Before there was black lives matter, there were several monumental civil rights activist groups and movements that communicated a very similar message - major movements such as the civil rights movement, a movement from 1955-1968 that fought to end segregation in America, and The black panther party from 1966 until 1982 that originally patrolled  African American neighborhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality, but later on fought to free African Americans from all of their injustices. These movements were put in place in a time when African Americans and other minority groups were not equal to their white counterparts, and these movements fought for justice, and for African Americans to be treated as humans, rather than lesser than. These movements have helped African Americans tremendously in the move towards equal rights, allowing such feats as the civil rights act, a landmark civil rights and US labor law in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. And brown vs. the board of education, a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.

The Black lives matter movement was founded by militant feminists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opel Tometi in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted of shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who had been shot for seemingly no reason.  The movement later became widespread among the African American community and allies, especially as police brutality has become more publicized in the media towards the African American community.

Shortly after the Black lives matter movement began, there were various reactions - some good some bad. Because the movement brought to light the abuse of power by policemen towards minorities, it was petitioned for police officers to be required to wear body cams, not only to gain proof of incident, but to prevent incident. There were many adverse incidents, such as other groups being formed in opposition of black lives matter, calling them a hate group. Such opposing groups were “All lives matter”, “Blue lives matter”, And a powerful comeback of neo-Nazis, strongly detesting the black lives matter group. Black lives matter has influenced many minorities, including taking a knee during the national anthem and being more outspoken on racial injustice.

Black lives matter exemplifies what it means to be American; to not only speak out on your oppression, but to fight for your freedoms as well. This group fights for the freedoms, equality, and individualisms of black Americans in a time where it seems as if their trials are being overlooked. This group has given minorities a voice in a country that puts on a face of equality but will never truly be equal; to be American is to strive for greatness - to never be content with who you are and what you have, but to always fight for more. Not just for yourself, but for your neighbor.