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Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a civil rights movement and activist network that originated in 2013 as a hashtag campaign started by three Black organizers — Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. The #BlackLivesMatter gained momentum on social media in the wake of a jury finding George Zimmerman not guilty of the second-degree murder of an African-American teenager Trayvon Martin.
While BLM has focused much of its attention on police violence and disparities in the criminal justice system, the movement has grown into an activist network connected through social media. The movement is made up of individuals, local and regional groups, and international coalitions like the Black Lives Matter Global Network and the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), which may champion local issues relevant to their members.
Photo credit: Tom Hilton, Black Lives Matter, 2016. Flickr. Some rights reserved.
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Black Lives Matter FoundationFounded in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi as an ideological and political intervention project, Black Lives Matter is now a member-led global network. The organization's website explains their history and guiding principles and also offers various toolkits as educational resources.
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Racial Conflict - CQ ResearcherAuthoritative and balanced discussion over whether U.S. policies are discriminatory. Provides background going back to slavery and Jim Crow. Topics include institutional racism, civil rights, laws, policing, economics, education, and the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement.
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Black Lives Matter - Opposing Viewpoints in ContextAuthoritative and balanced discussion of the Black Lives Matter movement. Briefly describes its origins as well as the opposition and criticism it has received.
Featured Scholarly Resources about Black Lives Matter
Voices at UTSA
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Black Faculty and Staff Association at UTSABFSA's mission is fostering academic and professional development of black faculty, students, and staff at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The organization accomplishes this mission by promoting cultural events, advancing professional development, providing scholarships, serving as an advocate for and developing support groups for the faculty, staff, and students.
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Black Student Organizations at UTSAA directory of Black student organization hosted on RowdyLink.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Critical Perspectives (Documenting a 2016 UTSA seminar)A digital archive of course content by spring 2016 seminar students at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The course was designed to critically examine the sociocultural and historical contexts of the #BlackLivesMatter and #CharlestonSyllabus movements. Includes background information on the movement, the course syllabus, learning modules, student projects, and more.
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Black Lives Matter Course at UTSA Fall 2020“We’re going to talk about black women, the civil rights movement, black villages, queer affirmation and the connection between brown and black communities,” [Karla Broadus, a lecturer in the College of Education and Human Development] said. “It’s very important that we talk about black lives and everything that’s involved because a lot of our students don’t understand the academic, cultural and sexual connections to the topic.”
Guest speakers will include Dr. Jackie Cuevas, Dr. Bekisizwe Ndimande, Dr. Jocelyn Moody, Dr. Kelly Nash, Dr. Marc Perry, Dr. Howard Smith, Dr. Langston Clark, Dr. Charles Gentry, Mario Salas, Dr. Crystal Webster, Dr. LaGuana Gray, along with weekly lectures.
UTSA Campus Community Talks
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Cafecito y Plática De Colores: A Discussion on Racism & Anti-Blackness within the Latinx & Chicanx Comunity
The Dreamers' Resource Center created a series of fostering conversations after the death of George Floyd and a UTSA Community Gathering(June 3, 2020) for the Latinx/Chicanx community, specifically focusing on the community's needs to begin addressing racism, systemic injustice, oppression, and community resources. The goal of Cafecito y Plático series is to identify current rhetoric, address anti-Blackness issues in the Latinx community, and build understanding and empathy for African-Americans, Blacks, Afro-Latinx, Black immigrants, and UndocuBlack communities.
