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Tuesday, February 11, 2025
HomeShowWe fought to change history and we won: Black Lives Matter founders

We fought to change history and we won: Black Lives Matter founders

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Daily US Times: The year 2020 will be remembered for a lot of things – not least the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement across the world.

The organisation has led high-profile campaigns and huge street rallies against racism and police brutality.

Now the three women who founded the Black Lives Matter movement have told the BBC they believe it has transformed politics.

Alicia Garza, one of the founders, said: “Black people alongside our allies stood up to change the course of history and we won.”

Garza and her BLM co-founders, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors spoke with BBC about their journey and achievement.

The three started the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States in 2013 after the not guilty verdict against George Zimmerman, who shot dead unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Huge protests erupted again this year after the killing of unarmed black American George Floyd, who died in May after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck during his arrest.

Despite the ongoing struggle, the BLM founders struck a cautiously optimistic note, especially when speaking about the defeat of current president Donald Trump in the US election. Black women in particular have been credited for playing a major role in Joe Biden’s victory.

The BLM trio welcomed the acknowledgment of this by US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who has made history as the first female, first Asian-American and first black to be elected in this post.

But the trio said they would lobby for her to be not just a “symbol but a fighter for our communities”.

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