One of the important lessons the Civil Rights movement has taught us is that racial and social justice activists must persevere even in the face of all manner of setbacks and every kind of reactionary resistance.
The enemies of racial and economic equality always use every weapon at their command to try to demoralize, beat down, and crush the movement for social justice.
Ain't gonna let injustice turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let injustice turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin'
Marchin' up to freedom's land
But our current movement is ready, and has the people, the ideas, and the leaders to meet and overcome the contemporary challenges being faced.
In a recent essay, Turn Up: 21st-Century Black Millennials Are Bringing Direct Action Back, published on HuffPo, Malkia A. Cyril has this to say about recent Black Lives Matter direct actions:
This amazing display of strategic coordination and tactical discipline represents a new era of social protest methodology that seeks cultural as well as political and economic change.
Cyril highlights the leadership of the movement, and its new strategies:
This emerging movement of Black millennial activists, with significant leadership from young Black women, has grown beyond earlier strategies that sought access to political power and full citizenship through civil rights legislation. Instead, these passionate leaders are using creative direct action tactics to both win new public policy and transform the vehicles of power itself.
The past several weeks have seen a number of direct actions led by Black Lives Matter groups.
I've collected links to just some of the Black Lives Matters direct actions over the past few weeks, to give a sense of how deep and widespread the movement is. This is a very partial list, so please add any direct actions that I've overlooked. The struggle continues.
Atlanta, GA, 12/4
Baltimore, MD, 12/14
Berkeley, CA, 12/7
Bloomington, MN, 12/20 (updated link)
Boston, MA, 11/25
Brookline, MA, 12/14
Calgary, Alberta, 11/25
Cambridge, MA, 12/5
Chicago, IL, 12/5
Cincinnati, OH, 12/4
Cleveland, OH, 12/20 & Cleveland, OH, 12/20
Dallas, TX, 11/26
Colorado Spring, CO, 12/14
Detroit, MI, 12/4
Detroit, MI, 12/6
Ferguson, MO, 11/24
Gainesville, FL, 12/8
Hoover, AL, 12/19
Indianapolis, IN, 12/5
Kansas City, MO, 12/20
Lancaster, PA, 12/20
London, UK, 11/25
Madison, WI, 12/14
Milwaukee, WI, 12/19
Minneapolis, MN, 12/4
Minneapolis, MN, 12/7
New Rochelle, NY, 12/19
New York City, NY, 12/14
Oakland, CA, 11/28
Oakland, CA, 12/4
Oakland, CA, 12/15
Omaha, NB, 12/10
Philadelphia, PA, 12/3
Pittsburgh, PA, 12/3
Portland OR, 12/4
Portland, Oregon, 12/13
Princeton, NJ, 12/4
Roanoke, VA, 12/12
San Antonio, TX, 12/20
San Jose, CA, 12/20
Seattle, WA, 12/20
Washington, DC, 12/11