Black Lives Matter
noun
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 BLMExamples of Black Lives Matter in a Sentence
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 15 May 2025
In recent years, the Black Lives Matter protests and use of the anti-fascist Iron Front symbol have been sources of contention and forced the league and its clubs into difficult discussions and decisions.
—Jeff Rueter, New York Times, 14 May 2025
The Activism Club at Shelby High School was student-founded and previously discussed topics not covered in school curriculum, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, the war in Gaza, Women’s History Month, suicide prevention and breast cancer awareness.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 14 May 2025
State officials were moving toward an ethnic studies requirement amid the nation’s racial reckoning after the 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and violent attacks on Asian Americans.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Black Lives Matter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Black%20Lives%20Matter. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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