When I think about Black Lives Matter, I think about the protests worldwide. NBA, NHL and NFL players kneeling during the national anthem also come to mind. When I first heard the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” I honestly did not know what it meant and why it was so important. However, after watching the video of George Floyd’s murder and hearing the Critical Race 3-4 class give a presentation on why Black Lives Matter is so important, I learned several things. The first thing I learned was why people said Black Lives Matter on social media. The second thing I learned was that this movement started in July of 2013 due to the seventeen-month anniversary of Travyon Martin’s death. The third thing I learned was that three Black women— Alicia Garzia, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors— started Black Lives Matter. The next thing I learned was that the Black Lives Matter movement took a significant turn in 2020 due to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

Some people in this world don’t believe in Black Lives Matter, which I find sickening. When you ask people, particularly those who are Trump supporters, they will tell you all lives matter, and they would not say Black lives; they would say blue lives matter. The BLM movement is necessary because Black people are being killed for ridiculous reasons. An example of a Black person getting killed for a stupid reason was Tamir Rice’s death. On Nov. 22, 2014, Tamir Rice was shot and killed by Timothy Loehmann for having a toy gun. This is what I’m talking about— Black people are getting killed for the stupidest reasons. Another example of a Black person getting killed for some stupid reason just happened this past year; Ahmaud Arbery, who was jogging around his neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020, was shot and killed by two white men named Gregory and Travis McMichael. It gets even worse when they lied to the media and told news reporters that Ahmaud started the fighting and the punching even though it was the other way around, according to CBS News.

I know that most people who attend Lincoln High School support Black Lives Matter and the Black Lives Matter Movement. I want everyone to do this: spread awareness to our society, keep on supporting the movement. Please help make a difference in our society.