Black Lives Matter: The Black Liberation Movement

As one of the largest grassroots movements in the country, Black Lives Matter is a reaction to the dehumanization of Black people, a call to action against societal and institutional racism, as well as a rebuild of the narrow, conventional liberation movements that too often marginalized women, queer, trans, disabled and undocumented immigrants from within the movement. As such, it does not limit its scope to the alarmingly high poverty, incarceration and extrajudicial killing rates, but it includes grievances specific to those that usually take the back seat in those movements. Black Lives Matter calls for society as a whole to end racial discrimination, to acknowledge the contribution of Black people to it, but also for Black folks and their
For that purpose, a more nuanced reading of their message is necessary: they condemn the arbitrary abandonment and persecution of Black people in general and even more marginalized subgroups, such as Black women, trans, queer or undocumented folks in particular. This is simply a more comprehensive anti-oppression message than the one put forth by other movements, as it covers more ground without altering the core principles. No society can truly exist among unequals (Wollstonecraft 1994:38) and inequality of rank impedes on virtue by “vitiating the mind that submits or domineers” (Wollstonecraft 1994:47) – these principles hold true no matter how small the disadvantaged group is. In fact, those supporting the ideals of Black liberation movements but taking exception to the additions suggested by Black Lives Matter exhibit the same hypocrisy that Mary Wollstonecraft accuses Edmund Burke of: “had you [Burke] been a Frenchman, you would have been, in spite of your respect for rank and antiquity, a violent revolutionist” (Wollstonecraft 1994:44). Walker found a prime example of this sort of hypocrisy as well, although his appeal largely ignores those intersectional issues as well (which is completely understandable, given the gravity of the issue facing all Black folks and the fact that at the time, women were considered second class citizens and trans
It is a grassroots movement meant to spread the message of equality to all Black folks, especially those in more disadvantaged subgroups, prop them up and encourage them to resist their de-humanization, abandonment and oppression. The end goal is to affirm the contribution Black lives, sweat and tears had and continue to have to society and appeal to those in positions of power and privilege to acknowledge these realities and help build a level playing field for Black folks with society at large. However, unlike previous Black liberation movements, they do not wish to leave anyone behind in their ascension to equality, so they make including and propping up Black women, trans or queer folks a central part of their message together with conventional issues, such as high incarceration, poverty and extrajudicial killing rates. As such, their message can be expressed as follows: they fight for the civil rights of Black folks, offer more support to those with more oppressed social identities and appeal to those in positions of power and privilege to acknowledge their humanity and aid their fight for the noble goals of equality and