Black Lives Matter!: Home
Black Lives Matter Resources: Getting Started
Johnhain, "black-lives-matter-justice-fairness-5310901," Pixabay, 2020 June. Free download, Unrestricted use.
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in 2013, in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin. The movement was initiated by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi, who initially developed and promoted the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media. The three women then began to organize other forms of protest against the systematic violence against Black people, and the devaluing of their lives. Black Lives Matter (BLM) is now a recognized international organization that seeks to dismantle structural racism and eradicate systematic violence against Black people, and build a more just and open society. 'Black Lives Matter' can also refer to a larger social movement incorporating many different organizations that have similar or related aims.
This guide is intended to be a resource for the Atlantic Cape community to learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement, and about the social structures and conditions from which the movement emerged. While it is impossible within the scope of a single guide to cover all of the concepts and resources that relate to racism, African American history, White supremacy, and other interlocking ideas, the reader is encouraged to use this guide to gain a deeper understanding of structural racism and its history (primarily in the United States), and to look for ways to become part of the solution to the problem.
BLM: The Organization
- BLM on the WebThe home page of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
- A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement
Garza, A. (2018). A herstory of the #blacklivesmatter movement. In S. D. Hatch (Ed.), Encyclopedia of African-American writing: five centuries of contribution: Trials & triumphs of writers, poets, publications and organizations (3rd ed.). Grey House Publishing.
Black Lives Matter by
What started as a hashtag in 2013 quickly grew into the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter examines the police shootings that fueled the movement, the events that led up to racial tensions in the United States, and the goals the movement has set for the future. Easy-to-read text, vivid images, and helpful back matter give readers a clear look at this subject. Features include a table of contents, infographics, a glossary, additional resources, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Call Number: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)ISBN: 9781532113949Publication Date: 2017-12-15
When They Call You a Terrorist by
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. New York Times Editor's Pick. Library Journal Best Books of 2019. TIME Magazine's "Best Memoirs of 2018 So Far." O, Oprah's Magazine's "10 Titles to Pick Up Now." Politics & Current Events 2018 O.W.L. Book Awards Winner The Root Best of 2018 "This remarkable book reveals what inspired Patrisse's visionary and courageous activism and forces us to face the consequence of the choices our nation made when we criminalized a generation. This book is a must-read for all of us." - Michelle Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The New Jim Crow A poetic and powerful memoir about what it means to be a Black woman in America--and the co-founding of a movement that demands justice for all in the land of the free. Raised by a single mother in an impoverished neighborhood in Los Angeles, Patrisse Khan-Cullors experienced firsthand the prejudice and persecution Black Americans endure at the hands of law enforcement. For Patrisse, the most vulnerable people in the country are Black people. Deliberately and ruthlessly targeted by a criminal justice system serving a white privilege agenda, Black people are subjected to unjustifiable racial profiling and police brutality. In 2013, when Trayvon Martin's killer went free, Patrisse's outrage led her to co-found Black Lives Matter with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. Condemned as terrorists and as a threat to America, these loving women founded a hashtag that birthed the movement to demand accountability from the authorities who continually turn a blind eye to the injustices inflicted upon people of Black and Brown skin. Championing human rights in the face of violent racism, Patrisse is a survivor. She transformed her personal pain into political power, giving voice to a people suffering inequality and a movement fueled by her strength and love to tell the country--and the world--that Black Lives Matter. When They Call You a Terrorist is Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele's reflection on humanity. It is an empowering account of survival, strength and resilience and a call to action to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable.
Call Number: Atlantic County Library System (ACLS)ISBN: 9781250171085Publication Date: 2018-01-16
- Black Lives Matter Is Not a Hate GroupFrom the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Staying in the Loop
The following social media links have been suggested as ways to keep up-to-date on developments in the broader movement.
(formerly Twitter) hashtags
Use these hashtags to follow the conversations:
#Ferguson
#BlackLivesMatter
#ICantBreath
#EricGarner
#ShutItDown
#CrimingWhileWhite
#SayHerName
#PhilandoCastile- (formerly Twitter) Accounts
These are just a handful of recommended accounts to follow for updates, analysis and information:
@Nettaaaaaaaa
@sarahkendzior
@elonjames
@ShaunKing
@marclamonthill
@ryanjreilly
@YourAnonGlobal
@OpFerguson
@boundtoferguson
Adopted from Julie Gilbert, Black Lives Matter Guide, Gustavus Adolphus College, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Black Lives Lost
Murtha, L. (2020). CC BY SA. For attributions, view alt-text.
The Problem
The most immediate, and perhaps the most urgent issue that has provoked the current wave of civil rights activism is the unchecked violence experienced by Black people at the hands of law enforcement officers. While it is imperative to address this situation, at both the local and national levels, so is it also imperative to address the underlying structural racism that supports, condones, forgives, or ignores these behaviors and many others that position Black people as Other and lesser. The incidents below illustrate the need through reporting on current and recent events, but represent only a fraction of the toxic interactions between police and Black citizens.
