by Isabella Duarte, Staffwriter
Devils’ Advocate

Black Lives Matter is an international movement that brings power and hope to the world. In the last year, there have been an immense number of riots and protests due to threats and police brutality towards the African American community. Our country preaches a big word on unity, but is history repeating itself? African Americans have been fighting strong for their rights and respect. For example, on November 5, 2015, an approximation of 2,000 students from Berkeley High School in California participated in a school wide “walk out” to show respect, strength and unity to people of color after “lynching” threats were made in their community. These students marched from the high school to UC Berkeley. Staff and students spoke out and had the opportunity to share personal experiences of racism. They marched through the streets chanting, “Black lives matter!” and “No justice, no peace!” Participants also encouraged those in the community with an upper hand in the situation to speak out and stand up for their peers who deserve equality, just like anyone else. This peaceful yet powerful march went on for a good forty minutes, and the preaching continued throughout the day.

Black Lives Matter is committed to embodying and practicing justice, liberation, and peace in their engagements with others. They instill in African Americans that “We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a necessary prerequisite for wanting the same for others.” They strongly believe that being black is no different than being any other ethnicity.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended all state and local laws requiring segregation. We as a nation need to commit ourselves to acknowledging, respecting and celebrating our differences as well as our commonalities. Nobody deserves to be treated as less than because of the color of their skin. It’s time to preach equality and act on it because, ultimately, ALL lives matter.