Human Rights

What Black Lives Matter Is And Isn't — From The Co-founder Herself

Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza says not all groups working for black rights should be lumped under the same label.

What Black Lives Matter Is And Isn't — From The Co-founder Herself
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"I do think this conflation of everything being Black Lives Matter creates a lot of conflict. ... You really shouldn't lump everything that black people are doing into Black Lives Matter," said Alicia Garza, the group's co-founder.

"There is a distinction, and we don't make distinctions to be competitive. We make distinctions to be able to lift up the work that people are doing and to give credit to where it is deserved.

"You wouldn't conflate the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. You really shouldn't lump everything that black people are doing into Black Lives Matter. It's not useful, and in some ways it's disrespectful.

"Black Lives Matter is a network; it is one entity amongst many. We've got Black Youth Project 100the Dream Defenders, we've got Power U in Miami. There's a million organizations that are black-led and concerned with the conditions of black people.

"Not all of those groups are Black Lives Matter. They're all part of the movement for black lives, but we are not one in the same."