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

Decades later, Black women were prominent organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes. —Kenya Hunter, Los Angeles Times, 26 Nov. 2024

That balance seemed to tip some in recent years as more stores weighed in on the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd or became more vocal in their support of LGBTQIA+ rights. —Evan Clark, WWD, 26 Nov. 2024

One of Taylor's lawyers represented Daniel Perry, the former Army sergeant whom Abbott pardoned earlier this year after he was convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester. —Skye Seipp, Austin American-Statesman, 24 Nov. 2024

Five years ago, then-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick brought social justice into the heart of professional sports with his decision to kneel during that national anthem, spurring a national conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2014, in the meaning defined above