Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has become a force to be reckoned with over the past three years. BLM started as a simple reaction to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in 2013 after he was not found guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin, a black and unharmed teenager. The hashtag black lives matter began trending on social media, and is now an organization. Stojkovic et al. (2012) notes that not all organizations have the bureaucratic structure, but they must have a purpose and activity. The purpose of the BLM is to end systemic racial discrimination towards blacks, and they have engaged in a lot of activities geared towards the achievement of the purpose. As an organization in the criminal justice system, BLM affects other entities when analyzed using the open-system theory. The complex goals of the group not only affect the police, they affect the community, courts and the legislators. Nonetheless, complex and conflicting goals are quite common in the justice system, and it is the responsibility for the leadership of the BLM to express their goals in a way that does not alienate other organizations in the criminal justice systems.
BLM has attracted different opinions, some are against BLM while others support BLM. Regardless, BLM has publicized the constant police brutality towards blacks. Over the years, innocent black men have been beaten and killed by police for no reason. The recent killing of Philando Castille at a traffic stop in front of his fiancée and his daughter was chilling. Castille was stopped for a busted tail-light, and he notified the police officer that he had a licensed gun and did what the officer told him, only to be shot four times (McLaughlin, 2016). BLM is now campaigning against such incidences because of their tendency to go unnoticed, let alone unpunished.
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Hence, the first advantage of the BLM movement is that it has made the nation and actually the whole world aware of police brutality and systemic injustices in the criminal justice system. Over the years, criminal justice researchers have researched on the topic of minority discrimination in the justice system (Miller, 2016). Minorities are known to form the majority population in prisons, and sometimes they are wrongfully incarcerated because of a discriminating system. Miller (2016) states that whites and blacks are treated differently in the criminal justice system starting from the arrests, incarceration and sentencing policies. Blacks are often arrested with extreme violence, even when they are unharmed or when they are not putting the police in danger as seen in the case of Philando Castille. According to the Sentencing Project report (2015), neighborhoods such as Ferguson, Missouri, have an extremely discriminating system such that 57% of black drivers were stopped for license and equipment failure, something which is often overlooked for white drivers. The motivation behind such policies is financial, and Ferguson’s municipality is known to fine black drivers for petty offenses to raise money as suggested by Stojkovic et al. that economic environment sometimes affects the criminal justice system (The Sentencing Project, 2015). As much as it is an insensitive issue that can polarize the nation and the justice system, this is a reality that must be addressed and BLM has made it an issue of concern. At the age of BLM, police officers will be forced to think before killing someone because of the national backlash and protests that will come afterwards.
According to Randolph (2015) BLM is important because it demands justice for the victims of police brutality. The responsibility of the criminal justice is to deliver justice for all, regardless of their skin color, and to ensure that those who break the law are punished. This is not often the case for extra-judicial killings involving police officers. As part of the justice system, police officers have an advantage and they can make the killings appear like self-defense. According to Stojkovic et al. (2012 p.54), “…security and liberty go hand in hand,” hence police officers must be willing to ensure safety of the society while ensuring liberty for everyone. Unfortunately, this is not the case, there are many black victims of police brutality that are yet to receive justice, and having an organization like BLM makes them realize that they have someone in their corner. Regardless of BLM being an informal organization, it has rules, policies and procedures that have defined its actions towards helping victims of police brutality.
Just like any movement, BLM has its downsides. Many people have criticized BLM as a racist movement aimed at popularizing black supremacy. The reality is all lives matter, and all races have faced some form of injustices in the hands of the police and criminal justice system in general. Police brutality and other judicial injustices might be common among blacks and other minorities, but it does not change the fact that even whites face injustices in the criminal system.
