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Trayvon Martin was shot by a caucasian man named George Zimmerman. Zimmermann was not condemned for his actions causing outrages.

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Zimmerman is finally put on trial and charged with murder.

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The BLM movement is founded due to the injustices observed in the Trayvon Martin shooting.

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The movement takes off with two more killings of unarmed black men, Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

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Updated June 2, 2020

Black Lives Matter: An Activist Movement

Black Lives Matter is an activist movement which began as a hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager killed in Florida in July 2013. The movement became more widely known and popularized after two high-profile deaths in 2014 of unarmed African-American men (Eric Garner in Staten Island, NY and Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO). Neither of the police officers involved in their deaths were indicted (i.e., formally charged with a crime).

Violence against African Americans

There is a larger context and history of African American men and boys who were killed at the hands of the police, many of whom, like George Floyd (2020), were unarmed. Since 2014, other high-profile deaths include Tamir Rice (2014), Laquan McDonald (2014), John Crawford (2014) Freddie Gray (2015), Walter Scott (2015), Alton Sterling (2016), Philando Castile (2016), Terence Crutcher (2016), Antwon Rose (2018) and others. Black women and girls are also targets of police violence, a reality that sparked the "Say Her Name" movement to highlight how this violence often goes unnoticed. Women who have died as a result of police interactions include Sandra Bland (2015), Deborah Danner (2016), Atatiana Jefferson (2019) and Breonna Taylor (2020).

From Protests to Policy Solutions

Ongoing local and national protests and other actions-often sparked by the deaths of other unarmed African Americans-have brought the Black Lives Matter movement to the public consciousness and conversation. Black Lives activists released "Campaign Zero," which includes ten policy solutions developed in conjunction with activists, protestors and researchers across the country, integrating community demands, input from research organizations and the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

On March 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the findings in two separate investigations related to Ferguson. One report found a pattern of civil rights violations on the part of the Ferguson Police Department. A second report determined that "the evidence examined in its independent, federal investigation into the fatal shooting of Michael Brown does not support federal civil rights charges against Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson." Two weeks later, on March 17, the Department and the city of Ferguson formally announced an agreement "aiming to remedy the unconstitutional law enforcement conduct that the Justice Department found during its civil pattern-or-practice investigation." The announcement resolved a pending federal lawsuit against Ferguson, and addressed a range of issues including bias-free police and court practices, protecting all individuals' First Amendment rights, and reorienting Ferguson's use of force policies.

Black Lives Matter continues to pursue policy solutions beyond the events of Ferguson.

About the Lesson Plan

This high school lesson provides an opportunity for students to learn more about Black Lives Matter and the activists involved, explore the controversy about using the term "All lives matter," and posit their point of view in writing to a person of their choice.
Learning Objectives:

Students will learn about the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and how it evolved.

Students will analyze the controversy around politicians and other people using the term "All lives matter" instead of or in addition to "Black lives matter."

Students will reflect on their perspective of Black Lives Matter and write a letter to a person of their choice which reflects their new knowledge and point of view.

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Black Lives Matter: From Hashtag to Movement

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Updated June 2, 2020 Black Lives Matter is an activist movement which began as a hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager killed in Florida in July 2013.

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Protests take part place across the US all concerning police brutality and racism against people of color.

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Video shows the rapid escalation of a confrontation between activists and police in Texas.

Several dozen police officers, some on horseback, narrow in on a crowd of protesters occupying Austin's Congress Avenue on Saturday.

It was hours into a day that saw two rival protests at the state capitol; Black Lives Gathered to denounce police violence and racial profiling while Police Lives Matter rallied in support of officers after the September murder of Harris County deputy Darren Goforth.
RELATED: Defense: Goforth was meeting a woman at the time of his death
In the early afternoon, dozens of Black Lives Matter activists carried protest banners onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 35 in downtown Austin, briefly blocking traffic before police removed them.

Officers followed the crowd as they walked to Congress. There, a cameraman caught the moment that conflict erupted. A mild scuffle flares up amidst a small crowd of protesters and police. Within seconds, officers have several activists subdued while dozens of others scramble frantically through the street.

KUT radio in Austin reported that police made six arrests-five for disobeying an order and obstructing a freeway and one for assault for throwing a water bottle at an officer.

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Black Lives Matter protest shut down by police in Austin, Texas

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Video shows the rapid escalation of a confrontation between activists and police in Texas. Several dozen police officers, some on horseback, narrow in on a crowd of protesters occupying Austin's Congress Avenue on Saturday.

