The black Lives Matters movement was originally founded back in 2013 as a response to the murder of the 17 years old Trayvon Martin. And since then, it started to spread all around the world. However, in 2020 this movement completely shifted the forefront of the world’s attention due to the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police officer. And protesters decided to take over the streets in cities worldwide, including Paris, Auckland, Amsterdam, London, and Copenhagen, to fight for racial justice and equality.
There are even many essay examples on this topic, and they state that a large part of the Black Lives Matters activists are students who must face racial injustice daily. Although those same Black Lives Matter essay examples talk about the central role of those students in the history of the movement and how many changes they have made in recent years. Their fight against this issue started with simple marches and protests across countries worldwide, but they didn’t stop there.
The black student movement continued online, mostly on social media, where students propagate information for others to get the knowledge about the pressing need to fight for racial justice. They also offer advice for safe protesting practices, share links to petition, different samples of research papers, and templates for emailing authorities. They also list bail funds and black-owned businesses that need support and even share videos documenting police brutality against the black community.
Also, across the nation, students rallied behind the movement and even founded branches of it. For example, the Black Lives Matter Youth Coalition was founded by Nupol Kiazolu, which shows how powerful a young black activist can be. Also, many students and even teachers gathered to fount the BLM movement at schools, which is an organization dedicated to transforming and addressing the racial injustice presented in educational facilities. They mainly advocate for actions in schools in which all the members need to engage in conversations that will help them create a more socially just education system.
Ways in Which College Students Demand Racial Justice
To create that more socially just education system, students are also putting pressure on their colleges and are constantly demanding social change. So, let’s see the main Black Lives Matter goals that students want to achieve.
Educational Facilities Need to Help to End Police Violence
In the past, educational institutions relied on local police forces responding to a crime on campus, and students’ activists wanted to change that. They demand their colleges to divide the ties with the police with written petitions. Going forward, colleges can depend on an investigation, reinvented models for intervention and security.
Colleges Need to Diversify Curricula and Campus Life.
Many colleges have written official statements that decry racism, but black students are still dissatisfied, arguing that racism is upheld simply by the lack of representation and diversity. They want to achieve racial equality, meaning that they want more students of color to be retained and more diverse faculty members to be hired. And of course, they require the curricula to be expanded and students to have at least the base knowledge about racial justice, which can be done in simple ways such as giving lessons or assigning essays about civil rights, privilege, and racial oppression.
Colleges Need to Close the Opportunity Gap.
Academic success is closely tied to money income. Students that come from wealthy families tend to receive ample college prep and go to more quality schools. And meanwhile, students from low-income families fall into the educational crack. And it is well-known that poverty affects mostly people of color. Meaning that a small percentage of those students can go to college, and an even smaller percentage of them graduate. So, to lose the opportunity gap, activists require re-envisioned entrance exams for college and more quality education at the k-12 level.
Conclusion:
The student activists have played a critical role in calling for transformation and change in modern society. They have done their best to call the attention and amplify their voices about police brutality and structural racism. And for now, their ways, such as protests, and social media trends, have proven to work as powerful tools and made huge changes.