Mike Pence vice presidential campaign, 2016/Black Lives Matter movement
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Black Lives Matter is a social movement that developed in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in July 2013. Conceived by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, the phrase "black lives matter" emerged as a popular hashtag that online activists used to protest racial inequality and police brutality.[1][2]
| “ | Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.[3] | ” |
| —Alicia Garza[4] | ||
The death of Michael Brown, a black teenager shot and killed following a confrontation with a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, expanded the Black Lives Matter message from tweets to demonstrations in major cities in 2014.[5] Although there was no central organization directing local activism, Black Lives Matter became a national network with 26 chapters.[6] Speaking about the movement's leadership, Cullors said, "What we do is we support the chapters. We support their local demands and goals. They tell us what they need us to build support around."[7]
Beginning in July 2015, activists from the Black Lives Matter movement began to engage with both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates by demonstrating at campaign events. Cullors told Politico in August 2015 that these disruptions were not done solely to engender policy change; activists also wanted to bring their message to communities unfamiliar with the movement's grievances. "This is a public display of the agony and anguish black people feel on a daily basis, and many of you don’t have to see it or deal with it or go home to it, so we’re going to bring it to you,” Cullors said.[8]
See what Mike Pence and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Pence on the Black Lives Matter movement
- At a campaign event in Colorado on September 22, 2016, Pence discussed police shootings in Oklahoma and North Carolina. He said, “Donald Trump and I believe there's been far too much of this talk of institutional bias or racism within law enforcement. That police officers are human beings. In difficult and life threatening situations, mistakes are made and people have to be held to strict account. … we ought to set aside this talk about institutional racism and institutional bias.”[9]
- Pence has not said where he stands on the Black Lives Matter movement, but on July 8, 2016, he addressed events that thrust the movement into the headlines. After five Dallas police officers were killed and nine were injured by a gunman who told negotiators that he was upset about the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota, Pence issued the following statement: "Our condolences and prayers go out to the families of the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the horrific ambush in Dallas last night. This cowardly attack is a national tragedy and the hearts of every Hoosier are in Dallas today. This attack on police officers in Dallas is also a heartbreaking reminder of the risks the men and women of our law-enforcement community take every day to protect and serve our communities. In the wake of this tragedy, we must be clear that violence and threats against law enforcement officers will never be tolerated and ensure that our police have the training and resources to defend themselves as they defend our communities. Our hearts also go out to the families of those who lost their lives in police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week. As we mourn with those who mourn, now is also a time for Hoosiers to humble ourselves and reflect on how each of us might build bridges of opportunity and hope in struggling communities across our state. To heal our land, we must stand with those who protect and serve and continue to reach out with generosity and compassion for those in need."[10]
| The 2016 Republican Party Platform on Black Lives Matter |
|---|
| The 2016 Republican Party Platform does not mention the Black Lives Matter movement.[11] |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Mike + Pence + Black + Lives + Matter
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ USA Today, "Meet the woman who coined #BlackLivesMatter," March 4, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "How Black Lives Matter moved from a hashtag to a real political force," August 19, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Black Lives Matter, "A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement," December 6, 2014
- ↑ CBS News, "How a death in Ferguson sparked a movement in America," August 7, 2015
- ↑ NPR, "The #BlackLivesMatter Movement: Marches And Tweets For Healing," June 9, 2015
- ↑ The Daily Beast, "Who Really Runs #BlackLivesMatter," August 15, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Black Lives Matter isn't stopping," August 20, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Pence: 'Too much talk' of institutional, racial bias in law enforcement," September 22, 2016
- ↑ IndyStar.com, "Pence: Dallas shootings a 'horrific ambush'," July 8, 2016
- ↑ Republican Party, "The 2016 Republican Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016
