Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter is a decentralized social movement with political overtones whose aim is to combat racism and discrimination against black people. It highlights occasions in which inequality is experienced by black people and protests against this primarily in cases in which police brutality was racially motivated. The movement is a decentralized network of individuals and associations with no formal hierarchy. Although some claim that it is a movement that incites violence, the majority of Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been peaceful.
The movement began in 2013 following an incident in which a black teenager, Troyon Martin was shot and killed by a white police officer, George Zimmerman, who was subsequently acquitted of the murder. In response to this court decision, Patrisse Cullers, Alice Garzu and Opal Tomati formed Black Lives Matter Network, which was an online platform to provide activists a set of principles and goals. Local chapters of the movement were asked to commit to its guiding principles but there was no central structure or hierarchy and the network was not involved in policing who was or was not part of the movement.