On July 13th of 2013 Black Lives Matter also know as BLM was formed. The 3 founders are Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. The website for this movement is www.blacklivesmatter.com. BLM is a decentralized political and social movement.

BLM protests against Police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The movement began using the hashtag #blacklivesmatter on social media platforms right after the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. BLM has become a powerful, meaningful movement and has especially gained recognition in the last few years due to the unfortunate increase of police violence towards the black race.

It is important to understand that this movement is not new, it was formed to bring a stop to this inhumane behaviour.

Hi, we're all students from Place Cartier, and we feel for the loss of George Floyd, and all the other black lives that have died due to police brutality. We believe that no matter what our skin color or religion is, we should all be treated fairly and equally. In this page, we will be talking about the history and culture of Black Lives Matter.

But first we introduce ourselves..

I am Peter Michaud, a 48 year old white anglo male that lives in Montreal, who never understood why race is an issue for some especially in todays society and after we have all shared and lived together on the same planet for so long. We all need to step up and make it known to the word that we are one, and we are together. Imagine the world today without this mentality.

I'm Michael and I'm 21 years old, I'm Egyptian (born in Montreal), and I'm a student at Place Cartier. I feel very sorry for the loss of George Floyd, and I believe we should all be treated fairly and equally, regardless of our skin colour or religion. I don't have a personal connection with Black Lives Matter, but that doesn't mean that I don't feel for them. I have a few black friends on social media that have shared videos and images back in June, regarding the death of George Floyd. My condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones due to police brutality.

Hi my name is Josh. I'm 17 years old and I was born in Montreal. I strongly believe in equality regardless of race, religion sex or ethnicity. I don't necessarily have a personal connection with black lives matter but I believe that everyone should be treated equally. We should know better in this day and age. Organizations that promote equal rights will always have my support.

Mid Points

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, several African Americans were killed due to police actions, the Black Lives Matter Movement demonstrated how powerful they are as a movement with their protests. In December 2014, two to three thousand people protested the killings of unarmed black men by police at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The police at the mall were equipped with riot gear and bomb-sniffing dogs, and at least 20 members of the protest were arrested. In September 2015, over 500 BLM protestors in Austin, Texas rallied against police brutality, and several carried protest banners onto Interstate 35. In November 2015, BLM activists from Minnesota protested after the shooting of Jamar Clark, this protest was organized at the Minneapolis 4th Precinct Police. During the protest, protestors and outside agitators fought with police, vandalized the station and attempted to ram the station with an SUV. In the first half of July 2016, there were at least 112 protests in 88 American cities. During the 2017 Black History Month, a month-long "Black Lives Matter" art exhibition was organized by three Richmond, Virginia artists at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond. The exhibition featured more than 30 diverse multicultural artists on a theme exploring racial equality and justice.

Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter#Timeline_of_notable_events_and_demonstrations_in_the_United_States

Current Times

Over the years, BLM has come a long way. With more than 55% of Americans supporting the cause, BLM has become a big part of American history and culture. While the movement has made a huge impact, we still face many problems today. On average, an estimated 1000 civilians are killed by law enforcement each year in the United States. Despite only take up about 13% of the population, African Americans are 2.5 times more likely to be killed from police shootings than any other race in the US.

We have all learned something new about the history of Black Lives Matter. We've shared plenty of statistics, we've talked about some of the protests in the past few years, so we've learned more about the importance of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Just because people have a different skin color, doesn't mean that we're any different from anyone else, we are all human!

Links:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01846-z

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_George_Floyd