Black Lives Matter: History, Overview, and Criticism in Canada

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada. It begins by tracing the historical origins of the movement, highlighting key events such as the Trayvon Martin case and the influence of the Black Lives Matter hashtag. The report then delves into the philosophical underpinnings of the movement, emphasizing its focus on combating systemic racism and advocating for the rights of Black people, including Indigenous and African Americans who have been victims of systematic racism. The report examines the movement's use of social media and its relationship with Indigenous movements. Finally, the report addresses criticisms leveled against the movement, such as the alleged overlooking of certain issues and the marginalization of specific groups within the Black community. The report utilizes several sources like Carney (2016), Taylor (2016), and Yang (2016) to support its claims.

BLACK LIVES MATTER IN
CANADA
-HISTORY AND OVERVIEW

HISTORY OF ORIGIN
• the movement originated after the acquittal of George Zimmerman
• he shot and killed an un armed teenager of Florida , Trayvon Martin in
2012
• Alicia Garza and Patrisse Khan-Cullors started the online movement
initially
• the movement further grew from this hash tag online trend
• the popularity of the movement grew and Sandy Hudson in 2014 reached
out to the other organizers in Toronto, Canada
• The killing of Michael Brown kindled the vigil in Toronto and thus resulted
in the dawn of Black Lives Matter in Canada. (Carney,
2016)

PHILOSOPHY
• The main objective is to campaign against the oppression
and violence that the black people face on a regular basis
• People in Canada, particularly the aboriginals and African
Americans were being the victims of systematic racism.
(Taylor, 2016)
• generally makes use of social media and hash tag trend to
spread the news of racism across the world.
• The tradition of having slaves in Canada though abolished,
much of the labor and agricultural works are done by black
peoples who have less right on the lands and are even paid
much less.

Relation with Indigenous Movement
• The researchers have identified the workings of the Black Live
matters in relation with various indigenous movement
• they mainly focus on the “ overlapping logics and outcomes “
of the colonial racism
• they also deals with the issues of state violence and
criminalization of indigenous bodies
• various educationist, leaders and activists came forward to
support the movement
• the leaders try to convince and harness a sense of solidarity
among people.

CRITICISM
• The group is criticized of ignoring a number of
underlying facts that provokes racism
• the activist circle is criticized of taking care of
certain issues and disregarding other problems
like the issue of black disabled women being
isolated in various communities
• the issue of the oppression on Black LGBTQ2S
activism in Toronto has been erased from the
border of the trans history. (Yang,2016)

REFERENCE LIST
• Taylor, K. Y. (2016). From# BlackLivesMatter to
black liberation. Haymarket Books
• Carney, N. (2016). All lives matter, but so does
race: Black lives matter and the evolving role of
social media. Humanity & Society, 40(2), 180-
199.
• Yang, G. (2016). Narrative agency in hashtag
activism: The case of# BlackLivesMatter. Media
and Communication, 4(4), 13.