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Protests grow in numbers and escalate into violence more often causing even more deaths. Additionally in a period of July 5-7 a number of protests held gun fights, bombs, and other forms of violence causing multiple deaths.

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Chilling cell phone video surfaced Tuesday of two Louisiana cops killing a 37-year-old man selling music outside a Baton Rouge convenience store after an anonymous caller claimed he had a gun.

The police gunfire sparked impassioned protests that continued past midnight outside the store - 24 hours after authorities shot Alton Sterling during a fatal 12:35 a.m. encounter. More than 100 demonstrators shouting "no justice, no peace" clogged the street, setting off fireworks and blocking an intersection to protest Sterling's death.

The grim 48-second cell phone video of the killing outside Triple S Food Mart shows two police officers tackling and wrestling a heavy-set man in a red shirt against the hood of a car before throwing him to the pavement.

"He's got a gun," one officer cries while the pair pinned Sterling to the ground.

"You f-----g move, I swear to God," the other cop yells, before the two draw their weapons. The terrified bystander turns the camera phone away as five shots ring out - two of which a coroner said struck Sterling in the chest and back.

"They shot him?" a man's startled voice says in the video. "Yes," a woman replies between sobs.

Officers responded to the store about 12:35 a.m. Tuesday after an anonymous caller said a man selling CDs and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun, said Baton Rouge Cpl. L'Jean McKneely.

In Louisiana, gun owners are allowed to carry weapons without a permit as long as they're over 18 and not felons.

It's unclear how Sterling obtained the weapon. His rap sheet dates back two decades with several drug, firearm, theft and assault arrests. He was sentenced to five years to prison for marijuana and weapon possession in 2009, the Advocate reported.

The owner of the store had no knowledge of an argument outside his store that led to the initial 911 call.

He later saw officers pull a gun from Sterling's pocket after the shooting and acknowledged Sterling bought the firearm days earlier for protection after learning other disc sellers in the region had been robbed.

"He was screaming, 'What did I do,' 'What's going on," Triple S Food Mart owner and witness Abdullah Muflahi told the Daily News.

Muflahi watched police kill Sterling, a father of three children and his friend of six years, he said. Sterling died steps from where he allowed him to peddle music daily.

"His hand was not in his pocket, nor did he have the gun in his hand," he said, defending Sterling's final moments.

"While he was laying there dying, the cop went inside his pocket to pull the gun out."

Police have not confirmed whether Sterling was in possession of a gun.

"I think they really handled it the wrong way," Muflahi added.

The officers were wearing body cams during the shooting, but the recording devices apparently came loose and were dangling from their chests during the incident, Baton Rouge police spokesman Cpl. L'Jean McKneely told the Advocate, a Baton Rouge newspaper.

At least one dashcam caught the killing on tape.

Sterling's death at the hands of police comes almost two years after Staten Island resident Eric Garner died after being placed in a police chokehold.

Garner, 43 and black, was allegedly selling loose cigarettes on July 17, 2014, when white cop Daniel Pantaleo put the asthmatic man in a banned chokehold and he died after saying he could not breathe. The sickening takedown was captured on video obtained exclusively by the Daily News.

The death of Garner and other black men in police custody has given rise to protests around the country, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.

Baton Rouge police officials said two uniformed officers involved were placed on administrative leave following the killing, which is standard procedure in shootings.

"It just didn't make sense for someone to become so angry that's suppose to protect our lives and take this young man's life," Vereta Lee, a family friend of Sterling's, told WAFB. "It just doesn't make sense."

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Alton Sterling shot, killed by Louisiana cops during struggle after he was selling music outside Baton Rouge store (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT)

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Chilling cell phone video surfaced Tuesday of two Louisiana cops killing a 37-year-old man selling music outside a Baton Rouge convenience store after an anonymous caller claimed he had a gun. The police gunfire sparked impassioned protests that continued past midnight outside the store - 24 hours after authorities shot Alton Sterling during a fatal 12:35 a.m.

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The BLM movement continued protests while also making efforts to recognize black artists through art and music exhibitions.

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It's been two years since the world was shaken by the death of George Floyd - along with countless other Black people living in the US, including Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor - catapulting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement into the foreground of conversations across the globe.

Black Lives Matter campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards Black people. The international human rights campaign began on social media in 2013 with the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, and has since gone on to lead calls for Black people to be treated fairly by authorities in the USA and around the world.

