Beyond the Hashtag: The Art and Activism of #BlackLivesMatter Event

For my second event I attended the "Beyond the Hashtag: The Art and Activism of #BlackLivesMatter" webinar hosted by Patrisse Cullors. Patrisse Cullors is an artist, organizer, educator and public speaker. She is a Los Angeles native, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Founder of grassroots Los Angeles-based organization Dignity and Power Now. For the past 20 years, Patrisse has been on the frontlines of criminal justice reform and led Reform LA Jails' "Yes on R" campaign, a ballot initiative that passed by a 73% landslide victory in March 2020. Patrisse co-founded the Global Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 after sparking the viral Twitter Hashtag "#BlackLivesMatter". It is Co-founded by Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi as well. The organization started off as a hashtag with a few social media platforms, then they started to network, then they had chapters and now the Organization isa member-led global network of more than 40 chapters.

Patrisse is also an Artist and feels that art should be used in everything they do within the movement. They started off with graphics and created the BLM hashtag. I know many people that can resonate with this because art speaks to people. Art can help you see things differently and offer you a new perspective. 

She spoke about how important it is for people to understand that we never had one leader. There were so many powerful leaders in the civil rights movement (she listed a ton). Black women are the architects of the civil rights movement. There has always been powerful black institutions that led the movement. The movement is largely led by Black women, Black queer women and Black moms. 

She stated that this is our country, the reality is there is people who are desperately desired to upright white supremacy. People love it and want it to strive and succeed. Something she said that I thought was interesting is that "The country doesn't work for them if it doesn't work for all of us. It may work for their bank accounts and financial accounts but if the rest of the world is in turmoil, it doesn't work for all of us". I never thought of it that way, so it was interesting to hear her outlook and perspective. She stated that it is white people's job to organize white people. White people need to be organized into anti-racist work and need to pave the way for other white people and I strongly agree!

Her advice for students who may want to get started in this work is to ask yourself what moves you the most? What keeps you up at night? Hers has always been police brutality and challenging the police/mass incarceration and she focused on it. She said to really think about it, consider what you want to do and there's always a lane to be part of the movement. Join an organization, join an organization that is reputable and is passionate and if doesn't exist build it up. Next, she stated there is not just one way to be active. We can attend a protest or vote. Every single act of resistance and challenging the state is being active. Whether you join a youth leadership program like she did or find your own way, there is not just one way to be active.

Lastly, something that was very real to me as well is there was a time that she spoke virtually (I believe) at a college and on the thread of her video there was a lot of Trump folks harassing her and the college had apologized and said "this is not our college". Then, a black woman who is a student at the college stated "but this is our college". That's so real to me because so many colleges and universities try so hard to defend their school and act like its diverse and not racist when that's not the reality. I really enjoyed tuning into this webinar. Patrisse is an amazing, insightful woman and I was able to learn a lot from her. This webinar connects to our Social Justice and leading with anchors. 

For more information on the organization you can visit - Blacklivesmatter.com