5 Reasons Why The BLM Movement is Important

Reasons Why The BLM Movement is Important - featured image of a black man holding a blm sign

Since 2013, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has gained a tremendous amount of traction all over the world.

The movement started after the murderer of Trayvon Martin was acquitted. Its purpose was to eradicate the violence and injustice faced by African Americans inflicted by the police and the State.

Today, BLM has become a global phenomenon. It has grown so big that it’s widely discussed and analysed on all social levels. Schools often ask students to write papers about BLM and tie them to various socio-political issues.

Reading some sample papers is a great way to look into how academics perceive Black Lives Matter, as well as to learn about its history and influence.

In this article, we’ll look at the main reasons why BLM gained so much influence.

 

Here are 5 top reasons BLM movement is important today:

1. Stats on Police Violence and Racial Discrimination in the U.S.

Members of the black communities in America have suffered for a long time, as described in a great book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. It describes how racism in the USA is embedded in governmental institutions and seeps into the level of the individual.

The following stats on racial discrimination in the USA should be an eye-opener to those who believe things like police brutality belong to the realm of conspiracy theories.

These are just of the stats that show how important movements like BLM are and why they need to be supported to create equality in our society.

Of course, the problem is much more complicated than an average person may suppose. There’s a variety of factors that contribute to unequal wealth distribution in any country.

But the aforementioned stats should get anyone thinking about developing ways to create equal opportunities for every individual in the society, regardless of their ethnic background.

black lives matter hashtag

The movement gained huge influence in the social media world with #blacklivesmatter hashtag appearing in thousands of posts and tweets.

2. Microaggressions, Individual Racism, and Damaging Outcomes

While people can argue all they want about structural and institutionalized racism, the fact is that many people of color face individual racism on a very regular basis.

This can take the form of a plain insult or a microaggression. The microaggressions themselves result from structural racism. We can put them into three categories:

Each of these ends up being damaging, either at an individual level or a social one and therefore must be dealt with by initiatives like Black Lives Matter.

 

3. This Confirms our Humanity

The simplest reason by far to support BLM is because humanity demands it. When we see real people being treated with discrimination, their rights taken away, and their voices silenced, we need to stand with them to show our support.

If no one speaks up and everyone lets violence and brutality take over, then the very idea of being a moral member of society comes into question.

Dante is quoted as saying that “the hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” Next time you see discrimination taking place in your surroundings, stop it.

white woman holding a blm sign

Young people who stand against violence and injustice support BLM.

4. BLM is Inspiring Real Change

Black Lives Matter is a movement that’s inspiring real change today, whether we talk about politics, entertainment, business, or another field of endeavor.

From protests against the mistreatment and killings of black people to exhibiting the work of black artists from the ages, BLM is shedding light on police brutality, racism and black culture.

After George Floyd’s death, however, the movement reached a completely new level. Here are some things that were achieved by BLM:

yellow black lives matter poster

The movement is being embraced by many local businesses.

5. BLM is Inspiring Global Change

BLM is not just limited to the USA at this point. It has turned into a global movement with support from people of all ethnicities and academic circles.

Here are some examples of how it is making waves in other parts of the world:

These are just three examples of places across the world that changed because of the BLM movement and inspired people to speak up against their own systems and politicians.

 

Conclusion

Black Lives Matter started from one incident and quickly became a global phenomenon that pertains to all minority groups who experience discrimination. It is the voice of millions of people around the planet today who want to shed light on the injustices that take place in their countries.

This is, by far, one of the most influential racial movements of all time, and supporting it means giving a voice to those who are still being discriminated against today.

Rafal Reyzer

Hey there, welcome to my blog! I'm a full-time blogger, educator, digital marketer, freelance writer, editor and content manager with 10+ years of experience. I started RafalReyzer.com to provide you with great tools and strategies you can use to achieve freedom from 9 to 5 through online creativity. My site is a one-stop-shop for freelance writers, bloggers, publishers, content enthusiasts who want to be independent, earn more money and create beautiful things. Feel free to learn more about me here.