A common activity used by BLM to fight for justice is protests and demonstrations. These protests and demonstrations often start peacefully, and some of them end in more violence and lives being taken away. For example, the BLM was instrumental in organizing the protests in Ferguson in 2014. The protest was characterized by a heavy presence of the police and the National Guard, and other individuals who referred to the protesters as “gang members” (Petersen-Smith, 2015). Violence erupted, and the police employed a lot of force in repressing the protest. Regardless, the protesters chose to march despite the violence and threats from police officers. BLM’s protests across the country tend to attract violence, and the recent killing of police officers is now being blamed on BLM. While BLM is not responsible for the killings of police officers, there are individuals who take advantage of BLM protests to commit crimes.
Another downside of BLM is that it lacks the capability to solve problems in the criminal justice system.
It takes a prudent policy to solve the problems within the justice system, and that policy is yet to be created despite BLM’s existence for the past three years. The approach used by BLM only highlights the problems faced by blacks, yet there are many other groups with complex needs that should be considered. BLM protests have made politicians and the affected criminal justice systems to make grand gestures in the name of racial justice, instead of genuinely changing the system. In most cases of police extra judicial killings, the police departments often fire the involved policeman and pay millions in damage to the family to avoid public lawsuits. This has not helped the situation as such incidences need to be properly investigated to come up with effective recommendations to improve how police deal with black people and other minorities.
Despite the disadvantages of BLM, the movement should not be considered racial because it brings together supporters from all races to fight for justice for black victims of police violence and other forms of systemic discrimination. Those with a negative view of BLM should read the BLM’s mission statement and goals before judging the movement based on few incidences where violence erupted in their protests. There are people who associate themselves with BLM, and their motives are not noble. Regardless, this does not mean the BLM’s purpose should be judged based on the activities of such few individuals.
BLM is a group started by millennials, BLM has its background in social media. This shows that millennials are concerned with the issues happening in the criminal justice system. Like most millennial trends, BLM has grown massively. The organization needs an effective form of leadership and structure to allow it to express its demands in a more meaningful manner. Stojkovic et al. (2012) insists on the need for effective leadership and management in criminal justice organizations. Public organizations absorb conflict from the external environment, at the moment there are supporters and critics of BLM. The only way to address them is to acknowledge their views and respectfully challenge their beliefs using facts. Protests and marches will not get BLM anywhere without effective leadership and management to plan the long-term functionality of BLM. BLM cannot go on protesting and causing chaos every other day, otherwise it risks losing the support of people who believe in BLM’s mission and goals.
To sum up, BLM is one of the many movements formed to fight injustices in the criminal justice system. If police officers mistreated a woman, women across America are allowed to form a movement to fight for justice, therefore it is wrong to label BLM as racist because it focusses on blacks. The reality remains that the justice system is deeply flawed, however, there are those who do not believe so, which is why BLM has received a lot of backlash. For BLM to make a real impact, it needs to organize itself better and align itself with powerful leaders that will push the movement’s agenda further. All in all, BLM has raised awareness to an historical issue that needs to be addressed once and for all.
References
McClaughlin, E. (2016). Woman streams aftermath of fatal officer-involved shooting. CNN. Retrieved from: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/07/us/falcon-heights-shooting-minnesota/
Miller, T. (2016). Discriminatory Practices in the American Criminal Justice System: The Politics of Policing and Punishment. Available at SSRN 2713810 .
Park, H. & Lee, J. (2016). Looking for Accountability in Police-Involved Deaths of Blacks. The New York Times . Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/12/us/looking-for-accountability-in-police- involved-deaths-of-blacks.html
Petersen-Smith, K. (2014). Black lives matter: A new movement takes shape. International Socialist Review , Issue 96.
Randolph, I. (2015). Pros and Cons of Black Lives Matter movement. South Jersey Journal. Retrieved from: http://southjerseyjournal.com/news/2015/oct/05/pros-and-cons-black- lives-matter-movement/?page=2
Stojkovic, S., Kalinich, D., & Klofas, J. (2012). Criminal justice organizations: Administration and management . Cengage Learning.
The Sentencing Project. (2015). Black Lives Matter: Eliminating Racial Inequity In
The Criminal Justice System. Retrieved from: http://sentencingproject.org/wp- content/uploads/2015/11/Black-Lives-Matter.pdf
