I think I've been making a mistake in the way I talk about #blacklivesmatter. Though, I'm still thinking about this. And I'm not yet convinced that I'm right.
Let me explain:
#blacklivesmatter isn't a single organization, or a movement. It is a phrase that powerfully expresses widely felt anger, discontent and despair. There are many organizations and groups that use this phrase as their rallying cry. I have not yet found one of these groups that I do not like. They approach this issue from many angles, from environmental racism to police reform; from simple, concrete political goals* and providing directly for victims of police violence to more abstract criticisms systemic racism through art and music.
There are also individuals who use #blacklivesmatter too. It’s can be very personal. I see it on tee-shirts and bike helmets. I see it on my twitter feed and hear it at church and community events. So, #blacklivesmatter is the name of a cultural movement, not the title of single unified politically organized movement. And you know what? That's OK. It's not like this rallying cry hasn't spawned real organizations and political influence (if that is what impresses you.) But I want to say that being organized and pushing political change isn't always the most important goal for cultural movements.** Healing black people and self-expression are also very important.
I thought that the only point of protest was to “be effective” and “make political change.” But, by having that view, I was effectively thinking of protests as shows for the education and benefit of white people.
I used to be one of those people who would be critical of people who marched at protests for not being organized enough. I still slip into that kind of thinking easily. I thought that the only point of protest was to “be effective” and “make political change.” But, by having that view, I was effectively thinking of protests as shows for the education and benefit of white people. (As if there were any show that any of us could put on to change the hearts of those who silently benefit from racism, and who also choose not to see the suffering and pain caused for people of color by maintaining and failing to challenge those benefits.)
Some of the time protest is just about speaking, and knowing you are still free to do so. It's about self-expression. It's about about counteracting the abuse we suffer when we see over and over the message that our lives do not matter. It's about saying NO. WE DO MATTER. And, like the phrase "I am a man" from a generation ago, I’ve come to see that the statement itself isn't the entire movement.
I'm glad that people who feel the need to protest are doing so. I'm angered, but not surprised, that their right to speak is being treated as threat and is being shut down by politically motivated cities, towns and now the FBI. I will not talk about #blacklivesmatter in the same way in the future since I think calling it a movement or organization feeds the narrative that there is some shady group of angry black people scheming in a basement somewhere to harm cops as revenge for the violence we've suffered. I have never met anyone who thinks that way in all of my interactions with the diverse groups and people who rally behind the phrase #blacklivesmatter.
By making #blacklivesmatter into an organization or something bigger than what it really it is, it makes it easier to turn "normal***" police deaths into political statements just as long as the criminal who killed them is black. That is what is happening before our eyes and the goal is to make the act of questioning police violence tantamount to terrorism. The goal is to make expressing support for the simple idea that #blacklivesmatter a radical and untenable position for normal people. The goal is to force us to be silent by making all cries for justice … well… politically incorrect, by making a call to end hate a form of hate speech. The irony is deep as it is disturbing.
*The best known is Campaign Zero. Though, I'd like to do a better job highlighting any organizations run by the black women like the women who started it all: Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi --See(blacklivesmatter.com it’s become a really great resource. ) -- I love Deray, but he has been pushed to the front as “the leader of #blacklivesmatter”... since (I suspect) media are more comfortable with a single male face as the one "in charge" --it's very frustrating. **Many people want to say #blacklivesmatter is "invalid" or “pointless” since it isn't centrally organized. Let’s stop doing that.
***It should not be “normal” for anyone to be killed while doing their job or driving home from work, or selling CDs, or shopping at Walmart, or walking in the street, or asking for help, or praying in a church, or playing with a toy gun. None of this should be normal including the death of cops.