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Taylor Hawks
Mrs. Bottesi
English 12
October 31, 2016
The Modern Civil Rights Movement: Black Lives Matter
On July 18, 2016, a black man named Charles Kinsey was shot while lying on the ground
with his hands raised high in the air trying to help his patient, an autistic 23-year-old man who
had wandered from his group home. Police encountered the pair while they were searching for an
armed suicidal man. Both Kinsey and his patient were unarmed, police shot and subsequently
handcuffed him and left him bleeding on the ground for at least 20 minutes giving him no
medical aid. Kinsey continued to lay upright on the ground with both hands up throughout this
whole ordeal. The recent shootings of unarmed black men, like that of Charles Kinsey has
ignited the flame of civil unrest amongst the people, but this is not the only problem plaguing
America's communities of color. In America people of color are treated like second class citizens,
and the Black Lives Matter movement seeks to end the silence around the issue of systemic
racism in our country and in particular within our judicial system. Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi,
and, Patrisse Cullors founded the movement after the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Posthumously Martin was placed on trial for his own murder and the killer, George Zimmerman,
was not held accountable for the crime he committed. Many argue that the movement perpetuates
violence and hate directed at the police. The fear is that the movement is giving a platform and
power to those who would like to change the message of the movement from one of equality,
justice, and peace to one of hate, racism, and violence against all law enforcement officers and
all white people. The Editorial Board at The New York Times Wrote an article titled The Truth of

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Black Lives Matter. This article claims that the right-wing media is responsible for much of
the demonization of the movement and its followers. A key point in this article is the recognition
of the fact that chanting the phrase Black Lives Matter does not mean that other lives do not
matter, or promote hate directed at those who are not black. It is the same message that has been
shouted by Civil Rights groups for decades. Todays advocates of the modern civil rights
movement are not adequately appreciated in this time period just as their predecessors were
persecuted and criticized during their own time, but efforts made by modern civil rights groups
are just as legitimate and salient because specific groups of people in America, as well as other
parts of the world, remain subject to discrimination, racial bias, and sectarianism.
Yet some readers may challenge this view by insisting that racism is not a quintessential
issue, and that people of color have equal rights and opportunities now, namely that in the eyes
of the law everyone, no matter the color of their skin or their place of their origin have their
rights equally protected. Police officers work very hard to protect the people in their
communities, and community involvement is key to the success of public safety. Furthermore,
Macdonald, a professor at Hillsdale College, claims in her article Entitled The Danger of the
Black Lives Matter Movement. that ...there is no government agency more dedicated to the
idea that black lives matter than the police. The police are out every day and every night
working to protect citizens no matter their race. Another opposition to the movement would be
that it does not focus on the seemingly bigger issue that is black-on-black crime. Young Black
men commit homicide at ten times the rate of white and Hispanic male teens combined (Mac
Donald). In America Blacks are killed by other blacks far more than they are killed by the police,
and without the police that number would be even higher. This further challenges the idea that
police are a part of the problem. Some people claim that the movement itself is racist and

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promotes violence. People are scared and now this fear has culminated into violence mainly
directed towards the police. To illustrate,
Police operating in inner-city neighborhoods now find themselves routinely surrounded
by cursing, jeering crowds when they make a pedestrian stop or try to arrest a suspect.
Sometimes bottles and rocks are thrown. Bystanders stick cell phones in the officers
faces daring them to proceed with their duties, (Mac Donald).
This behavior is creating tense relations and endangering not only police but the citizens they are
attempting to protect. Mainstream media does not show the movement addressing these issues.
However, there is something to be said for equality in this argument. Although everyone
is equal under the law, it seems that some are treated otherwise. Edward Braxton, a priest of
color, said in his article Bridging a Racial Divide: The Catholic Church and the Black Lives
Matter Movement. that many supporters of the movement have cited George Orwells Animal
Farm saying They remind us of the mantra of that totalitarian world of the novel is All animals
are equal. But, eventually the mantra is changed to All animals are equal, BUT, some animals
are more equal than others. This ideology is often seen in the United States Criminal Justice
System. Many times one could see two men, one of color and one not put on trial for same crime
and when the final sentencing is given almost always the man of color receives more time than
the other. Proponents against the movement are right to assert that black -on-black crime is a
bigger issue than police brutality and over use of lethal force, but the movement accounts for that
as well. The systemic racism in the country has created segregated communities where poor
black men live amongst thousands of other poor black men. There are just simply no white men
to commit crimes against. The movement's main focus is police brutality not because it is a more
prevalent issue than black-on-black crime, but because the police are the ones who hold the

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positions of power, and those in which we place our trust in for the safety of ourselves and of our
families. Violence is a huge problem, but it is not a problem created by the Black Lives Matter
Movement. The movement seeks to bring people together. Supporters of the movement are not
asserting that black lives matter more than white lives. What they are asserting is that the lives of
the black citizens in this country, historically, have not mattered as much as our Caucasian
citizens. The acts of violence and racism are not condoned by anyone who supports the
underlying message of the movement and are simply radical views shared amongst a small select
group.
Further, despite the legitimacy of their causes todays advocates of the modern civil rights
movement Black Lives Matter are not adequately appreciated in this time period just as their
predecessors were persecuted and criticized during their own time. Many years ago at the 1968
Summer Olympics, Tommie Smith a gold winner for the USA, Peter Norman the winner of silver
for Australia, and John Carlos the winner of Bronze for USA protested inequality as the StarSpangled Banner played while they stood on the podium. Smith and Carlos, wearing black
gloves, raised their fists in the black power salute as a symbol of resistance and defiance. During
that time, these men experienced severe backlash for that one moment of peaceful protest. For
example,
People in the crowd booed and cursed at the athletes. The IOC convened the next day
and determined that Smith and Carlos would have to forfeit their medals and leave the
Olympic Villageand Mexicoimmediately. Brundage even threatened to boot the
entire American team as punishment...the U.S. Olympic Committee said Such immature
behavior is an isolated incident and a willful disregard of Olympic principles. Even
after the athletes had been disciplined, the backlash continued. Newspapers compared the

