Do Black Lives matter yet?
A survey on public attitudes toward political engagement and activism on social media has revealed that between July 2013 and May 1, 2018, the hashtag “#Black Lives Matter” had been tweeted over 30 million times. An average of 17,002 times per day and as of June 10, 2020, it had been tweeted roughly 47.8 million times. While the movement’s advocacy for non-violent civil disobedience in protest of all racially motivated violence against people of black ethnicity seems to have gained world wide popularity, much is still left to be seen in terms of individual and institutional accountability on the matter globally.
Humanity First
Humanity – a word for the state of being humane, can easily be identified as the qualities that make us human, such as the ability to love, show compassion, and be creative. Although this seems like an obvious and basic school of thought, the personal experiences of martyrs like George Flyod, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery indicates that a humanity-first mindset does not always take the lead when black lives are involved.
The Journey Ahead
As these racial equity challenges slowly but surely make their way to the forefront of today’s discussions, so have questions on how to be an ally in the movement against anti-black racism. Some key mile-markers on the path to racial equity include:
- Elimination of Systemic Racism: Systemic racism exists within the banking, education industries and even within business. It is ingrained in nearly every aspect of how people move through societies, and it disproportionately affects black people.
- Target Racism in Education: From experiencing a disproportionate number of suspensions to amassing more student debt, black students face more barriers than their white peers in education. Also, schools predominantly attended by people of colour are almost always underfunded
- Publicity for black achievements: Learn more on this.
