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Let's learn! - Black Lives Matter

  • Writer: communitytm
    communitytm
  • Jul 9, 2020
  • 5 min read

Hello everyone! This is the 'Black Lives Matter' post for those that clicked "Yes" for the question I posted on community.tm instagram story. I posted asking, If you guys would like to know more about the 'Black Lives Matter' movement. Going into more detail about police brutality, systemic racism + more. I gathered Instagram accounts, photos and links to videos that are filled with lots of information on this topic! Let's learn!

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT! Source 1. Police originated as a force to capture escaped slaves. 2. President Nixons "War on Drugs was racially motivated. 3. The Black Panther Party's contributions. 4. Black people were deemed "Subhuman Species" 5. The 13th amendment allowed slavery.

Let's begin by defining what police brutality is: Police brutality or police violence is legally defined as a civil rights violation where officers exercise undue or excessive force against a subject. This includes, but is not limited to, bullying, physical or verbal harassment, physical or mental injury, property damage, and death. Source. Police have been using brutal force in broad daylight and behind closed doors and are almost never held accountable for their actions. As we look to police for help and guidance, Black people have felt betrayed and hurt by police officers. There is sadly, countless amount of young Black people who have been killed by officers; due to police brutality. I want to share with you these stats from Canada and show you a little more into policing.

If we go back, centuries ago, we can find out that our past has a lot of saddening events and the reason why we have to advocate now is due to the horrible conditions Black people still face. "Wilson Chinn was 21 years old when he was sold to a sugar planter Volsey. B. Marmillion. Marmillion, like several other slaveowners, had his enslaved workers wear neck collars designed to prevent them from escaping or lying down comfortably. The heavy protruding prongs could easily get caught in bushes and trees, hindering movement and even breaking the neck of the person who wore it. Marmillion had captured approximately 210 enslaved workers, and was also notorious for branding them with a hot iron. The initials "V.B.M" branded on Wilson Chinn's forehead offer a glimpse into the torture he was subjected to as an enslaved worker." Source

I want to highlight Wilson Chinn's life, to show you one of the ways that Black people were being treated on this earth. There were many Black woman who endured suffering in those times and were also treated lesser then human. It is essential to listen to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) from this day on, as we are experiencing racial injustices day in and day out! I want you to remember that even though majority of slavery is done, hate still lives on and that's why the 'Black Lives Matter' movement is active till this day. Wilson Chinn was freed in the year 1862.

Once, we were "free" this was the everyday world that we had to live in. This image is a photo of young men marching as they hold a sign saying "Keep white neighbourhoods white" Believe it or not, I face this tension in 2020, for being Black and living in a predominantly white neighbourhood. Now, I don't have people marching with signs saying anything negative but I do get the look of like.. "Where do you live??" "Where do you come from??" "When did you move here?" When in all truth, I was living on this street for a decade before they arrived!


I want you to meet, James Baldwin (on the left) standing beside Martin. L. King (on the right). I find James Baldwin to speak and express himself in a very clear and powerful way as he shares the hardships in America. Here is a video of him speaking on this matter! Video of James Baldwin. James Baldwin lived from August 2nd 1924 - December 1st 1987

Meet Angela Davis - click for video Meet Kathleen Cleaver - click for video Meet Marsha.P.Johnson - click for video For many reasons, I admire the strong people who came before me that brought great change and liberation for the people. Marsha P. Johnson, born and also known as Malcolm Michaels Jr., was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Source. I watched the documentary of Marsha.P.Johnson on Netflix and it opened my eyes. Not only was/is being gay an issue (to some) but being trans came with it's own horrible problems. There are a-lot of trans individuals not considered human and are therefore not treated with basic human decency. If they were to go missing or were murdered, some were not 'worthy of an investigation'. Marsha.P. Johnson was one of the many trans individuals who were uncared for by the police. The people who loved Marsha did their best to find out what had happened to Marsha.P.Johnson before she was found dead. #AllBlackLivesMatter

Marsha.P. Johnson lived from August 24th 1945 - July 6th 1992 Being trans, gay and black is beautiful. - Kiara Armstrong (Founder of community.tm)

The Black Lives Matter movement started to spread world wide after the murder of George Floyd. A 46-year-old Black man living in America, who had allegedly forged a $20 dollar bill was brutality beat up and murdered by the police officers on call. George Floyd informed the police that he could not breathe by how the police officer had his knee on his neck but George Floyd was ignored. George Floyd died on May 25th 2020. The Black Lives Matter protest for George Floyd began right after and they are still currently going. This saddening, avoidable incident shined a lot of light on the way Black, African Americans, BIPOC, human beings are being treated in this day and age. You might have heard or seen about companies like Starbucks, Soundcloud and other big companies speak on the Black Lives Matter movement. Some companies realized they were an example of systemic racism: Systemic racism is both a theoretical concept and a reality. As a theory, it is premised on the research-supported claim that the United States was founded as a racist society, that racism is thus embedded in all social institutions, structures, and social relations within our society. Rooted in a racist foundation, systemic racism today is composed of intersecting, overlapping, and codependent racist institutions, policies, practices, ideas, and behaviors that give an unjust amount of resources, rights, and power to white people while denying them to people of color. Source

Even though these big companies spoke out, that does not mean that their work environment were reflections of their post. Many companies were realizing that they needed to ask themselves 'Why don't we have Black people working in higher positions' or 'Why don't we hire more Black people' etc. Khalil Smith:The reason we find the emails and social media messages disingenuous is that they’re largely inconsistent with the rest of what the company says and does. But this isn’t new. Source Imagine a world where you go to work and one of the issues that you face is being treated poorly because of the color of your skin. From stereotypes, division, jokes that hurt, racism runs deep within history and the only way that we will be able to overcome this global racist pandemic is if we do something about it today!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petitions/Donate - https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-for-black-lives-matter.html

Support Black owned business- Eco-Friendly - https://www.thegreenjarshop.com/

Rings/body/crystals -https://www.ritualsandceremony.com/shop-1 100+ Black owned ethical sustainable brands - https://www.consciouslifeandstyle.com/black-owned-ethical-sustainable-fashion-home-beauty/ Movies - They gotta have us When they see us 13th Amistad

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Leaving you with this video! Feel free to share this whole blog post with friends, family and your social platforms! Thank you for reading! Keep doing your research, supporting companies that support you and being a kind human!

Stay Safe! Kiara Armstrong

 
 
 

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