“I can’t breathe. You're going to kill me, man.” These were George Floyd’s last words before he was killed by a cop. This is just one of the many horrific killings that black people have experienced. Justice has still not been served for so many of these people. I chose a video that I felt really captured the emotions and reality of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Black Lives Matter is an extremely important movement, and the purpose is to combat and stand up against racism. African Americans experience racism and police brutality so often, and it needs to be talked about and put to an end. The movement is bringing these issues to attention and trying to get victims the justice they deserve. No one should ever be treated differently because of the color of their skin and that is what Black Lives Matter stands for.

In the video I chose, it really shows how many people have been affected by police brutality and how racism is still a huge problem today. So many deaths have taken place but so little justice. This summer, a large amount of people started protesting and rioting for black rights. I went to two of the protests, and it is incredible to see so many people coming together to help the world change for the better. 

Martin Luther King Jr once said, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” It is so important to speak up and help make change. I know I will never fully understand what they are going through, but I will continue to stand.

I chose this poem because it reminded me of the argument people often use against the statement “Black Lives Matter” which is “All Lives Matter”. A lot of the people that say that don’t really care about all lives they just want to silence black people because what we go through “doesn’t affect them”. They also think “Black Lives Matter” means “Black Lives Matter Only”. But what this poem also means to me is the people who choose not to speak up about these problems, especially people who can make a change. This poem also means, to me, that a lot of people have more of a problem with the statement “Black Lives Matter” than the fact that black lives in America aren’t being treated like they matter.

I did an artwork and I think it embodies the issue because it has lots of things on the paper that relate to the issue. For example I have a mask because if you go out in public you have to wear one now. I also added toilet paper and Covid-19 because Covid is the virus name and the toilet paper was one item that was sold out in a bunch of stores because everyone thought that they needed it since we had to stay home. Also have a gas mask on my drawings because when people are working with patients who have Covid they have to wear all kinds of things so they would not get infected while they are trying to help so many people.