By Sam Madden
Yes Black Lives Matter, ALL BLACK LIVES. So why is it that this country and non-profits only use the Black Lives Matter label when an African American is killed by a Police Officer or is a victim of Police Brutality?
This morning I got a Solicitation from a non-profit, for a donation to the Black Lives Matter Movement. This same organization spread a false narrative regarding the Ferguson incident. They are connected to a National Network. I warned them repeatedly to change their narrative, otherwise we would see dead police officers. But my cries fell on deaf ears. and that is exactly what happened across the country. There were many besides these two incidents.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/us/dallas-police-shooting.html
So I 100% agree that Black Lives Matter, but I don’t agree that they only matter in Police Officers use of deadly force.
African American Children die nearly every day in Drive-By shootings, yet no one cries out “Black Lives Matter.”
The victimization of African Americans is off the charts, but no one cries out “Black Lives Matter.”
The following is from the Violence Policy Center. They show studies going back to 2004 of the victimization of African Americans. The figures are staggering.
https://vpc.org/revealing-the-impacts-of-gun-violence/black-homicide-victimization/
So why don’t Black Lives Matter in these instances? In our world at the Center for Pluralism they do, not just when an African American dies at the hands of a police officer.
So if Black Lives Matter, which they do. Why is our Nation allowing what is in the link to happen?
It must stop. Jesse Jackson stated so, as well as Martin Luther King, Jr., among many others.
Sam Madden is a Board Member and Consultant for the Center For Pluralism. He can be reached at sam@centerforpluralism.com