Thank you Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. These three names are names you are probably not familiar with; however, you are familiar with their accomplishments. These three women are the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Patrisse, Alicia, and Opal launched the movement in the wake of the murder of 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin.
Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain named George Zimmerman. Zimmerman called 9-1-1 to report a “suspicious person” in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was instructed not to exit his car. Zimmerman disregarded the instruction and left his car. Zimmerman shot Trayvon claiming it was “self-defense” when in reality, Trayvon Martin was simply on the phone talking to his 16 year old girlfriend. Trayvon was murdered in 2012. 4 years later Zimmerman was finally sentenced to 20 years in prison.
These three women took to social media to express their extreme anger regarding the murder of Trayvon Martin so they started the hashtag, #blacklivesmatter, which has now been used over 50 million times. They have not only started a powerful movement, but they have also shined a light on the oppression all black people endure.
Since the rise of this movement, all three women have become inspiring and influential voices in the media. Garza was awarded the 2016 Glamour Women of the Year Award, as well as so many other awards. Cullors is a popular public speaker and she is a New York Times Best Selling Author. Tometi has worked alongside the Black Immigration Network (BIN) to help people of African descent and she is being featured in the Smithsonian’s new National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for her historic contributions.
With the recent murder of George Floyd, Opal Tometi told Isaac Chotiner, a writer for The New Yorker, “I think this is just the beginning”. As a citizen of the United States, I hope this is just the beginning because as a society, we cannot continue down a path of racism, hate, and violence.
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