According to Black Lives Matter, the movement is "an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks' humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression." In 2018, five years after Black Lives Matter began, co-founder Alicia Garza said in an interview that BLM's "goal is to build the kind of society where Black people can live with dignity and respect."

As we mark two year's since Floyd's tragic death, we take a look back at some of the key moments in the Black Lives Matter movement in the US to learn about how the movement has grown from a social media post to a global network.

2013

The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013, following the death of Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager who was shot while walking to a family friend's house, and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, the man who shot him.

The campaign was co-founded by three Black women: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, as a response to the police killings of Black people. The phrase "black lives matter" was first used in a Facebook post by Garza after Zimmerman was found not guilty, and was the inspiration for the campaign. Cullors recognised the power of Garza's words and created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and the campaign was born.

2014

The movement quickly gathered pace, with interest and momentum spiking every time a Black person was killed as a result of an altercation with police.

In 2014, Black Lives Matter protested against the deaths of numerous Black and African-American people. In July that year, Eric Garner died in New York City after a policeman put him in a chokehold while arresting him. Then, in August, unarmed teenager Michael Brown was killed by a gunshot from a police officer, Darren Wilson (it was later decided that there was not enough evidence to charge Wilson). Both peaceful protests and riots followed, much of which was done under the banner and hashtag of Black Lives Matter.

In response, co-founder Patrisse Cullors organised the Black Life Matters Ride, which drew a gathering of 600 people and sparked the founding of more localised Black Lives Matter groups and the dissemination of the campaign into a network.

2015

The following year saw another spate of Black people killed by police officers in the USA, including Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, and Meagan Hockaday. Black Lives Matter protested against these and many more. They also organised protests to highlight the injustices faced by Black women and Black transgender women. By the end of 2015, 21 transgender people had been killed that year in the USA, a record number at the time, and 13 of the victims were Black.

2016

2016 saw Black Lives Matter organise many more protests against police brutality towards Black people. Those whose deaths occurred due to police actions included Deborah Danner and Alton Sterling. Early July saw over 100 protests take place across America following Sterling's death on July 5th, and Philandro Castile's shooting the next day.

This year also saw major American sports stars lend their voices to the cause of Black Lives Matter. In July 2016, basketball players including LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony opened an awards ceremony by speaking about recent deaths of Black people, saying: "Enough is enough." Then, from August, many sports stars began taking part in protests during national anthems at sports games, beginning with Colin Kaepernick, who knelt during the anthem ahead of an NFL game.

2017

Black History Month is celebrated in February in the USA (it's marked in October in the UK). In 2017, Black Lives Matter put on their first art exhibition timed to coincide with Black History Month in the US state of Virginia. It featured the work of over 30 Black artists and creators.

Black Lives Matter protest not only the killings of Black people, but also some acquittals and 'not guilty' verdicts in those cases which make it to trial. In June, they held a protest after the officer accused of killing Philandro Castile the year before was found not guilty.

In August, Black Lives Matter campaigners were among counter-protestors at a white supremacist 'Unite The Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

2018

In an interview with ABC News marking five years of Black Lives Matter, Cullors explained the impact the organisation had had on other causes. She said: "[BLM] has popularised civil disobedience and the need to put our bodies on the line... With things like the Women's March, and Me Too, and March for our Lives, all of these movements, their foundations are in Black Lives Matter."

By May 1st, 2018, a study found that the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter had been used nearly 30 million times on Twitter since the first instance in 2013.

As they marked five years of action, Black Lives Matter continued to highlight the deaths of Black people who had lost their lives at the hands of US police that year, including Grechario Mack and Kenneth Ross Jr.

2019

In February 2019, the rapper 21 Savage was arrested and detained by the US's immigration agency, ICE. As a result, Cullors convened a group of 60 high profile stars from the music and entertainment worlds to advocate for his release.

Then, in May, Oklahoma teenager Isaiah Lewis was shot by police and killed. Days later, Black Lives Matter held a 100-strong rally in protest.

2020

Major protests were sparked at the end of May following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. A video showing a police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck went viral following his death. Police officer, Derek Chauvin, has since been charged with second-degree murder - raised from an initial charge of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter (the case is yet to go to trial). Three other officers who were there have all been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Their cases are also yet to go to trial.

