In 2020, we all have too much information being thrown at us. Right now, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, there are many different perspectives about what BLM means. The Black Lives Matter movement is getting people throughout the world to focus on racial bias in our society. There are many misconceptions, accusations, and lies about the movement that you may have heard: One common misconception is that people who support the BLM movement are against other races. This is untrue, “BLM” does not mean “only black lives matter,” it's just stating that right now, we need to focus on black lives because black people are being killed disproportionately because of the color of their skin. Another misconception about the BLM protests is that they are riots and coverups for burning and looting. The truth is, the majority of these crimes are not committed by BLM protesters.
Instead, some of the crimes are perpetrated by people taking advantage of the protests to steal, or worse by white supremacists trying to discredit the movement. Although 93 % of this summer's protests were peaceful, according to a US Crisis Monitor study. All too often, only out of control riots are what gets shown on TV news, particularly right wing stations such as Fox News. Another accusation agains the BLM movement, is that is promotes violence against cops. The truth is the BLM movement is just trying to bring justice to people who were hurt or killed wrongfully by police officers. There may be members of the movement who don't like the police, but the movement's goal is to make people aware of the racial bias inherent in America's criminal justice system. These are just a few of many misconceptions and accusations about the BLM movement and its supporters. Remember, it's important to do research before believing anything you hear from news sources such as Fox News since they are not required to state the truth.
By: Isabel and Camilia
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