Over the last the several months global politics have been confronted with uncomfortable race-related questions, demands, and overwhelming frustration, subsequently prompting a series of changes on municipal and state levels to combat anti-black racism. Fueled by the death of George Floyd, this tide of frustration, which evoked calls for the dismantling of systemic racism, has provoked a (personal) moment of introspection, interrogation, and reflection, largely in terms of Black communities in the US, UK, and Canada. Given that the concerns and anger related anti-black racism reached a tipping point several months ago, I chose to take that time to take a step back, and to observe and research the accuracy of our the Black community’s vexation and concerns, as well as the impact of existing and potential strategies to curb racism in law, policy—specifically related to police practices—and society. I chose to listen to, and interrogate, the arguments and counterarguments regarding the need for support to combat challenges that impact the Black community, and the interpretations of what ‘silence’ in the world of social media means. I further interrogated the obscure eagerness to label events and people as racists without all the facts. In cohesion with my experience as a Black male in Canada, who has also spent significant time in predominantly Black communities in the US, I have chosen to discuss my findings, my experience, and recommendations here, in an attempt to further or focus conversations around anti-black racism based on evidence, but also, the lived experience. In saying this, I’m not claiming to be an expert on race-related issues; some may not agree with my perspectives. But I do hope my stories alter the negative perceptions of Black people through added context and a different lens. With that being said, this story is about Black lives, experiences, and ideas. This story is Black Lives Matter.

Black lives matter. To many this phrase or statement is a matter of fact and way of life, and for these people there is a clear understanding that saying ‘Black lives matter’ isn’t an attempt to alienate other groups. Yet, somehow this mantra and dynamic socio-political movement that aims to uplift the Black community has been twisted, vilified, and combined with erroneous doctrines. Somehow, Black people have been left screaming ‘BLM’ for eight years now from a seemingly bottomless chasm (although, Blacks have fought for equality for centuries before the BLM movement existed), where the echoes ring hollow and fail to reach the ears of the masses; and somehow the louder we scream ‘BLM’ the greater the public pushback and outrage. Does this bother you? If so, ask yourself why? Are you of the belief that this statement is inherently divisive, subsequently alienating all other races and ethnicities? Does this suggest to you that Black lives are transcendent to all others—implying that the lives of others don’t matter? Is it because ‘all lives matter’? If any of these explanations serve as your justification for problematizing this statement, I encourage you to interrogate your thoughts and listen closely. Why? Because there is irony in the statement “Black lives matter.” In my perspective, many who demonize this statement fail to realize what it seeks to communicate to the masses, that is, the historical and present treatment of Black bodies has demonstrated the exact opposite of this statement. This being that Black lives do not matter enough. When I say this, I’m in no way implying that I, the Black community, nor most people in general believe we are nothing. We know and believe we matter. But I say this because of the circumstances under which BLM originated, and what it has been used for since. 

The phrase ‘Black lives matter’, which began as a hashtag, was developed in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who murdered Trayvon Martin. Since 2013, BLM has been largely heard in scenarios related to police brutality, or an unjustified death of a Black person at the hands of a White person. In this light, the message is certainly that Black lives do not matter, but we want them to. We need them to, and we need them to matter in the context of institutional structures and societal perceptions. Nonetheless, we are undervalued, derogated, relegated to the shadows, and downtrodden. This is the irony. We’re telling you that we matter too. That we deserve equal treatment too; and that the Black community has experienced an absence of equality, justice, and value. It’s not a suggestion that we are better than you. No. If you listen closely, it’s actually a cry for help, a plead to be understood and valued by a society we contribute to and love, but fails to love us back. This is simple, yet it seemingly presents itself as abstract. It’s clear, yet somehow the masses believe it is hard to grasp, and for some reason there exists this poisonous ideology that asking for equality—by way of equity—is tantamount to asking for too much.

Surely all lives matter insofar as my life is no greater or lesser than the value of your life. But using this as a retort to a justified outcry signals ignorance, a lack of emotional empathy, and tone-deafness. Maintaining that ‘all lives matter’ simply means you have failed to listen and understand. It means, that in seeking to be impartial and rational by suggesting that no life is greater than the other, you have failed to understand that the premise of BLM is that undervaluing a race can’t mean that all lives matter. All lives should matter. But all lives and people are not oppressed; and it’s been proven that they all do not matter, as Black lives (and other racialized people in other contexts) are undervalued, and until Black (and all racialized peoples) lives matter, they aren’t equally valued. As such, this position merely amplifies the plight of the Black community considering that they are, disproportionately targeted by the police and criminal justice system, largely unrepresented in positions of power, and robbed of opportunities to access meaningful education and employment.

In doing this story, I wish to expand the idea of BLM beyond its association with police killings and the death of Black civilians at the hands of the police or White people. I agree, these are issues that need to be addressed; but on a global and even local scale, we scream BLM the loudest in concert with these circumstances. In my perspective, yes, BLM is extremely relevant to police brutality overall; but it’s primarily about the socio-economic underpinnings of the Black experience and struggle, including the following: a lack of sufficient education (in terms of opportunity, access, and students in STEM); a lack of meaningful employment; the suppression of political rights; and the prominence of inner city (violent) crime. In the coming weeks and months, I aim to address these topics through an American and Canadian lens, using Toronto as my primary case study for the Canadian context. In doing so, I hope to create space for conversations that may thwart the going narrative and make some—on both sides of this conversation—uncomfortable. These are conversations that must be had. Using reliable data, stories of the Black experience, and my personal experience, I will ultimately provide recommendations on my findings. This will certainly be an on-going conversation as new issues and cases arise, and I look forward to this discussion. But until then, remember, even when the headlines no longer say it, Black Lives Matter.

Interested in learning more? Check out these resources related to the subject:

• Home – Black Lives Matter
• Black Lives Matter Canada
• Black Lives Matter movement | World | The Guardian

Suggested Books:

• Black Skin White Masks by Franz Fanon
• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Interested in donating to support Black causes? Support these organizations:

• The Jamaican Canadian Association | Donate (micharity.com)
• Home – Somali Centre (buildourcommunity.ca)
• Donate Now – WOMEN’S HEALTH IN WOMEN’S HANDS (canadahelps.org)
• TAIBU Community Health Centre (taibuchc.ca)
• BLACK BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION (BBPA) | Charity Profile | Donate Online | Canadahelps
• Eritrean-Ethiopian COVID Solidarity Fund | Chuffed | Non-profit charity and social enterprise fundraising