Black Lives Matter went on to organise protests around the world. In London, two Black activists Aima, 18, and Tash, 21, organised a rally in Trafalgar Square, which was attended by thousands on Sunday, May 31st.

Many more have followed since. At one London protest, Star Wars actor John Boyega joined 15,000 others in Hyde Park, and told crowds:

"Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process, we don't know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don't know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we're going to make sure that won't be an alien thought to our young ones."

In November, Joe Biden won the US Presidential election, and vote counts revealed that areas with high numbers of Black voters helped him win many of the states that went to Trump in the 2016 election.

2021

In January, the Black Lives Matter movement was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian MP Petter Eide. His written nomination noted that, "awarding the peace prize to Black Lives Matter, as the strongest global force against racial injustice, will send a powerful message that peace is founded on equality, solidarity and human rights, and that all countries must respect those basic principles."

On 20 April, former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts relating to his killing of George Floyd - second- and third-degree murder, and manslaughter. The jury reached the verdict unanimously after 10-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

Crowds who were gathered at the spot where Floyd was killed, outside the courtroom and across the US erupted into cheers as the verdict was read out.

Floyd's family spoke of their relief and highlighted the work still to be done. "I am going to put up a fight every day," said George's brother, Philonise Floyd. "Because I am not just fighting for George anymore."

Darnella Frazier, the passer-by who recorded the widely shared video of Floyd's murder when she was 17 years old, said in a Facebook post: "George Floyd we did it!! Justice has been served."

US President Joe Biden addressed the nation following the verdict, saying it's "a moment of significant change", but added: "It's not enough. We can't stop here. We're going to deliver real change and reform."

The following month, on 25 May, Floyd's family met Biden at the White House. Meanwhile, people across the US gathered to mark one year since Floyd's death and reflect on the impact this had on the country.

2022

In January 2022, the three men who killed Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced to life in prison - two of whom will not be granted the possibility of parole. At their sentencing hearing, a letter written by Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, was read out to the court: "My family's going to miss Ahmaud. We're going to miss his jokes. His impersonations. His warm smile. These men deserve the maximum sentence for their crimes. Ahmaud never said a word to them. He never threatened them. He just wanted to be left alone. They were fully committed to their crimes."

In May, on the eve of the second anniversary of George Floyd's death, US President Joe Biden announced a series of police reforms, with a key focus on revising use-of-force policies.

As part of the order, a national registry of federal and local officers fired for misconduct will be drawn up. On top of that, state and local police will be encouraged to ban chokeholds and neck restrains unless deadly force is required. A restriction on 'no knock' entries has also been limited and will only be permitted when there is an imminent threat of physical violence.

Currently, the order - which asks law enforcement officers to meet or exceed a Justice Department policy that allows force only when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative exists - covers roughly 100,000 federal law enforcement officials, however Biden aims to expand this to 700,000 officers at the state and local level, with the hope to restore the public's trust in the US police force.

Next month, 1 June marks the start of Black Lives Matter Month, with those living in the US encouraged to take a stand against racism and racially-motivated violence.
Find out what you can do to demand justice for Black lives here

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Biden announces police reform on anniversary of George Floyd's death

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It's been two years since the world was shaken by the death of George Floyd - along with countless other Black people living in the US, including Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor - catapulting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement into the foreground of conversations across the globe.

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More black artists are celebrated in the second edition of the Black Lives Matter art exhibition. This is one of many efforts to signify the impact of colored people.

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Second Annual Black Lives Matter Art Show

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Second Annual Black Lives Matter Art Show The exhibition is a multicultural showing by area artists to express concern and support for black lives at risk and subject to unfair discrimination.

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On this day george Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, this started started a number of protests worldwide.

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At least six people have been killed in violence connected to the protests that started after Mr. Floyd died in police custody.

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Protests and outrage sparked around the worlds at a never before seen rate truly triggering the BLM movement once more.

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On any given day, they spill out onto the streets, driven by fury.

They march. They kneel. They sing.

They cry. They pray. They light candles.

They chant and shout, urgent voices, muffled behind masks.

They block freeways and bridges and fill public squares. They press their bodies into hot asphalt, silently breathing for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

They do all this beneath the watchful gaze of uniformed police officers standing sentry.

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How Black Lives Matter Reached Every Corner of America (Published 2020)

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On any given day, they spill out onto the streets, driven by fury. They march. They kneel. They sing. They cry. They pray. They light candles. They chant and shout, urgent voices, muffled behind masks. They block freeways and bridges and fill public squares.