Looking Back and Forward at Black Lives Matter

For Colored Nerds

Stitcher

Society & Culture

4.8 • 827 Ratings

🗓️ 15 March 2022

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In January, New York Magazine published a retrospective on the 10 years since Trayvon Martin’s death and the subsequent birth of Black Lives Matter. Since its evolution from rallying cry to non-profit, questions have been asked about its structure, organization, goals and leadership. NYMag spotlighted two organizations in their coverage - The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and Campaign Zero. The reporting details the conflict between the hope for change and revolution and the alleged desire for fame and notoriety amongst leaders who arguably became the de facto faces of “the movement.” The stories also raise questions that feel urgent as the movement for Black lives continues to evolve. This week, Brittany and Eric chat with Ernest Owens, journalist and writer of "The Rise and Rupture of Campaign Zero''. In the second half of the show, culture writer and journalist Shamira Ibrahim joins Brittany and Eric to talk about the growing conflict between activism, entertainment, fame and the continuing fight for freedom.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I think that if you're a true organizer, then celebrity is never going to be on the table for you.
0:08.3	I think a lot of people are saying their organizers, but they're actually people wanting celebrity.
0:16.0	And I think that when you put those type of people in a room with people who actually do give a damn about
0:22.6	community these issues and they're trying to push them, then it's going to be a problem.
0:30.1	Hi, I'm Eric.
0:31.4	And I'm Brittany.
0:32.7	And this is for colored nerds.
0:34.6	The weekly show where we peel back the layers of black culture we rarely
0:38.6	discuss in mixed company. So this week, we're talking about the Black Lives Matter movement,
0:43.9	some of its most prominent figures, and how they have come under fire for what some see
0:48.2	as an approach to activism that compromises the movement's core goals. To do that, we're talking with two journalists who closely followed the movement,
0:57.4	Ernest Owens and Shemira Ibrahim.
0:59.6	Why are we seeing dissension in the ranks of organizations deemed to be at the forefront of the movement?
1:05.2	Is the pursuit of celebrity inherently at odds with true activism?
1:09.2	Don't go nowhere. We are getting into it after the break.
1:25.2	When Black Lives Matter began to form in the earliest days of the movement, it was intentionally a bit amorphous.
1:30.6	It was recognizing that there were many organizations on the ground doing the work of advocating for Black Lives.
1:36.2	But as the movement grew, it became a necessity to formalize its organization and structure.
1:42.1	And throughout all of this time, there have been questions about
1:45.7	its leadership, infrastructure, how funds are being used, and most importantly, the people we've
1:51.7	seen rise through the ranks to become, quote, quote, the face of the movement.
1:56.6	When New York Magazine decided to take a look back at the past 10 years since the death of Trayvon Martin,
	...

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