On the 26th of August in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and said: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” King had dreams for a nation that would celebrate its diversity, a nation that would be accepting of everyone, regardless of their race and the colour of their skin.
Unfortunately, the sad truth is that even 57 years later, people of color are still being mistreated. After the unjust killing of George Floyd and many other innocent members of the Black community, the entire nation began to participate in protests, advocating for the prosecution of the cops that perpetrated these unwarranted murders. Today, the Black Lives Matter movement advocates against the racism and prejudice that the Black community faces, striving for the equality that the Black community deserves and for the nation that Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt of.
Overall, there are two common misconceptions that I have seen on the internet about BLM and what it stands for. Here are the reasons why they are wrong:
- “All Lives Matter”:
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This particular phrase is probably one of the most ignorant perceptions one could have with regard to Black Lives Matter and what it stands for. Saying “all lives matter” is like fracturing a bone in your arm, but insisting that all of the other bones deserve the same attention that the one fractured bone is receiving. The BLM movement never stated that only Black lives matter. The reason that Black lives matter is because they are the people who are in danger, and are being disrespected by society and various officials without valid reasoning. We need the Black community to be respected on the same level that other races are being respected; they should not have to fear for their lives each time they step outside of their home.
- BLM is Politics:
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Simply put, Black Lives Matter is the fight to make people acknowledge that Black lives matter as much as every other person’s life. This is a fight for the right to live and have equal treatment; these rights are not politics. Every individual deserves these rights, and not one person deserved to be denied these basic rights based on the color of their skin.
BLM is not politics, period.
We strive for a world that is accepting of our differences. We strive for a world that does not discriminate against people based on the color of their skin. We strive to build the world that Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt of. In order for this to happen, we must first acknowledge that Black lives matter.