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The Black Lives Matter Movement

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Organization

The Resume

    Decentralized activist movement
    Known by the trending Twitter hashtag, #BlackLivesMatter
    Focused on police brutality against African-Americans
    As of 2015, has 23 BLM chapters in the U.S., Canada, and Ghana
    Co-founded by black activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi
    Activists associated with the cause include King Noble, Shaun King, Kwame Rose, DeRay McKesson, Adam Jackson, Julius Jones, Daunacia Yancey, Marissa Johnson, and Mara Willaford
    Formed in the wake of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Florida shooting death of unarmed Black teen Trayvon Martin (Jul. 2013)
    Came to national attention during the protests of Officer Darren Wilson's acquittal from charges for the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri (August 2014)
    Organized a 'Freedom Ride,' attracting over 500 African-Americans from across the United States into Ferguson, Missouri, to support the work being done on the ground by local organizations (Aug., 2014)
    Disrupted a speech in Seattle by Democratic presidential candidate and civil rights activist Bernie Sanders forcing their way onstage, seizing the microphone, and called his supporters racists and white supremacists (Aug. 8, 2015)
    Key organizers in Rev. Louis Farrakhan's 20th Anniversary 'Million Man March: Justice or Else' at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Oct. 11, 2015)
    Known for forming human chains to block traffic and interstate onramps as a form of protest
    Also known for their trademark 'Hands Up Don't Shoot' pose and 'I Can't Breathe' slogan, in reference to the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, respectively
    Other notable deaths protested by BLM included Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., Jordan Davis, Tamir Rice, Antonio Martin, Tony Robinson, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, and Sandra Bland

Why they might be annoying:

    There have been calls from the Right to designate it as a 'hate group.'
    Their protests have featured the burning of, or stomping on, the American flag.
    Their methods have been widely criticized even by black Americans.
    They are known for utilizing radical approaches to draw attention to their cause (e.g., holding up traffic, disrupting events held in 'white areas,' etc.)
    They lack any centralized organization, allowing for any independent group to act under their hashtag.
    They have been known to forego help from mainstream 'white' institutions, and for relegating white individual participants to menial or subordinate roles.
    There was a large outcry from #BlackLivesMatter supporters when Time Magazine passed them over for 2014's 'Person of the Year,' in favor of the Ebola Fighters in Liberia (although if its any consolation they could probably take the 'Ebola Fighters' in a scuffle).
    They attacked Oprah Winfrey when she said in an interview that she hadn't seen anything from the movement to prove that it was a serious, organized entity.
    A 'what do we want/dead cops/when do we want it/right now' rallying chant was attributed to supporters protesting the Eric Garner murder in New York City, characterized as inflammatory speech.
    This subsequently led them to be connected to a wave of anti-police violence, specifically police officer deaths in New York City, Ferguson, and Texas.
    A 19-second video went viral on Twitter showing marchers chanting, 'Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon' at the Minnesota State Fair (Aug. 29, 2015).
    They have been accused of 'biting the hand that feeds them,' disrupting the rallies of Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley, both of whom showed an interest in working to achieve the movement's goals.
    They attempted to disrupt a Hillary Clinton rally, but were prevented due to the room being at capacity. Mrs. Clinton did, however, agree to meet with them privately.
    The meeting proved to be disastrously awkward and tense, with BLM Worcester's Julian Jones accusing her of 'victim blaming' to her face, prompting the hitherto accommodating Hillary to take the gloves off and essentially tell them they had to get their act together, i.e. focus more on changing 'policy' than 'changing hearts' to achieve reform (Aug. 2015).

Why they might not be annoying:

    They inspired episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Scandal.
    They have legitimate grievances with the police force.
    They are the end result of years' worth of ignorance, in public policy and media, on police brutality against blacks.
    Their cause could attract popular support if they recognized boundaries (classic case of right reasons and wrong methods).
    The American Dialect Society chose the hashtag form of the phrase as their word of the year (2014).
    They inspired several counter memes, including #WhiteLivesMatter, #BlueLivesMatter (referencing police uniforms), and most famously #AllLivesMatter.
    The earliest impetus for their activity was the dismissal of charges against the Detroit police in the shooting of sleeping 7-year old Aiyana Jones during a raid in 2010.
    They actively mourned the shooting of the Emmanuel Nine by Dylann Roof in Charleston, laying the groundwork for the removal of the Confederate Flag from the South Carolina Statehouse by the state legislature.
    Bill O'Reilly, after identifying them as a hate group, expressed his intention to 'put them out of business' and ruin the credibility of those who defended them.
    Donald Trump threatened to fight any #BlackLivesMatter protester who attempted to disrupt one of his rallies and steal his mic.
    Interestingly, the group's core leadership actually is interested in working 'within the system' and has issued public apologies condemning flag burnings and protesters disrupting the Sanders rally, calling them 'inappropriate' and 'counterproductive.'
    As is usually the case, conservatives treat Hillary like she's the antichrist until she shuts down the black guy at which point the 'you go girl' cheers commence.
    After years of obnoxiously drawing negative attention to himself at every given opportunity, Optimus Prime Sherman somehow got it into his head that he's the best one to tell #BlackLivesMatter how to refine their message...

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 958 Votes: 36.12% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1096 Votes: 66.61% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6229 Votes: 59.56% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 4933 Votes: 48.23% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 10004 Votes: 49.35% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1907 Votes: 64.13% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2388 Votes: 61.35% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2738 Votes: 89.48% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3872 Votes: 88.12% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 4163 Votes: 60.22% Annoying