By: Lindsey Locke
The Black Lives Matter human rights movement is something that has gripped our country over the past few months following the tragic death of George Floyd, who passed away due to our unjust and corrupt system of law enforcement. Although the passing of Floyd did not start the movement, his death sparked a growth in participation in protests all over the country as well as the spread of awareness surrounding the major issue in America that is police brutality. One of the first events that led to the Black Lives Matter organization was the loss of Travon Martin in 2012. The seventeen-year-old boy was killed on his way home from buying a bag of skittles from a local convenience shop; his murderer, George Zimmerman, was shortly released after the incident with no charges filed. After the tragic death of the young boy, it became apparent that there was an issue in the way that law enforcement handled situations, more importantly situations involving people of color. This led to the use of the hashtag #blacklivesmatter on social media, and the movement began to take off.
With more recent events, such as the murders of Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake, the movement has continued to grow more and more both on social media and in real life. As Black Lives Matter protests continue to happen all over the country, it leads people to question what outcome these protests have brought. Ms. Pedraza, who teaches social studies here at Braddock, says that any changes that would be made quickly would probably not help in the long wrong run and that we must slowly fix the issues and not rush. She continued to express that this movement has and continues to push racial injustices to the fore front of everyone’s minds. Not only are the changes that are yet to come going to affect the systemic injustice in law enforcement, but they will also affect other American systems that have proven to also suppress people of color. For example, there have been many studies on racial injustice in American school systems. Seth Gershenson, PhD, at American University, and colleagues reported that “when black and white teachers evaluate the same black student, white teachers are 12 percent less likely to predict the student will finish high school, and 30 percent less likely to predict the student will graduate from college” (Economics of Education Review, 2016).
This movement is bringing a new civil rights era and is sure to go down in history. Mrs. Goiricelaya, who teaches history and law, agrees with Ms. Pedraza that this time will shape the way we see and deal with systematic racism. Mrs. G also stated that when change does occur it will most likely first be on the local level because that’s where individual votes may count the most, but the criminal justice system is most definitely a different story. To change the system at all, on any level, is difficult but this system has been corrupt for far too long. With the involvement of so many more people, the topic of police brutality and racial injustice is no longer taboo for many. The change that this country needs to make starts at home with those who are starting conversations and bringing it to the attention of others who have written this off for far too long. With so much growth in involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement, it is now more important than ever to go out and vote and truly push to make these changes a reality.
The Watchdog 