"Black Lives Matter" or "All Lives Matter"?

My take on the "Black Lives Matter" movement versus the "All Lives Matter" movement.

Photography: Courtesy Sarah Smith Wills

Dear "All Lives Matter" supporters,

Please stop yelling "all lives matter". The issue at hand, especially in the United States, does not concern "all lives", it concerns black lives.

On a regular basis black people in the US are victims of racism, racism that is deeply rooted in the history of America. And for so long there has been an outcry for reform, although there has been some progress, it is still not enough because blacks are still finding themselves at the receiving end of racial discrimination and inequality. As much as it is portrayed in America that everyone is seen and treated equally, unfortunately that is not the reality for most black Americans. There are more blacks dying as a result of police brutality in the US than any other race. What's also odd is that even though black Americans only make up a small percentage of the American population, they make up the majority in the prison population. Why is that is a question I will leave you to ponder. I came across an interesting analysis yesterday which involved two individuals who committed the same crimes, had the same criminal histories and took the same pleas. However, one of these individuals was given a harsher sentence than the other. If you guessed that the individual with the harsher sentence was black, you're darn skippy!

BLM protests do not happen ordinarily or out of the blue. These protests are always provoked by some form of policy brutality or racially motivated act against blacks. Unless blacks are treated equally, you cannot say all lives matter! The most recent example of the racism and prejudice faced by blacks in the US is the death of George Floyd. George Floyd's death was senseless and unwarranted, and is essentially a symbol of what it means to be black in America. George Floyd's constitutional rights were ignored and his life was taken by the very same people that are supposed to be serving and protecting the public. His killer, a savage with a badge, had no remorse and comfortably planted his knee on the neck of a black man who was already being restrained by other officers and was gasping for air. Why was he so comfortable in carrying out this evil act you ask? The answer is simple: white privilege. With his so called white privilege, he sought to bypass the law and once again, as its been done so many times before in the history of America, show black Americans that their lives did never and will never (in his eyes) matter in America.

Equality is America, in my opinion, is very abstract; it may exist in the constitution but it doesn't have practical or physical existence. America is institutionally racist, whether or not they intend to be, and thus more needs to be done to ensure that black Americans are truly treated equally to their white counterparts. And this change needs to be implemented in every area e.g. the finance sector, the public sector, the criminal justice system. Most importantly, it is time for families to start having some serious conversations with their children because at the end of the day racism and discriminatory behaviour is not innate, it is learned.

So to all my non-black brothers and sisters, please stop chanting"all lives matter", we know all lives matter! The "Black Lives Matter" or "BLM" movement was created in response to the increasing racial issues faced by black people in the United States. Your "all lives matter movement" was made in response to the BLM movement. Why do you feel the need to create your own movement in retaliation to the outcry of the black people in the US? By being part of such a movement you are undermining the issue of discrimination against blacks and you become part of the problem.

Lots of Love,

Dans

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