White Dignity: An Analysis Of Black Lives Matter

Anyone watching the news, using social media, or walking down a street in a large city has most likely seen or heard the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” Black Lives Matter is an organization founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, but these are just the chief founders in the organization. The major reason that this organization formed is due to the shooting on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida, of a black man named Trayvon Martin who was shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch member. Zimmerman went to court and was found not guilty for second degree murder. This added fuel to the already existent fire of racisms making this powder keg for the black community.
Black Lives Matter was formed to inform and give
light to “white supremacy” and to racial discrimination against the black community by law enforcement. However, there is a side of Black Lives Matter that the media does not talk about. This organization was created with good intent, but it has come to a point where their actions are not always justified. The term, “white supremacy” is often brought up in the discussion of Black Lives Matter.
If you were to ask someone why they support Black Lives Matter, they would most likely bring up the point of “‘white supremacy’ ,the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial groups, especially black people, and are therefore rightfully the dominant group in any society” One example of white supremacy that Black Lives Matter supporters bring up is that the income of white households is thirteen times the income of black households. Another is that job applicants with white-sounding names are more likely to be called back for an interview than someone with similar attributes but with a black-sounding names. Also, prison sentences for black men are nearly twenty percent longer than for white men who committed the same crimes. Black children make up about fifteen percent of America’s school system yet some say FIND STATISTIC that they make up twice the amount of school suspensions than a white child would (Clifton).
There are many well-intended people within the Black Lives Matter movement. Police brutality is also a real problem. However, this isn’t something that only affects black people. White people are also victims of police brutality, as are Hispanics, Asians, and every other
race.
Not all of these facts bring up the whole story, though. Yes, whites are more likely to have a higher wealth, but white people tend to work better job STATISTIC. They are more likely to graduate from college with a degree STATISTIC. In school, as said above, black children make up half of the school suspensions, yet they are only fifteen percent of the nation's school system. This may be true but in order to get suspended from school you would of had needed to do something for that to happen. These children were not suspended for no reason, along with the other children of different races. STATISTICS. Another reason for the movement was that blacks think that police officers are racist to their skin color.They think that if they are walking down the street and a police officer sees them, they will get stopped and questioned solely by their skin color.
Police officers killed nearly twice as many whites as blacks in 2015. According to The Washington Post, fifty percent of the victims of fatal police shootings were white, while twenty-six percent were black (Bandler). The majority of these victims were armed or threatening the officer with potentially lethal force.
If anything whites should be more afraid of the police than blacks. In August 2015, the ratio of unarmed black men dying from police gunshots was seven-to-one compared to unarmed white men; the ratio was six-to-one by the end of 2015 (Aaron Bandler). Blacks are more likely to kill police officers than be killed by police officers. This is according to FBI data, which also found that forty percent of police killers are black. Also, police officers should be more afraid of blacks that blacks being afraid of police officers. The police officer is nineteen times more likely to be killed by a black than a cop killing a black.
Some may argue that these statistics are evidence of racism toward blacks, since whites consist of sixty-two percent of the population and blacks make up only thirteen percent of the population. But, 2009 statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that blacks were charged with sixty-two percent of robberies, fifty-seven percent of murders, and forty-five percent of assaults in seventy five of the largest counties in the country, even though they are only fifteen percent of the population in these counties. In New York city alone blacks commit seventy-five percent of all shootings, seventy percent of all robberies, and sixty-six percent of all violent crime in, even though they are twenty-three percent of the city's population (Pete Papaherakles).
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, twenty three year old Sylville Smith was shot and killed by a police officer.
Smith had an illegal pistol with him and refused to put it down. Smith had a history of past arrests, according to Milwaukee Police Capt. Mark Stanmeyer. Several people responded by rioting in the streets. A lot of destruction took place and several businesses were burned down. The rioters were chanting “black power” and attacking any white person in sight. The rioters didn’t take into account the fact that the officer who shot Smith was black.
Members of Black Lives Matter Toronto stopped the city’s Pride parade in July. Co-founder Alexandra Williams said the group was holding Pride Toronto accountable for their “anti-blackness.” Even though, Black Lives Matter Toronto was invited to the parade as its Honoured Group. The parade was stopped for up to thirty minutes, until the executive director of Pride Toronto, Mathieu Chantelois, signed a document agreeing to the group’s demands. One of those demands was that the parade can no longer have police
floats.
In London there was a six hour protest that started at 5:40 a.m., flights were canceled or rescheduled. Incoming flights were redirected to other airports. Police said nine protesters were arrested for trespassing, being unlawful and breaking airport rules. Black Lives Matter UK said it was putting a focus on the environmental impact of air travel on black people locally and globally, stating the "climate crisis is racist"