#BlackLivesMatter was created in 2012 after Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted for his crime, and dead 17-year old Trayvon was post-humously placed on trial for his own murder. Rooted in the experiences of Black people in this country who actively resist our de-humanization, #BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society. Black Lives Matter is a movement that came out of the extrajudicial killings of Black people by police and vigilantes.  However, it is more than that. 

Black Lives Matter is broadening the conversation around state violence to include all of the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state.  The movement affirms contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.  

Black Lives Matter is an organization that holds conferences, asks us to envision a country and a world when black lives do matter, and then build a movement towards that vision.  Get involved at http://blacklivesmatter.com/.  Share your vision, go to a conference, build the movement.