Do Black lives (really) matter in the US today?

I hope I am not being totally unrealistic or naive when I say that I honestly thought the rallying cry against the cruel, excessive and inhuman treatment of Black people who are suspected by the police of breaking the law would actually come from the white segment of our society. I genuinely believed that white politicians, activists and ordinary citizens, having decades after decades witnessed the unequal and harsh treatment of their fellow citizens, would be the ones who would finally stand up and say, enough is enough: this kind of barbarous behavior by white police officers against Black suspects should not be tolerated. 

Unfortunately, even after decades of witnessing everyday tragedies occurring in this country, white people continue to turn their eyes the other way, indirectly allowing officers who respond to cases involving Black people a complete freedom to execute their duties any way that fits to their own judgment, with no demand for accountability. 

This negligence and the complacency by white people,  I think, jolted Black activists to stand up and claim the slogan “Black Lives Matter.” I am convinced that the essential message of this movement is not about asking white people to put Black people on a pedestal as if they were divine beings. I am convinced instead that the fundamental message of the movement is not to discredit the most essential and noble work every police officer performs to protect and ensure our safety. Black Lives Matter is simply about raising awareness toward the unnecessary, excessive and cruel treatment of Black people by white police officers.

Ironically, from the first days of the movement’s exposure to the general public, the slogan Black Lives Matter became a subject for ridicule and mockery online. Paraphrasing and trivializing the essential message of Black Lives Matter, social media  posters were outdoing each other by creating Black Lives Matter mimicry, the goal seeming to be making a laughing stock of the movement. The memes were: Birds Lives Matter, Dogs Lives Matter, White Lives Matter, Babies Lives Matter and why not, Black Olives Matter (which to this day, I am not sure if this was an insult, a tease, or a business motto to stimulate sales.)

All this in an effort to ridicule and downplay the fundamental message of the movement, whose objective it is to bring to our collective consciousness the harm done against Black folks and commit to a behavioral change when dealing with Black men and women who are caught in incidents with police.

It would seem unimaginable that now, when the country is in desperate need of new ideas, methodologies and disciplines,  that anyone would see it as right to somehow narrow the ideological divide among Americans. We need to find ways to blend our views and harmonize our efforts in creating a united front to face our challenges. Yet now, out of nowhere, a platform from America First becomes public, which according to USA Today, “...defines  the United States as a country with ‘uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions.’” This declaration is nothing short of a proclamation of white supremacy. It shows a clear intention to validate racism and completely negate diversity, which is the foundation of our country. 

And this is at a time when the list of Black people brutally treated by white officers is growing on a daily basis. From Eric Garner, whose “I can’t breathe” still echoes in our ears; to Tamil Rice, a 12-year-old boy shot in Cleveland, Ohio; to Breonna Taylor in Kentucky; to Stephon Clark in California; to George Floyd who died after being arrested in Minneapolis and held down by police officers, one of whom, Derek Chauvin, had his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. George Floyd’s “I can’t breathe” still echoes throughout the nation and the world.

Regardless of the outcome the trial where Chauvin was found guilty on all counts, the importance of Black Lives Matter extends beyond the crucial task of preserving the integrity of Black people. Black Lives Matter becomes a symbol of justice, which is in danger of becoming unattainable for all people. 

In answering my own question in the title of this piece, Do Black lives really matter?, the answer is an absolute YES! The Black Lives Matter movement not only affirms integrity and equal justice for Black people, but it transcends its mission to embrace every citizen, ethnicity and minority in this land whose freedom and equal rights can at any moment be jeopardized and dismissed. Thanks go to Black Lives Matter, for all it has done to make Americans believe in justice, fairness and equal treatment for all.

Varoujan Froundjian is a digital artist and writer. He can be reached at: varlink3050@gmail.com.