Black Lives Matter.
Those three seemingly simple words have Watch Mad Jaxxx Beyond Thunderboobs (2002)catapulted the U.S. into a modern-day civil rights movement. It's a movement that has become a household name, creating and proposing tangible policy change, as well as spurring intense social debate.
And it started with a hashtag.
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Activists who have been are the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement came together Sunday at the 2016 Social Good Summit in New York City to discuss racial justice and the ongoing struggle for racial equality.
The panel -- moderated by Wesley Lowery, national reporter covering law enforcement, justice, race and politics at The Washington Post-- turned its attention to the evolution of the movement, tackling where it's been, where it is and where it needs to go.
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Black Lives Matter was created in 2012 by by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in February of that year. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter mobilized the online community into action around racial justice issues, morphing that three-word tag into a massive movement.
"We've forced mainstream media to cover things that they've previously ignored."
On Sunday's panel, writer and activist Luvvie Ajayi said this evolution from momentary hashtag to full-blown force has created immeasurable change for the black community. She said it all stemmed from something often labeled by society as non impactful: "hashtivism."
"We've forced mainstream media to cover things that they've previously ignored, and things that they previously thought weren't worth their time," she said. "It created some sort of respect and credibility to the activist work being done on social media."
"We aren't just sitting and playing on the computer all say," she later added. "We are actually doing things that matter."
Taking on that work takes constant effort, maintenance and evaluation. Brittany Packnett, Campaign Zero organizer, Black Lives Matter activist and member of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, said the movement is currently in a place of maintaining momentum created over the past few years, galvanizing both the public and policymakers into action.
"We are in a state of maturation," Packnett said. "We are in a place where we are figuring out how we can take the more nuanced conversation and the more truthful narratives to a place of real change."
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But shifts in social attitudes are often extremely slow -- and for a community needing change now, that unfortunate reality can be exhausting to face.
Shaun King, a senior justice writer at the New York Daily Newsand noted racial justice activist, said he believes it may take almost a decade more to make a dent in some of the most massive racial justice issues of our time. That crawl to a more livable future, he admits, can be both infuriating and disheartening.
"There's a part of me that's frustrated every single day because the things that anger us are still happening," King said. "It's like our house is on fire, and we are still talking about fire codes and fire departments."
But he added that this isn't unique, with precedent in the United States making patience -- however frustrating -- almost required for activists.
"I guarantee you we are more tired of dealing with racism than you are talking about it."
"It's slow in how it unfolds, but it requires us to be immediate in our heart and our concern," King said.
The activists also discussed the public's seeming fatigue or -- at times -- annoyance with the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole. Along with the staying power of the movement, Packnett said, comes those wishing it would simply fade away, allowing them to remain comfortable and unchallenged with their privilege intact.
"I hear that complaint all the time, that people are tired of hearing about racism and tired of talking about racism," Packnett said. "I guarantee you we are more tired of dealing with racism than you are talking about it."
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Media stories of black deaths stemming from racism can seem never-ending. King, for instance, pointed to several instances this week alone of families losing their loved ones to police violence. For those families, he said, the realities of racial inequality are anything but old.
"If not now, when? We cannot give up."
"There was a man who was killed in Tulsa Oklahoma just two days ago," King said. "To his family, this isn't old. It's fresh. They are thinking about caskets and what they are going to dress him in."
Though the constant fight for equity is exhausting, Packnett said the resilience and perseverance of the black community to continue the fight toward racial justice boils down to one thing.
"If not now, when?" she asked. "We cannot give up."
About Social Good Summit
The Social Good Summit is a two-day conference examining the impact of technology and new media on social good initiatives around the world. Held during U.N. Week on Sept. 18 and 19, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders and grassroots activists to discuss solutions for the greatest challenges of our time. You can watch the event live at socialgoodsummit.com.
This year's summit is brought to you by Mashable, the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme and the 92nd Street Y. For complete event details, visit https://mashable.com/sgs.
Topics Black Lives Matter Social Good Racial Justice
