In the video above, YouTuber Vi Hart gives context to the Black Lives Matter movement by outlining examples of what sparked the movement and the systemic issues that fuel so much frustration.
The term Black Lives Matter and the accompanying movement are often misunderstood, so much so that there was a petition to label it as a terrorist group. However, that failed.
Vi says, “Listening to Black people is important and white people have got talk to other white people to try and get up to speed and learn how to listen. Hence, this video.”
What’s interesting here is how she frames the video, going through each tragedy and making the case for how each contributed to more frustration, which led to the formation of Black Lives Matter.
She starts by discussing the death of Trayvon Martin and the impact that the George Zimmerman trial had on the community. From there, she lists the names of those that have been killed by police, connecting the dots between each death and growing frustration. When talking about the death of Mike Brown, Vi mentions the outpouring of support for Darren Wilson, the officer who killed him. When Darren Wilson wasn’t indicted, “that once again sent the message that this was not just a mistake made by that police but something allowed by our justice system and supported by a lot of Americans.”
She also points out that we are all in this together because “the system is unfair to other people too” and “some people have more at stake but this is all our problem.”
Vi drives her point home by saying, “I know there’s a lot of white people out there who are afraid or unsure of whether or how to engage with any of this because they’re afraid of doing it wrong or being called racist when they’re just trying to help, and, I sympathize, but you’ll live.”
