Student Text

Black Lives in America: How agency and culture bring communities

together today
Trayvon Martin. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice. Sandra Bland. Terrence Crutcher.

Each was a black man or woman who died at the hands of police. Their names represent only a
handful of such cases. In some shootings, victims were confused for having weapons when instead
they had toy guns in their hands. In other cases, victims were shot after committing a smaller crime or
when confused as someone else who had committed a crime. These deaths have resulted in
nationwide protests against the belief that police act overly aggressive when dealing with black men.

A shooting in Tulsa

In September 2016, an unarmed black man, Terence Crutcher, was killed by a white Oklahoma officer
who was responding to a stalled vehicle in the middle of the road.

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said Crutcher committed no crime and gave officers no reason
to shoot him. He said Tulsa police drew their own conclusions about Crutcher. "When unarmed
people of color break down on the side of the road, we're not treated as citizens needing help. We're
treated as, I guess, criminals — suspects that they fear," said Crump.

What is profiling?

A car is pulled over or someone walking

down the street is stopped. If the person is
being singled out because of their race, it
might be an example of profiling. This is a
police tactic that’s been used for many years.
The person being profiled may not have
done anything wrong. They might only be
getting stopped because of how they look. Some people say that's discrimination, or treating people
differently because of part of their identity, like race or religion.

Some people say profiling destroys trust in police. That trust is important. Right now, people are
angry about police killings. In these cases, police killed black men who were not doing anything
wrong. They were not carrying guns. But many of the policemen never got in trouble.
In most cases, people cannot be stopped because of their skin color. They cannot be stopped because
of where they were born. They cannot be stopped because of their religion. Thirty states have laws
against profiling. But it still happens in many places.

Profiling is based on the assumptions that a person is more likely to commit a crime because of the
color of their skin. This is just one of the assumptions that are made a people, especially people of
color. Other assumptions, like whether or not students of color will attend college or receive a quality
education, have nothing to do with the police. But both represent some of the different challenges
people of color face in America today.

Social media activism

In November 2014, two white Cleveland officers killed a 12-year-old black boy, Tamir Rice. A grand
jury decided not to charge them with a crime. A grand jury is a group of citizens chosen to look at all
the facts and decide if a person should be charged with a crime.

After this decision, an activist named Alicia Ganza posted to Facebook, posted on Facebook: "Black
people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter, Black Lives Matter.” Soon, her post was shared with the
hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. In one month, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was used 52,000 times.

Today, Black Lives Matter is an

national organization rooted in
activism. Activism is speaking
out, standing up and fighting for
change or what you believe in.
Black Lives Matter has organized
marches and protests throughout
the country against . They’ve
spoken with political leaders like
President Obama and
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to make sure change is made. They’ve celebrated black culture
and its contributions to America.

The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has also been used regularly by young people of color discussing
current events and other organizations and celebrities who support the movement. It has now been
used 41 million times.

Agency, resistance, community and change

At the ESPY Awards, or the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, in June 2016, LeBron
James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade on Wednesday teamed up to deliver a
powerful speech, in which they called for fellow athletes to use their fame to heal a country divided by
racism, injustice and gun violence.

The NBA stars mentioned recent police shootings of black men, which Anthony said had sparked
“distrust” and “anger” in many Americans. James said it’s time to walk away from just feeling
“frustrated” and start to help rebuild divided communities.

“Let’s use this moment as a call to action for all professional athletes to educate ourselves,” LeBron
said. “Speak up. Use our influence. And renounce all violence…. We all have to do better.”

This was not the first time these basketball stars had
used their agency to stand up for their beliefs.
LeBron James and his teammates warmed up before
an NBA basketball game on Dec. 8, 2014. He wore
an "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt to protest a grand jury
ruling not to charge an officer in the death of a New
York man.

Colin Kaepernick is a quarterback for the San

Francisco 49ers football team. During the 2016
football season, he upset some people by
refusing to stand as the national anthem played.
The national anthem, or "The Star-Spangled
Banner," plays before most big sports events.
Most Americans stand with their hands over
their hearts while they listen to it. It is a sign of
respect and of patriotism, or love of the country.
As a sign of protest, Kaepernick refused to stand
up during the anthem.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country" that keeps black people and people
of color down, Kaepernick told a reporter. "To me, this is bigger than football," he said. "It would be
selfish on my part to look the other way," he added. He spoke about the concerns with policing in the
United States.
Some people supported Kaepernick's decision, but others were angry. Other football players on his
team and other teams showed their support by kneeling or locking arms during the national anthem
in other games. Rodger Sherman, the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks spoke about Kaepernick in
a press conference. He said, “More videos have come out of guys getting killed, and I think people are
still missing the point. The reason these
guys are kneeling, the reason we're locking
arms is to bring people together, to make
people aware that this is not right.”

Beyoncé has also shown activism in her

music and actions. When Beyoncé appeared
on the red carpet before the MTV Video
Music Awards in 2016, she brought several
guests with her: Lezley McSpadden, Gwen
Carr, Wanda Johnson and Sybrina Fulton — the
mothers of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant
and Trayvon Martin, respectively. All four men were
murdered, with Brown, Garner and Grant dying at
the hands of the police.

A few months later, the mothers also appeared at the

2016 Democratic National Convention in
Philadelphia, where they voiced their support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Hillary
Clinton has had conversations with these “Mothers of the Movement” and other organizations like
Black Lives Matter to make real changes in America.

Your voice and your actions

Activism is not just for politicians and celebrities. Every voice matters in speaking out and standing
up for what is right. Young people have opportunities to show their impact on the world.

One way to show activism is to take part in rallies. In Connecticut and New York, these rallies
encouraged equal pay for charters schools to give every child an excellent education. By attending a
rally or encouraging your families to attend, you are joining a community making a difference.

Another way to show agency is by expressing yourself and your identity by writing essays or poetry,
drawing pictures, or speaking to others about who you are and what you believe. Taking pride in
yourself is the first step in building a movement toward change.