Reclaiming Our Way promoting the well-being of African American children & families

“I Don’t Believe Sandy Committed Suicide”: #BlackLivesMatter Co-Founders Speak Out on Sandra Bland

There is no turning this movement back. The current generation of young people are disgusted with the often-blatant demonstration of racism and white supremacy, especially (although certainly not exclusively) as it's manifested in law enforcement interactions with Black women and men throughout the country.

Young people today are creative, expressive and increasingly clear about the more sophisticated ways in which racism masks itself in seemingly race-neutral institutional policies and practices.

The emperor really doesn't wear any clothes, and young people aren't willing to go along with the current racial arrangement.

History is unfolding every day, and we must choose to be a part of the continuing struggle for justice.

The discussion below is from Democracy Now , on Friday, July 24, 2015.

Part 1 -- approx. 22 mins.

As a Movement for Black Lives Convening is set to take place this weekend in Cleveland, we discuss the case of Sandra Bland and many others who have died in the custody of law enforcement with the three founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Patrisse Cullors is the director of Truth and Reinvestment at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, California, and the founder of Dignity and Power Now, a grassroots organization in Los Angeles fighting for the dignity and power of incarcerated people and their families. Alicia Garza is special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance. And Opal Tometi is executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.

Part 2 -- approx. 23 mins.

We continue our conversation with the three women who co-founded Black Lives Matter. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi talk about immigration, LGBTrights and their own personal experiences with hyper-policing. "We think that our actions, our behaviors, our everyday trying-to-get-by, shouldn’t be criminalized," Tometi says. "I’m really looking for an agenda that looks at safety for our communities beyond policing."