Black History Spotlight: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi

These three names are not exactly household names just yet, but they will be part of all the history books going forward. They are the founders of Black Lives Matter. The three came together to protest after the murder of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman. It is not the founders names that are attached to the movement, it is names like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Michael Brown that take the spotlight. The movement has now spread all over the US, and in 2020 Black Lives Matter protests became a global phenomenon. Protests have taken place in over 60 countries and on all seven continents. Now, in 2021 Black Lives Matter has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The Founders Bios

Alicia Garza (born January 4, 1981) is an American civil rights activist and writer known for co-founding the international Black Lives Matter movement. She has organized around the issues of health, student services and rights, rights for domestic workers, ending police brutality, anti-racism, and violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people of color. Her editorial writing has been published by The Guardian, The Nation, Rolling Stone, and Truthout. She currently directs Special Projects at the National Domestic Workers Alliance and is the Principal at the Black Futures Lab.

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Patrisse Cullors (born June 20, 1983) is an American artist and activist and a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. Cullors created the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in 2013 and has written and spoken widely about the movement. Other topics on which Cullors advocates include prison abolition in Los Angeles and LGBTQ rights. Cullors integrates ideas from critical theory, as well as social movements around the world, in her activism. She is the author of When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir.

Opal Tometi (born August 15, 1984) is an American human rights activist, writer, strategist, and community organizer. She is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter (BLM). She is the former Executive Director of the United States’ first national immigrant rights organization for people of African descent, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI).

Nominated For The Nobel Peace Prize

In his nomination papers, the Norwegian MP Petter Eide said the movement had forced countries outside the US to grapple with racism within their own societies. “I find that one of the key challenges we have seen in America, but also in Europe and Asia, is the kind of increasing conflict based on inequality,” Eide said. “Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice.

“They have had a tremendous achievement in raising global awareness and consciousness about racial injustice.“They have been able to mobilise people from all groups of society, not just African-Americans, not just oppressed people, it has been a broad movement, in a way which has been different from their predecessors.”

“It’s a strong linkage between antiracism movements and peace, and a recognition that without this kind of justice, there will be no peace and stability in the society. Awarding the peace prize to Black Lives Matter, as the strongest global force against racial injustice, will send a powerful message that peace is founded on equality, solidarity and human rights, and that all countries must respect those basic principles.”

Pray for true justice that leads this planet to true peace. Or, if you can, join the cause.