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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

opinion

COLUMN: Black Lives Matter needs support

The politics of protest have been a part of American history since the birth of the United States. Since before the Boston Tea Party, protests have been used to create change in the U.S.

Today is no different. In light of the shooting that took place last month in Parkland, Florida, protest has once again gained momentum at a national level. 

The March for Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C. drew thousands of American citizens, including students from IU, in an attempt to change current gun laws. 

Outside of D.C., there were organized school walkouts in multiple states to protest the gun violence in America today.  This all stemmed from the efforts of the Parkland survivors. 

The March for Our Lives movement has been met with an outpouring of support and involvement from virtually every demographic in the nation, extending to celebrities. 

The energy for this movement is incredible and much needed. However, the support for protesting needs to extend further than gun control. 

Last week, Stephon Clark was shot multiple times by police officers responding to a call about breaking and entering in Sacramento, California. 

Michael Brown died in 2014. Alton Sterling was shot in 2016 and Clark in 2018. These are three names out of the hundreds of people of all races killed in police shootings since 2016.

Following the death of Brown, the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum and started protests around the country. Yet it was not met the same support that the March for Our Lives movement was.  

A Harvard Harris poll found that 57 percent of voters have an unfavorable view of Black Lives Matter.  

It is troubling that the protests for gun control gain support, yet when black men are killed by police gun violence, the conversation dims. 

Where was Erica Garner’s Time cover when she led and organized national protests after the death of her father? 

When Marilyn Mosby, Maryland's state attorney,  tried to prosecute the officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray’s, why was she not met with contributions and praise from the same celebrities encouraging March for Our Lives?

When the Black Lives Matter movement went viral, it was met with doubt and criticism. Moreover, it was met with blatant racism and hatred fueled by social media. 

When the Black Lives Matter movement organized protests, people said the issue was not a racial issue and that the movement created divisions in society.

The Department of Justice has released investigative reports about the police departments in Newark, New Jersey, Ferguson, Missouri, Chicago, and Baltimore. These reports all determined that the these police departments have policies that disproportionately affect minorities. 

But that is not enough evidence for Selena Gomez to issue a statement like she did for March for Our Lives.

If you want to talk about gun control, let’s start with the fact that some members in police forces across the country disproportionately use force against people of color.

When you make the time in your schedule to attend the latest March for Our Lives protest, pencil in the time for Black Lives Matter protests, too.

The intensity of participation for protest needs to be matched in every instance of wrongdoings by our government – not just when white kids take a stand. 

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