Stage Protests Across Britain
• Protesters shut down Chicago police news conference about Paul O’Neal
• UK: Black Lives Matter: Protesters charged over blocked Nottingham tram tracks
• Black Lives Matter UK block Heathrow Airport, block Nottingham tram system
• 'Nationwide Shutdown': Black Lives Matter Protests Block Roads To Heathrow And Birmingham Airports
• Ypsilanti, Michigan: Vigilante Privilege: Cops Harass Anti-Racist Activists
• How Black Lives Matter Activists Plan to Fix Schools
• New York City: Black Lives Matter activists launch Abolition Square encampment, demanding reparations, end to Broken Windows policing
• Baltimore: ‘Unprecedented Number Of Threats’ After Korryn Gaines Shooting
• Connecting Black Neighborhoods to the Black Lives Matter Movement
• Black Lives Matter branches out to UK, launches protests
• Chicago police release video related to shooting of unarmed man
• Kansas City: Police Attacks on Forté Reveal Shocking Ignorance of Race Issues in KC
• Parents in Virginia demand apology after Black History month video alleges white privilege exists
• White People, Resist the Ice Cream Temptation, This is about Ending the Death Culture of Racism
• Arresting Development: The New War On Protesters
• My Mother, Stopped for Driving While Black
• The Abuse Of ‘Feel-Good’ Cop Videos
• Kansas City: Fraternal Order of Police Think Their Black Police Chief is Part of Black Lives Matter
• Why We Don’t Make Demands
• Power on the Inside: Why Incarcerated Lives Matter to the Black Lives Matter Movement
• Black Lives Matter is joining the fight against deportations—and it could be a game changer
• Protesters Continue Occupation Of City Hall Park To Demand Abolition Of NYPD
• Cops Pulling Over People to Hand Out Ice Cream Is Dangerous, Not Funny
• Baltimore police kill 23-year-old, Korryn Shandawn Gaines, for failing to appear in court for a traffic offense
• Facebook has shut down our FB page, as part of an ongoing effort to censor left-leaning and anti-racist pages. This is due to our posting of anti-racist memes in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
• NYC: Protesters Say They Will Occupy City Hall Park Until the NYPD Is No More
• NYC: Black Lives Matter Protesters Are Occupying City Hall Park To Demand Bratton's Resignation, Reparations
• Delaware: Black Lives Matter banner vandalized in Talleyville
• Massachusetts: Black, White, and Blue: Working Class Self-Defeat in Somerville
• In Missouri, Ferguson Is Still Burning - Instead of addressing the problems of police brutality, white supremacy and  economic inequality, racist Republican politicians are vying to make things worse.
• Black Lives Matter in Palestine to Protest US-Funded 'Genocide'
• Twin Cities: 65 march to St. Anthony-owned liquor store in police funding protest
• Texas Police Officer Turns On Union, EXPOSES Cover Up In Sandra Bland Death
• Black Lives Matter group marches from Hadley to Northampton
• Victory For Black Lives Matter: 10 Ideas for a Lasting Revolution
• Chicago protesters occupy Homan Square for eighth day to demand closure
• Asheville Police Cite Activists Who Protested Shooting Death
• Thousands of Black Lives Matter Activists Protest During the DNC
• Baltimore: Charges Dropped in Freddie Gray Case Against 3 Last Baltimore Officers
• Virginia: Uniformed Alexandria officer denied service at Noodles & Company
• Police Incitement Against Black Lives Matter Is Putting Protesters in Danger
• Miami: Protesters stage peaceful sit-in at North Miami police headquarters
• Police Incitement Against Black Lives Matter Is Putting Protesters in Danger
• Iowa City: Football Player Faith Ekakitie stopped by police at gunpoint over mistaken identity
• New York: Utica Police Gathering Intelligence on, Intimidating Local Activists
• Supporters of WNBA players chant ‘Black Lives Matter’ at Minnesota Lynx game
• Minnesota: 5 officers were pepper sprayed & 21 people were arrested after riot broke out in East #StPaul Wednesday night
• Arizona: Flagstaff police officers heavily monitor anti-racism protestors
• Protest against WNBA fines grows as Washington Mystics refuse to take questions about basketball
• Madison: Protesters in road cause partial closure of John Nolen Drive
