Black Lives Matter Vs. Black Lives Matter Vs. All Lives Matter

There is a sentiment regarding Black Lives Matter which follows the meaning of the words used, with a particular focus upon a specific hurting community.  An example given is that of course ‘all lives matter,’ but when dealing with a friend who lost a loved one, you would not say to them that ‘well, all lives matter.’  That everyone matters is not what your grieving friend needs to hear as they have a specific hurt, and that hurt needs to be addressed.  In this case, it is quite appropriate for one who wants that focus and just to proclaim ‘Black Lives Matter,’ the same as it is to recognize that specific hurt of an aggrieved friend.  

There is a movement called Black Lives Matter; as a movement, ‘Black Lives Matter’ is more than just the meaning of the words, as there are further goals and organizational ties.  For example, if you go to blacklivesmatter.com you have the opportunity to donate, and in doing so you’ll be taken to a page with “We appreciate your support of the movement and our ongoing fight to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever,” which is run by a 501(c)(3) group named ActBlue.  ActBlue has among its expenditures for 2020 cycle, more than a billion dollars to federal candidates, including 552 million to various democratic presidential nominees (OpenSecrets.org, 2020).  ActBlue has in their ‘how ActBlue works’ “We want as many groups as possible to be able to create strong grassroots fundraising programs. Our platform is available to Democratic candidates and committees, progressive organizations, and nonprofits that share our values…” (ActBlue, 2020).  

Blacklivesmatter.com has among its ‘campaign focus’ calls against police brutality, as well as other areas such as racial injustice, black immigration, healthcare, education, and commonsense gun laws (BlackLivesMatter.com, 2020).  Each of those are vague goals, in addition to some have a qualifier of racial or black, while others do not.  For what those could mean, we can get an idea by looking at co-founder of BlackLivesMatter Patrisse Khan-Cullors, where she co-wrote in an article that stated reparations, among many factors, are to include “…restoring a balance from within our communities and carrying our autonomous healing and reparatory work through the arts, culture, language, and emotional and mental health services. Reparations must also include pressure on state accountability as well as community-driven and -centered responses” for ‘historic pains caused by settler colonialism’ (Prescott, Starr, & Cullors, 2019).  Alicia Garza and Patrisse Khan-Cullors are both ‘trained Marxists’ (The Real News Network, 2015).  A national organizer Asa Khalif says that gun dealers should be held accountable, and there has been more political involvement for some types of new gun controls (Roberts, 2018; Wheaton, Collins, & Stokols, 2015).

All Lives Matter, as there is not a movement equivalent to the Black Lives Matter movement, is a statement of meaning; it is a valuation statement that all individuals, regardless of demographics, are to be recognized as having value.  It would subsume the valuation version of Black Lives Matter, while necessarily omitting Black Lives Matter’s focus.  It is neither antagonistically racist to state Black Lives Matter as a valuation statement of a specific focus for a group that is to be subsumed under the umbrella of humanity, nor is it racist to state that all lives should be under the valuation of humanity regardless of demographic.  It is a statement of ignorance to not recognize the difference between the valuation statement Black Lives Matter against the movement statement Black Lives Matter; even if you agree with the positions advanced by movement Black Lives Matter, as positions to be placed into politics and law, it is beyond simple valuation of humanity.

Before one can begin to throw out the racist label at someone for one statement or another, we should see the statements themselves are quite vague, and can have vastly different meanings. For better understanding of what is meant and understood in both implication and inference, we should clarify.  Context is key, and if we advance upon a false vision then we will only worsen the error and conflicts, not move toward better understanding and amelioration.

ActBlue. (2020). About Us. Retrieved from https://secure.actblue.com/about

BlackLivesMatter.com. (2020). BLM’s #WhatMatters2020 Goals and Focus. Retrieved from https://blacklivesmatter.com/blms-whatmatters2020-goals-and-focus/

OpenSecrets.org. (2020). ActBlue Expenditures. Retrieved from https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/expenditures.php?cycle=2020&cmte=C00401224

Prescott, J., Starr, S. B., & Cullors, P. (2019). Abolition And Reparations: Histories of Resistance, Transformative Justice, And Accountability. Retrieved from https://harvardlawreview.org/2019/04/abolition-and-reparations-histories-of-resistance-transformative-justice-and-accountability/

Roberts, N. (2018). How Black Lives Matter Is Taking A Grassroots Approach To Stop Gun Violence. Retrieved from https://newsone.com/3826130/gun-violence-black-lives-matter-amnesty-international-report/

The Real News Network. (2015). A Short History of Black Lives Matter. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp-RswgpjD8

Wheaton, S., Collins, E., & Stokols, E. (2015). Gun control groups forging alliance with Black Lives Matter. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/gun-control-black-lives-matter-214939