Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement: What is it Essay Example

its ideology and message.

While it is acknowledged that all lives hold value, our nation's historical reality has consistently involved the devaluation and dehumanization of black lives. This can be observed in how slaves were considered as just three-fifths of a person during past census counts. Unfortunately, even in our present-day society that claims to have triumphed over racism, we still witness the depreciation of individuals with color due to deeply entrenched institutional racism. The repercussions of our racist past continue to emerge today through blatant acts of racism. The notion of race consciousness, which entails recognizing and acknowledging physical attributes, cultural distinctions, and historical experiences among people, is relatively recent in human history. It is only within the last few centuries that race has been utilized to foster divisions within societies.

The initial notions about race centered around the biological attributes of human beings. Upon encountering individuals in America with different skin pigmentation, European explorers began to question whether they belonged to the same species as themselves. This curiosity spurred a drive to organize humans in a manner similar to the classification of animals. Thus, race became intertwined with biological theory, paving the way for the subsequent categorization of peoples.

The concept of categorizing people based on their skin color was enhanced with the development of the "Great Chain of Being". This classification system organized all entities on earth into a hierarchical structure. Inanimate objects were positioned at the lowest level, followed by "inferior" species, and ultimately humans, who were considered to be closest to God (Omi and Winant 1986). Moreover, during this era, there was an additional classification that determined the relative perfection of various groups

of people based on their skin pigmentation.

The "Essay on the Inequality of Races" was derived from scientific studies that considered race as a biological characteristic (Omi and Winant 1986). Its core idea was that superior races generate superior cultures and remains influential in promoting racist beliefs even presently. Eventually, the concept of race transitioned from a biological notion to a social construct. The notion of one culture being inferior to another based on biological theory was being dismissed.

Rather than being solely determined by biology, race began to be viewed through social and historical perspectives. The importance of each racial group was now influenced by a blend of social, economic, and political elements. This change led to the association of personality traits with skin color, although biological factors were no longer the primary criteria for establishing superiority or inferiority between races (Omi & Winant 1986).

According to Michael Omi and Howard Winant's theory of racial formation, race is viewed as a social construct. This theory proposes that the attributes connected to a specific racial group are influenced by various social, economic, and political elements. In the United States, this phenomenon originated with the inception of slavery when stereotypes were formed based on skin color and applied to entire communities. Before slavery, indentured servants constituted the primary workforce.

During this time, both blacks and whites were part of the same social class. However, the upper class was predominantly made up of white ruling elite. The enslavement of African Americans happened because there was an increasing need for inexpensive labor in the South, along with a significant lower class (Takaki 1993). The white landowners who controlled land, money, and politics

oppressed both lower-class blacks and whites. This ruling class lived in constant fear of a potential uprising from the lower class.

The white ruling elite strategically hindered the union of the laboring class, which included both black and white individuals, in order to maintain their power (Kendi, p.40). They justified the enslavement of black people by considering them a lesser race, thus leading to the establishment of slavery and racism. Moreover, they reinforced the belief in black inferiority by granting whites more rights and positions of authority over black individuals through practices like policing and patrolling of slaves (Kendi 2016). Prior to the Civil Rights era, racist ideology revolved around African Americans being culturally incapable and intellectually inferior. This period also witnessed widespread acceptance of racism.

In the past, overt racism was socially acceptable and not met with disapproval as it is today. Policies, attitudes, and rhetoric openly expressed more racism compared to the present time.

Racism has changed over time. The Civil Rights Movement aimed to fight against such racism and urge the government to ensure basic citizenship rights for black individuals (Kendi p.387). While it did eliminate some legal barriers to discrimination, not all forms of discrimination were eradicated.

Since the 1960s when the Civil Rights Movement concluded, there has been a noticeable shift in how racism is displayed.

The original form of racism, once openly biased towards biological factors, has now been replaced by covert or subtle racism and the notion of a post-racial America. This implies that discrimination is believed to no longer exist and Americans are indifferent to skin color (Kendi, 2016). However, there is also a belief that acknowledging the importance of race entails

recognizing its continuing effects on marginalized communities. This shift in societal expectations has occurred in America since the period following the Civil Rights Movement.

Publicly expressing certain ideas or showing prejudice towards individuals due to their skin color is no longer considered socially acceptable. However, it has become more acceptable to criticize a specific group online for their cultural and social deficiencies, often without revealing one's identity. The belief that the United States has achieved a society where racial divisions of the past have been overcome and everyone is treated equally regardless of race is untrue. In reality, America has witnessed the emergence of a new form of racism that surpasses overt racism as the most prevalent type. This modern racism focuses on culture and operates subtly, unlike the biological racism observed in earlier times (Kendi p.498).

When first meeting someone, individuals tend to notice their race as an initial judgment of their character. Skin color, facial features, and other physical attributes are utilized to make assumptions about a person's true identity (Omi and Winant 1986). Society's perception of the causes of inequality in America has undergone a transformation.

Although explicit racism, which asserts that people of color are inferior to white individuals, is slowly diminishing, covert racism endures in the belief that disparities stem from African Americans' lack of drive or resolution. This viewpoint contends that skin color does not play a role in inequality but rather individual aptitude. Regrettably, this concept overlooks the historical oppression and discrimination endured by African Americans, utilizing stereotypes as justifications for perpetuating their oppression. Throughout American history, black lives have been devalued and individuals were enslaved solely due to their skin

color and other biological characteristics.

Although slavery has ended, black individuals still experience discrimination due to their skin color. While racism is now less obvious and no longer only focuses on physical appearance, it has transformed into a subtler form that greatly affects various aspects of American society, such as the criminal justice system. The rise of the All Lives Matter response originates from a supposedly colorblind society using it as a way to avoid confronting the lasting impact of race in our society. On the other hand, the Black Lives Matter Movement represents a civil rights movement that aims to combat both evident and hidden forms of racism.

The text emphasizes that race continues to have significance in society, despite claims of its insignificance and obsolescence. Advocates of the Black Lives Matter movement argue for acknowledging the importance of race rather than adopting a colorblind approach, as they believe racism still exists within the United States. This movement concentrates on exposing present-day inequalities, particularly related to the unjust killings of unarmed individuals from racial minorities. Its objective is to transform public perception and reform the criminal justice system with the aim of establishing a more equitable society for all.

Works Cited

1. KENDI, IBRAM. STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. THE BODLEY HEAD LTD, 2017.
2. Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States. Routledge, 2015.
3. Takaki Ronald T.

A Different Mirror: a History of Multicultural America by Little, Brown in 1993.