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men to NazisBrett Musburger, a sportscaster for ABC, called them black-skinned
storm troopers. Time called their act nasty and ugly.
His un-American activities got Smith discharged from the Army...The two men received
death threats for years, (History.com Staff).
However today, Australia has issued an official apology to Peter Norman for their blacklisting of
him from Olympic teams. Today these three men are regarded as honorable trailblazers and
revered for their actions on that day. This same type of protest and civil unrest continues today.
San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick has started a movement. Kaepernick has refused to stand
for the playing of the national anthem saying, I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag
for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. Kaepernick told NFL.com. To
me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There
are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder, (Gibbs,
Lindsay). More than twenty-two professional athletes have stood with Kaepernick. Many high
scholars are following suit as well, Rodney Axson a high school football player from Ohio joined
as well and received terrible backlash from his teammates at the community, in Lindsay Gibbs
article Tracking the Kaepernick Effect: The anthem protests are spreading she explains what
Axson has been subject to, ...the N-word by teammates multiple times both verbally that day
and in subsequent text messages. Later in the week, a Snapchat post surfaced with a photo of a
handwritten piece of paper with four N-Words preceded by Fk
Rodney and followed by
Let's Lynch Niers.

Since Axon's initial protest, he hasnt had a chance to take a knee again,
because the anthem has been played while his team is in the locker room on game day. Harsh
criticism and punishment along with hateful speech has long been thrown at those who stand up
and peacefully protest injustices.

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In addition, the efforts made by the modern civil rights group Black lives matter are
legitimate and salient because specific groups of people in America remain subject to
discrimination, racial bias, and sectarianism not only from citizens but from law enforcement and
government. The true meaning of the Black Lives Matter movement is to send message to all
Americans that we need work to adapt our country so that the lives of people of color do actually
matter to our citizens and our law enforcing bodies as much as the lives of white people. Even in
an article arguing against the movement there are concessions made about the attitudes of police
in America. Police have an obligation to treat everyone with courtesy and respect, and to act
within the confines of the law, Too often, officers develop a hardened, obnoxious attitude. It is
also true that being stopped when you are innocent of any wrongdoing is infuriating, humiliating,
and sometimes terrifying,(Mac Donald). Systemic racism is an exigent problem in today's
society, as pointed out by Heather Mac Donald from the Manhattan Institute Every year,
approximately 6,000 blacks are murdered. This is a number greater than white and Hispanic
homicide victims combined, even though blacks are only 13 percent of the national
population...Who is killing them? Not the police, and not white civilians, but other blacks. The
problem does not lie in the temperament of people of color, the problem is that we have
segregated communities, poor communities filled with people who have to turn to drugs, and
violence, and crime to stay alive and to feed their families. We have boxed off communities of
color and left them to fend for themselves. Furthermore, the people that are meant to protect and
serve these communities are another threat to their safety. Jeff Hibbert, a black football official
for North Carolina High Schools knows this fear. Just last year when coming home from a
football game, he was pulled over and feared for his own life. He recalls,

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When he pulled me, he had his pistol and said put your hands where I can see them,
Hibbert explained. When I tell you I was truly frightened, I was frightened.I must say
I have a pretty good son and I worry about that. And I have to teach him what to do. And
I hope its enough to save his life.
Our government has failed our black communities by letting implicit bias and misguided fear
keep our people segregated. Our criminal justice system needs attention or people will continue
to die in our streets.
Additionally, The advocates for the Black Lives Matter movement are being ostracized
and persecuted, this is not unlike the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In today's society we
praise the efforts made by those who participated in their movement despite the hostility felt
towards them in their time. Today is no different. People of color are facing discrimination, racial
bias, and sectarianism. People are standing up against a system that has left them on the
outskirts. Something needs to change when it is acceptable for an unarmed black man lying on
the ground with his hands high in the air to be shot. When someone chants the phrase Black
lives matter they are not asserting that white, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, or anyone else's lives are
less important, they are calling attention to the fact that everyone everywhere matters, including
Blacks and they should be able to enjoy equal education, equal employment opportunities, equal
political power, and equal safety under the law.

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Works Cited
Americas Civil Rights Timeline. sitinmovement.org. International Civil Rights Center
and Museum: Web. Sept. 2016

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Braxton, Edward K. Bridging a Racial Divide: The Catholic Church and the Black Lives
Matter Movement. America The National Catholic Review. go.galegroup.com. America Press:
16 May, 2016. Web. Sept. 2016.
Gibbs, Lindsay. Tracking the Kaepernick Effect: The Anthem Protests are Spreading.
Think Progress. Thinkprogress.org: 21 Sept. 2016. Web. Sept. 2016
Gould, Rod. The Manager-Police Chief Relationship: Ensuring Public Trust and
Confidence. Academic Onefile. gogalegroup.com. International City-Council Management
Association: June 2016. Web. Sept. 2016
Mac Donald, Heather. The Danger of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Hillsdale
college. imprimis.hillsdale.edu: April 2016. Web. Sept. 2016.
The Nytimes Editorial Board. The Truth of Black Lives Matter. Nytimes.com. The
New York Times: 3 Sept. 2015. Web. Sept. 2016.