by Reade Fenner ’22

Recently, in Minneapolis, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died while being arrested as a white police officer kneeled on his neck. This merely served as the latest example of racially motivated police brutality in America, causing furious citizens to protest in every state. The murder of George Floyd led many throughout America to join the Black Lives Matter movement, with residents of all races taking action against systematic racism. 

However, as the Black Lives Matter movement gains power, so has another slogan. “All Lives Matter” has re-emerged as a popular response to those fighting black oppression. Although this is intended to include the lives of all races as important, it merely diminishes black issues. Nobody is denying that all lives are important. Of course they are. However, there is no need to put out a fire that is not there. White people do not face the same challenges that African Americans in this country do. Black people in the United States are murdered by police, whose job it is to protect citizens, as a result of racial prejudice, which is something white people cannot begin to understand. 

The purpose of Black Lives Matter is not to exclude any race, but to bring power and attention to the oppression of African Americans. Black Lives Matter serves as a call to action for America, showing that changes are necessary in this country. Saying “All Lives Matter” undermines this movement and is used as a weapon to silence African American voices. Black lives are currently in danger due to racially motivated police brutality. All lives do not matter until black lives do.