Tasks: Peace Talks with Patrisse Khan-Cullors

The Black Lives Matter movement started as a hashtag after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012. But there have been numerous tragic shooting incidents before and after the Trayon Martin shooting where Black people have been the victims. Some have been shot by the police and others by civilians.

Work together in small groups. Individually, go through the list of victims that you find on #SayTheirNames. Choose two or three people that you would like to learn more about, but make sure you all choose different people. Read the articles attached and find out what happened. Take notes as you read. Then present your findings to the rest of the group.

Link to #SayTheirNames (sayevery.name)

Find out more about the Black Lives Matter movement by working on the questions below with a partner.

One way to find answers to the questions is to watch the documentary Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement (39 min) chronicles the evolution of the BLM movement through the first-person accounts of local activists, scholars, protesters, and journalists.

Link to Youtube: Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement (documentary)

When you have found answers to all the questions, share your answers in class.

1. What does the expression 'Stay woke' mean and how is this related to the BLM movement?

2. The BLM movement is often compared to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s. What are the most important differences between these two protest movements?

3. How did technology (video) and social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, ...) enable the BLM movement?

4. The Black Lives matter protesters relied more on social media than on mainstream media to bring out their message. What is the reason for this? How is BLM portrayed by left- and right-wing media in the United States?

5. After the deaths of Michael Brown (Ferguson) and Freddie Gray (Baltimore), what do you think the police could have done differently to calm the situation? And what could the protesters have done differently to create more support for their cause?

6. Can the BLM movement create lasting changes? What has the BLM movement achieved in the United States? In the world?

1. There are several references in the text to the BLM movement being a terrorist organisation. Antifa is another movement that also has been targeted as a terrorist group.
   
   Use different sources and find out the background for these claims. What do the two groups stand for, and why are they so controversial for some people? What was former President Trump's view on Antifa? Why would some like to classify them as terrorist groups?
   
   Discuss your findings in class.
   

2. We know that some ethnic and racial groups in the United States are faring better than others in terms of household income, poverty rate, level of education, etc.
   
   Use the following chart from Pew Research Center to find out more about the discrepancies between white and Black Americans (and other ethnic and racial groups). You may select any two groups at a time for comparison. Pay attention to both positive and negative developments.
   Link to Pew Research Center: Racial and ethnic gaps in the U.S. persist on key demographic indicators (pewresearch.org)
   
   Discuss your findings in class.

Choose one of the research tasks above. Gather more relevant information about the topic and write an expository text in which you present relevant facts and discuss the issue.

Remember to cite your sources.