• Oregon Police Pounce on Autistic Homeless Man for Trying to Explain Federal Disability Law to Them 
• Ohio: Atty. refuses to remove Black Lives Matter pin, taken into custody
• Black Lives Matter Rally Marches Through Eugene
• Santa Fe: Scores rally in Santa Fe for Black Lives Matter
• Washington: Black Lives Matter allies demonstrate in Bremerton
• Tennessee: Black Lives Matter rally blocks downtown Chattanooga streets
• 'Black Lives Matter' protesters march through Seattle streets
• Pittsburgh: Black Lives Matter rally draws hundreds to Downtown
• 'Black Lives Matter National Day of Action' rally held in downtown Pittsburgh
• ‘Black Lives Matter’ rally held in Providence
• How President Obama failed Black Lives Matter
• Asheville: Group rallies downtown against police violence, demands resignation of officer
• Teachers Arrested Protesting Police Brutality in the Twin Cities
• Minnesota: Science Museum removes sign honoring Philando Castile to please racists
• To Fight For Black Lives Is To Be Anti-Police
• A Brief History of the "War on Cops": The False Allegation That Enables Police Violence
• Librarians Respond On Twitter To The Idea That They Shouldn't Have Opinions
• WNBA fines 3 teams and players over black warmup jerseys
• Video shows man with hands up, lying down before shot by police
• New York: 10 Arrested as Movement For Black Lives Takes on Police Unions
• WNBA: Indiana Fever among those fined by WNBA for shirts in wake of shootings
• Ohio: Springfield youth rally in support of Black Lives Matter
• Winnipeg: Hundreds attend Black Lives Matter vigil at legislature
• Reno: Pro-Black Lives Matter march set for Sparks
• Detroit: Black Lives Matter protesters chain themselves to Third Precinct door
• Washington, DC: Black Lives Matter protesting continues Thursday
• Washington, DC: Black Lives Matter protesters delay traffic near Fourth St. and Massachusetts Ave. in Northeast DC
• Virginia: Black Lives Matter protesters demonstrate in Stafford, Fredericksburg
• New York: Protesters Stage Sit-In at Office of NYPD's Largest Union
• Oakland: Protesters stay chained to doors of police union building in Oakland overnight
• Nicki Giovanni: Nina Simone Would Have Joined ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement
• Dallas restaurant apologizes, fires employee after cops refused service
• 21 arrests at Minneapolis march over Castile shooting
• Black Activists Occupy Police Union Offices in New York and Washington, DC
• 13 Black Lives Matter arrested after blocking I-95S traffic in Richmond, VA
• Maryland: Black Lives Matter supporters hold protest in Elkton
• Florida: About 60 march for Black Lives Matter protest in Sanford
• White House responds to right-wing petition to label Black Lives Matter a "terror" group
• Philadelphia: Black Lives Matter protesters march in Philadelphia
• Florida: Police car burned with 'Black Lives Matter' note nearby
• Rockford, Illinois: People gather in downtown Rockford for Black Lives Matter protest
• Sunday, July 17, 2016 ~ Protesters in Baton Rouge are asking for people to come to their city to support and stand with them.
• Saturday, July 16, 2016 ~ Around 150 protesters blocked I-64 near Busch Stadium for about 15 minutes.
• Miami: “No justice, no peace”: Black Lives Matter rallies in Miami Gardens
• Vancouver: Black Lives Matter Vancouver Wants Police Float Out Of Pride Parade
• Syracuse: Two protests, one by Black Lives Matter, planned for Monday in Syracuse

BREAKING - July 20, 2016: BYP100 Chicago locks down at Homan Square. One of the nations largest "Black Sites" where over 7,000 people have been disappeared here. Most of them Black. We are here calling for full divestment from policing and investments in Black communities. #FreedomNow #FundBlackFutures

Background Reading

• Jewish Solidarity with Black Lives Matter: We Can’t Have it Both Ways
• It Wasn’t Just the Baton Rouge Police Who Killed Alton Sterling
• Why is the Black Lives Matter movement happening now?
• The Clintons’ War on Drugs: When Black Lives Didn’t Matter
• Why Poor, Low-Level Offenders Often Plead to Worse Crimes
• The Psychology of Why Americans Are Afraid of Historically Low Crime Levels
• How One City Rakes In Millions From Arresting Black People For Petty Crimes