A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza

The beginning of the essay written by Alicia Garza talks about how she created the movement #BlackLivesMatter with two of her sisters to start a call to start an action for black people after a 17 year old boy named Trayvon Martin was put on trial for his own murder and the actual killer George Zimmerman was not held accountable for the crime. Alicia begins to go on about how Black Lives Matter is a political intervention in a world where Black lives are being targeted for death. As the essay goes on more is being talked about how it is an affirmation of Black fold contributors to this society, our humanity, and their own resilience in the face of deadly oppression. As the word got out more about the movement of #BlackLivesMatter more people started coming forward and getting behind it and supporting it by having campaigns, and protests etc. The Black lives Matter is a unique contribution of that goes beyond the killings of Black people by police and vigilantes. It is about black people to love black people, live black and buy black. It is about keeping everyone Infront of the movement. Alicia continues about more about what this movement is and the meaning behind it and the growth of it.

I think a lot of what Alicia talked about is important. I learned a lot more about #BlackLivesMatter movement than I knew before, previously before reading her essay I had little information about what even the movement was, and I am very glad I picked Alicia Garza to learn more about. How I can relate this from my current life and from what we have learned in class is that movements like this and people who are behind them supporting them is a good thing. People need to stop and listen to #BlackLivesMatter and stop discriminating against people because of their own skin color. It makes me sick that people in this generation are still judging people based on their skin, these are real problems that need to be dealt with. Innocent people are dying because of this.

Hey everyone, out there who is reading this my name is Sara Kilian! I just finished my junior year at Kutztown University getting ready to head into my senior year and graduate with my bachelor’s degree in Sports Management with a minor in Coaching and Athletic Administration. I grew up in Ridley Park PA in Delaware County which is just 10 minutes outside of Philadelphia. I am 21 years old and I was born at Riddle Hospital on May 26th, 1998. After graduating this upcoming spring, I hope to get a job in the sports industry hopefully in a focus of more of the lacrosse industry. Lacrosse has been a big role in my life since I was 5 years old. I played from 3rd grade to the middle of my junior year in college. In my free time I work part time while also completing an internship at a local sports arena learning about the sports business and getting a better hand on experience. My goal is one day to be able to be the head coach at a high school coaching lacrosse and give back my knowledge and love for the game and inspire the younger generations to fall in love with the sport just like I did. Well this is just a little bit about me, and I hope you all enjoyed reading!

Alicia is speaking at NI16 Keynote Speech.

Alicia begins her speech saying she going to be talking about movements and black lives matter. Alicia states that Black Lives Matter is not just a movement for black people. Alicia goes into detail about Black Lives Matter is a love note she started in 2013 honoring people who have been killed, she honors people who have lost their lives. I learned a lot in her speech. Alicia said that Oklahoma tried passing a law banning hoodies that African Americans wear. Alicia’s main goal for her speech is for her audience and other people watching this to get a better understanding of Black Lives Matter the movement itself and what African Americans go through. Alicia message from her love letter was “reminding people who look like me reminding us that our lives actually matter”.

That line in her speech really got to me because she is right, everyone’s lives matter no matter what the color of their skin is they should never be treated differently because of the color of their skin. Alicia continues to go on about how Black lives Matter is an important movement and how people need to change and get behind the movement. Alicia gives statistics about how many black people are in jail due to non-violent offenses. I learned a lot about what movements are and a lot about Black Lives Matter and the details into the experiences Alicia has faced hands on and the ways she went about them. Alicia is a great public speaker and reaching out and getting in touch with the audiences feelings.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aliciagarza

Alicia is an American civil rights activist and editorial writer. Alicia was born on January 4, 1981 in Los Angeles, California. When she first began her education, she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and Sociology in 2002 from University of California. After college she began her career working and in 2009, she served as executive director for People Organized to Win Employment Rights/POWER for the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2011, she was elected board chair for Right to the City Alliance/RTTC in Oakland, which fought gentrification and police brutality and continuing her career in 2013 was a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. Garza joined National Domestic Workers Alliance in Oakland, California as director of special projects. In 2018, Garza founded the Black Futures Lab, which invites black people to experiment with new ways to build independent, progressive black political power. As the Strategy & Partnerships Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Garza worked to build a movement at the intersections of race, gender, and the economy. Garza has received numerous awards and recognition.