
Coming from a small town in Florida, where everything was peaceful and almost problem free, to moving to the University of South Carolina, was something that had influenced my viewpoint on racism. USC is located in the heart of Columbia, where it was known to be one of the cities that played a large role in the confederacy, and it had become aware to me that talk about racism and the effects that it has on people and the community is more present than I was used to. Throughout the history of the United States, racism and discrimination has been an issue in not only the south, but everywhere throughout the nation. One would think that this issue would have disappeared after the Civil Rights Movement however, this is not the case. There are still many incidents and problems where racism and discrimination have appeared and effected lives. Some of these events that have come up in regards to this topic are the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and Michael Brown. The loss of these three black men, along with many more, have made a great impact on the black community, as well as the rest of the nation who do not believe in this prejudice act against a minority group. The organization today known as the Black Lives Matter movement, holds the position of being the voice of the people who want to be heard and understood. This movement was founded by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi, after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012 (Miller).  There have been peaceful protests regarding these issues as well as breakouts of fist fights and law enforcements getting involved. Although there are people who do not believe that the creation of this organization was useful, I believe that without it, there would be no change in the viewpoints on racism. This movement has enhanced people’s ability to contribute to the community and what they believe in as well as the nation’s perspective on race and racism.  

Race and racism are two different things that still in a way correlate with one another. Because of one thing, the other appears. “Race is a socially constructed artifact the categorizes people based on visual differences which are imputed to indicate invisible differences” (Wolf and Guin). It is what makes people unique and different in their own way. Everyone has their own race whether it be black, white, Asian, or any other race in the world. Now when it comes to racism, it is “defined simply as any policy, belief, attitude, action or inaction, which subordinates individuals or groups based on their race” (Wolf and Guin). Someone who has a racist attitude singles out a race or races and persistently attacks them. Racism began when a group of people with the same race believed that they should have higher authority than other races (Omi and Winant). This so called “group of people” were in fact white men who wanted to hold power over everyone and thought that people who were different in skin tone should be the ones being told what to do. Presumably, everyone automatically thinks of whites as the racist group however, that is not always the case because all race groups think highly of themselves and think they are better than anyone else. This may seem like it is a bad thing but it is something of a sense of pride in a way of their culture and beliefs however, sometimes it can be taken too far and tensions are formed. (Sears, Sidanius and Bobo).  

Black Lives Matter is the movement that defends the black community and creates a voice for them when they are being persecuted and attacked because of their color. One point to make is that the leaders of the Black Lives Matter believe that this movement should be in comparison to the Civil Rights Movement that took place in 1954 and ended about a decade later. One may think that they both had similar goals in mind and wanted there to be equality among everyone, which is true however, the ways about they handle the situations are different. Something to address is the fact that if the civil rights movement was a so called “success”, then why are there issues today revolving around the same matter? Granted, yes, the civil rights movement did accomplish many issues such as, the court cases of Plessy vs. Ferguson, Brown vs. Board of Education, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Patterson). These resolutions did make a long lasting impact on the nation in regards to equal rights and nationalism, and they are still enforced and continued today. The activists of the Black Lives Matter movement refer to the civil rights movement because they are trying to be conscious about what had been done already and what can be done to enhance and better the ideas of the activists of this past movement (Harris). This would include the fact that today, there are still issues involving the perceived racism and discrimination towards black people. They are also emphasizing the fact that black humanity needs to be articulated rather than the demands for specific rights (Harris). These issues around the Black Lives Matter movement are what keep it going in my opinion because it is what they are fighting for. 

Black humanity is the idea that the black community should be given the respect that the white community is given. For example, if there is a white man lying dead in the middle of a street from a shooting, people automatically get help and treat him. However, if there was a black man lying in the middle of the street after a shooting, there are some people who do not have the same urgency. Humanity is something that everyone should attribute to towards every race and culture. I believe that this topic needs to be greatly pointed out because if this is known more throughout the nation then some of the issues that are occurring today would not be happening. The reason behind many of the outbreaks is because people believe that the Black Lives Matter community are demanding new rights when what is really happening is that they want to be given respect and shown that their voices can be heard.  

How does the news of outbreaks and protests circulate so quickly around from person to person? One of the biggest things that could contribute to this new movement to have a successful outcome is the technology that we have today (Harris). I believe that technology is such an amazing thing because it can be our quickest way to send and receive information. In regards to helping the Black Lives Matter movement, the information would be the message that the activists are trying to get across to the people. This would include the reasoning behind what they are doing and how they are trying to make a positive impact on the nation with this information. One negative thing about social media playing a role in this is that it can cause outbreaks to grow rapidly and for there to be violent protests. Pictures and videos are also taken during these times and posted which allows people to see the violence that goes on and form an opinion based on just what they see.  In my opinion, technology is in favor for the Black Lives Matter movement because no matter what, it is being talked about and it will get people educated about it. This is one of the reasons why I became so informed about this movement. 

Black Lives Matter is an organization that supports the equality of the black community with the nation. Without this movement, people would not understand the feelings that they have about how they are treated. This is something that needs to be understood. White privilege is something that is under looked and this movement points it out to people. There are also people who believe that they are no racist however, because of the society that we live in, it is prevalent in everyone. It is just the way the nation pans out however, with the Black Lives Matter movement it could be something that is changed. If people begin to understand the reasons behind this organization and know that it there not to destroy people but to show that everyone should be equal. 
