The 25th of May 2020 was a defining day. Not only for Minneapolis, the United States, or western culture, but the entire global society felt the effects of George Floyd's murder.
At first I was rather baffled as to why it took this specific event of police brutality on a black man to spark the outrage that ensued. It was by no means the first time something like this had happened, take for example Oscar Grant, California 2009. Unarmed Grant was shot in the back whilst cuffed on the ground. In court, the police officer claimed he thought the gun was a taser. Or Eric Garner, New York 2014, who died after being held in a chokehold, something which had been banned in the police since 1993. Both men were black. And of course there are far more examples, many of which have been under-reported since the victim was fortunate enough to survive.
I realised though, that George Floyd's death was the final straw. An incident caught on camera, shared on the largest platforms by millions and strong enough evidence to finally prove what the Black Lives Matter movement had been preaching upon deaf ears for years.
The social media campaigns that followed were extraordinary. I need not explain this, as I am sure you have witnessed this yourself. Initially, I didn't understand it. How was the post of a teenager with a negligible following going to make a difference to the opinions of racists, who are in fact harder to come by amongst Millennials and Generation Z - the two generations that are more likely to use social media. Some of my first thoughts were 'too much noise and people will stop listening'. However I commend the persistence of those who continued to post on social media in an attempt to educate their audience, as I believe it has truly made a difference to the views and perceptions of anyone who came across them, including myself.
Prior to the surge in the Black Lives Matter movement I would have categorised myself as a non-racist. As someone who is white and middle class, I had rarely come across the hardships that have been brought to light recently. I felt offended to be referred to as 'part of the problem' and that is one thing I won't ever quite agree with. Attempting to 'shame' a majority for being neutral in a situation felt wrong to me. I had never been racist and have always been against it. Just because I hadn't posted on my social media, didn't make me part of the problem, and I will stand by that.
I could only look down on the widely reported cases of racism, such as in football. I, like many others, could not see the inequality that still existed in daily life, simply because it didn't affect me. It was when I realised this, that I finally understood why raising awareness on social media was so crucial and that it had already made such a significant difference.
The social media movement, including the 'Blackout Tuesday' "event" and the reposting of stories to promote education, was only the first part of the BLM-shaped avalanche that George Floyd's murder had triggered. Protests across America, which then spread to the UK came in various different forms. In the US, rioting, looting and vandalism brought some form of unfortunate shame to the name of Black Lives Matter. It was opportunist and rash of any of those who believed that destruction was the solution. The UK, thankfully, was far more peaceful in comparison. Many of the positives brought about by the protests went under-reported by the media, who know all too well that focussing on the negatives and extremes will bring in more "views" and subsequently money to their platform.
A large focus was on the effects the mass protests could have on a second spike of COVID-19. This, to an extent, was understandable. Labelling racism as a pandemic in the midst of a global health crisis is inconsiderate to the millions affected by Coronavirus. It is not a competition between coronavirus and racism to see which is worse, which is unfortunately how some of the protests came across. Both are bad.
It was also a shame to see people assaulting police officers in the UK. You cannot punish an entire national police force for a crime committed by a select few police officers in an entirely different nation. This is perhaps the area of the recent Black Lives Matter movement that riled me most. Sometimes it's frustrating to see 'common sense' being so uncommon. The tearing down of statues is also a matter of opinion. Personally, I believe a peaceful petition to have them removed and put in a museum would have sufficed, not quite dunking Edward Colston into the waters of Bristol. The vandalism of Churchill is also inconsiderate. Times were far, far different in the 20th century. Minstrel shows continued on the BBC into the 1970's and yet nobody is trying to set the BBC Television Centre on fire. Nearly all political characters of the past have been controversial at some point, it rather comes as part of their job and to focus on Churchill's downfalls would be a shame given that he is also widely regarded as the most important political figure in the history of the UK. The hypocrisy of those vandalising Churchill's statue is immense as they criticise the media for failing to show the positives of their protests, whilst only focussing on the negatives of Churchill's entire life.
The protests of the many were supported though by organisations and many changes have since been made. For example, Star Wars actor John Boyega, during a speech in a protest in Hyde Park, said he may lose his job over this. Lucasfilms were quick to reassure Boyega, reinstating that "Now is the time, black lives have always mattered". Similar things were seen across the board with brands and companies all making statements in tandem with the loudest voices of Black Lives Matter.
Football has also made a bold statement in the Black Lives Matter movement. Player names were replaced with 'Black Lives Matter', a logo of BLM was placed on the shoulder, and most poignantly, players have knelt before the start of every game. A powerful image that is hopefully helping to portray an important message to football fans, who seem to have a poor track record when it comes to racism. Particularly in Europe, racism amongst football fans seems to be rife. However, UK football fans can be racist too, most memorably Chelsea fans on a metro in Paris forcing a black man off the train whilst hurling insults in his direction. I strongly hope that the actions the Premier League, and it's players, have taken since the restart of football will help to make a long lasting difference and we never see similar cases again.
That brings me to now. The velocity, and perhaps popularity, of the movement appears to have inevitably died down. But there is no doubting that what has occurred since the 25th of May will make a considerable difference to the inequalities in global society. Many of these inequalities were previously invisible to the so-called 'White Privilege' but this is hopefully no more. I was taken aback by the persistence of the movement at first, but I now feel relieved that it was this way. Society won't be the same and that is an achievement of the people that no level of authority can ever claim.
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