- How George Floyd Was Killed in Police CustodyThe Times has reconstructed the death of George Floyd on May 25. Security footage, witness videos and official documents show how a series of actions by officers turned fatal. (This video contains scenes of graphic violence.)
- The Minneapolis Uprising in ContextFrom the Boston Review.
- From Freddie Gray To George Floyd: Wes Moore Says It's Time To 'Change The Systems'From Fresh Air, on NPR.
- What Is Your Reaction to the Days of Protest That Have Followed the Death of George Floyd?The New York Times invites comments from students 13 and older.
Deadly Injustice by
The murder of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin and the subsequent trial and acquittal of his assailant, George Zimmerman, sparked a passionate national debate about race and criminal justice in America that involved everyone from bloggers to mayoral candidates to President Obama himself. With increased attention to these causes, from St. Louis to Los Angeles, intense outrage at New York City's Stop and Frisk program and escalating anger over the effect of mass incarceration on the nation's African American community, the Trayvon Martin case brought the racialized nature of the American justice system to the forefront of our national consciousness. Deadly Injustice uses the Martin/Zimmerman case as a springboard to examine race, crime, and justice in our current criminal justice system. Contributors explore how race and racism informs how Americans think about criminality, how crimes are investigated and prosecuted, and how the media interprets and reports on crime. At the center of their analysis sit examples of the Zimmerman trial and Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law, providing current and resonant examples for readers as they work through the bigger-picture problems plaguing the American justice system. This important volume demonstrates how highly publicized criminal cases go on to shape public views about offenders, the criminal process, and justice more generally, perpetuating the same unjust cycle for future generations. A timely, well-argued collection, Deadly Injustice is an illuminating, headline-driven text perfect for students and scholars of criminology and an important contribution to the discussion of race and crime in America.
Call Number: AC HV 9950 .D425 2015ISBN: 9781479873456Publication Date: 2015-12-11
The Ferguson Report by
On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed African American high school senior, was shot by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. For months afterward, protestors took to the streets demanding justice, testifying to the racist and exploitative police department and court system, and connecting the shooting of Brown with the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and other young black men at the hands of police across the country. In the wake of these protests, the Department of Justice launched a six-month investigation, resulting in a report that Colorlines characterizes as "so caustic it reads like an Onion article" and laying bare what the Huffington Post calls "a totalizing police regime beyond any of Kafka's ghastliest nightmares." Among the report's findings are that the Ferguson Police Department "Engages in a Pattern of Unconstitutional Stops and Arrests in Violation of the Fourth Amendment," "Detain[s] People Without Reasonable Suspicion and Arrest[s] People Without Probable Cause," "Engages in a Pattern of First Amendment Violations," "Engages in a Pattern of Excessive Force," and "Erode[s] Community Trust, Especially Among Ferguson's African-American Residents." Contextualized here in a substantial introduction by renowned legal scholar and former NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund president Theodore M. Shaw, The Ferguson Report is a sad, sobering, and important document, providing a snapshot of American law enforcement at the start of the twenty-first century, with resonance far beyond one small town in Missouri.
Call Number: AC HV8148.F47 F47 2015ISBN: 9781620971604Publication Date: 2015-06-23
- Forward Through FergusonThe report of the Ferguson Commission. The Ferguson Commission is an independent group appointed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on November 18, 2014, to conduct a “thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study of the social and economic conditions that impede progress, equality and safety in the St. Louis region.” The need to address these conditions was underscored by the unrest in the wake of the death of Michael Brown, Jr. in Ferguson on August 9, 2014..
By the Numbers
- The Opportunity Atlas Which neighborhoods in America offer children the best chance to rise out of poverty? The Opportunity Atlas is an initial release of social mobility data, the result of a collaboration between researchers at the Census Bureau, Harvard University, and Brown University.
- Criminal Justice Fact Sheet From the NAACP.
Black Stats by
Amid the widespread spin and skewed analysis that is commonplace to media and politics alike, the need for less filtered information and more raw facts is more pressing than ever. Black Stats, a compact and useful guide, skips over the assumptions, suppositions and hypotheses about trends and patterns in American society and offers up-to-date figures on black life in the United States today.
Call Number: AC, CM E 185.86 .M637 2014ISBN: 9781595589194Publication Date: 2014-01-28
- More Than Half of Police Killings Are Mislabeled, New Study SaysThis article from the New York Times describes a study done at the Unversity of Washington, and published in the Lancet.
Credits
This guide was developed by Leslie Murtha, Atlantic Cape Community College Libraries.
Published February 2021.