Black Lives Matter

noun

: a movement founded in 2013 to end white supremacy and support Black communities

Note: Black Lives Matter was founded by Black community organizers Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi after George Zimmerman was acquitted of charges relating to his fatal shooting of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012; the movement expanded as people reacted to police killings of unarmed Black people in years following. The name Black Lives Matter functions as a declaration that Black people's lives have as much value as white people's lives, and as a call to end systems and practices that challenge this fact.

abbreviation BLM

Examples of Black Lives Matter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The only comparison is to the response after the Black Lives Matter protest and the clearing of Lafayette Square. Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2025 Corporate America adopted many DEI goals in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that followed Floyd's death. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025 The vote was seen as an early test of investor views about the value of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, which many companies added or beefed up starting in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement. Reuters, CNN, 24 Jan. 2025 Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds previously apologized for having their wedding at Boone Hall, a former plantation, in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on September 9, 2012 amid the Black Lives Matter protests. Caroline Bell, StyleCaster, 23 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for Black Lives Matter 

Word History

First Known Use

2014, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Black Lives Matter was in 2014

Dictionary Entries Near Black Lives Matter

Cite this Entry

“Black Lives Matter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Black%20Lives%20Matter. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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