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The Importance Of Black Lives Matter

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In order to fully understand the motives behind the organization Black Lives Matter one must know the history behind the struggles of African Americans in the United States. Throughout history African Americans have been pushed down, forced to do the work of the white man, and criticized for the color of their skin. Some of the most violent and unforgettable tales of American history date back to the 17th century. During this time period the slave trade was introduced to the state of Virginia (Carson 19). Millions of innocent African Americans were targeted by colonists who bought these slaves for their own profit (Carson 19). Years of torture, malnutrition, and neglect had passed by and there wasn’t much hope for a bright future for those …show more content…
One positive result to the Black Lives Matter movement is the growing use of body cameras on police. The introduction of body cameras on police officers was in result of countless police brutality issues in the United States. Black Lives Matter made it a priority to erase police brutality, eventually making streets safe for citizens. For instance, one of these depressing events occurred in Ferguson, Missouri. On August of 2014, local police were informed that a man had just stolen cigars from a convenience store in town (Edwards 6). Darwin Wilson, an officer nearby responded to the call after seeing two suspects walking along the street; Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson (Edwards 6). When Wilson went to confront the two, he and Brown struggled through the window of the cop car, and Wilson’s gun went off twice (Edwards 8). Brown continued to run away, causing Wilson to shoot at him several times, ultimately killing him (Edwards 8). People in the community were outraged, and they believed that this killing was unjust. Even more so, they believed he was shot because he was a young black man. Adding on to this, there have been continuous incidents that have happened in America like this, some even more disturbing. As a result of these often confusing and debatable encounters many police departments across the nation have started using body cameras because they are a great tool for transparency and accountability (Beck 1). How do body cameras help lesson racism? The body cameras are like watch dogs, they will put officers on the spot, and they do not lie. Resulting from this, officers will be less likely to shoot, and it is less likely that an unjust shooting will occur towards African Americans, and others. In fact, those who wear cameras had 87.5 percent less incidents using force, and 59 percent fewer complaints compared to officers who do

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