by Briana Perry

As an organizer within the Black Lives Matter global network, I often encounter a seemingly innocuous but pointed question in my work: What about Black men? I have encountered this question from other organizers who do racial justice work and on social media outlets. Recently, I came across an article where a professor suggested that Black Lives Matter (the network) excludes Black men because there is no mention of them in the network’s 13 guiding principles. I have also read a piece where the author argues that based on the principles, there is no role for Black men, especially as fathers and husbands, within Black Lives Matter; he even suggests that for centuries, Black men have been used as the impetus for others’ agendas and platforms, and that Black Lives Matter is the recent culprit of this scheme.

Whenever I come across these impassioned sentiments, I often have the same response: laughter. No, I am not laughing because I find the comments to be humorous (although some are laughable); I am laughing at the audacity of Black men (when I refer to Black men here, I am talking about Black cisgender men) to make such sweeping claims when history has shown quite the contrary. Historically and presently, I can’t recall organizations that have been committed to racial justice work, including Black Lives Matter, denying the blood that Black men have shed. Yes, it is true that the Black Lives Matter phrase and subsequent network were formed in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal for Trayvon Martin’s murder. Have Black men been subjected to state violence for centuries? Yes. Have Black women and non-binary folks ridden for Black men when these atrocities took place? Yes. Have Black men done the same? Eh.



Here is the issue that has been stated time and time again: historically and presently, Black women have worked to obtain justice for the slayings of Black men. Black women have put their bodies on the line for Black men. However, when violence is committed against our bodies, there seems to be a different response, and sometimes no response at all, from Black men. This was even observed during the Civil Rights Movement when Black women experienced sexual violence. While Rosa Parks is well known for her efforts during the bus boycott, her work as an anti-rape activist for Black women, such as Recy Taylor, is not as prevalent. The co-founders of the Black Lives Matter global network were aware of this disparity. They recognized how Black women’s experiences have often been overlooked in society, including their own lived experiences. That is why they were intentional about centering this group in addition to other Black people who have been left out, including trans and non-binary folks. It clearly states this on the website, but I suppose the critics overlook this part.

To suggest that Black men are the only ones who have shed blood in the struggle for freedom is dangerous and a form of erasure. To suggest that Black men must be present in the home as fathers and husbands denies the existence of non-nuclear familial structures. What Black men who claim that they are being excluded from the movement don’t realize is that they are ignoring the well-documented history of them being centered. This includes how men have been credited with being the pioneers and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. When Black men claim they are being excluded, they are ignoring the sacrifices and contributions that Black women freedom fighters have made for them, such as Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Pauli Murray. These men are also ignoring how other systems of oppression, including sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, intersect with racism. Furthermore, they are ignoring how they have been complicit in these systems, even playing a role in perpetuating them.

So for the Black men who feel excluded, I challenge you to consider a few factors. Consider how during slavery, because that’s often a reference point, Black women experienced violence and abuse, and this included rape. They also shed blood. Consider how toxic masculinity has and continues to emerge within social justice movements. Furthermore, consider how Black men continue to perpetuate toxic masculinity, which includes committing violence against Black women. In August, Joyce Quaweay was killed at the hands of her boyfriend and his friend, two Black men, for not being submissive enough. A few weeks after Joyce’s death, Rae’Lynn Thomas, a Black trans woman, was murdered at the hands of her mother’s ex-boyfriend because of his transphobia. He was also a Black man. These cases have not received nearly as much outrage and notoriety as the murders of Black men.

Black women have also been brutally attacked and murdered for turning down Black men’s advances. Although there are documented cases of this terror, I can’t even begin to list the number of Facebook debates that I’ve witnessed where Black women share harassment at the hands of Black men, and they are told (by Black men) that they are lying and/or asked to provide “statistics” to back up their lived experiences. In my opinion, the act of denying stories is violent, as it does cause harm. It tells us, Black women, that our experiences are not valid or worthy. It sends us the message that the only experiences with violence should be those of Black men.

I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but Black men, this movement isn’t solely about you. Now this does not mean that it doesn’t include you; however, it does mean that you are not the only focal point. We are not fighting for Black male supremacy, but the liberation of all Black people. And that liberation is both collective and individualized. So y’all can miss me with the "Why doesn't Black Lives Matter mention Black men in the principles?” It is undeniable that we have and continue to live in a male-dominated society (interwoven with homophobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism). In this present time, we are making space for Black folks who have been traditionally left out of Black liberation movements. That is not being exclusive. That is being equitable and accessible. What really is cause for concern is that some Black men aren't for the liberation for ALL Black people; some are just trying to get their freedom while other Black folks continue to be pushed to the margins.



This bridge called my back can’t continue to be the bridge for Black men.

Briana Perry is a proud Black feminist from the South. Her interests include storytelling, Black girls' experiences in K-12 school settings, and reproductive justice.

by Ashleigh Shackelford

by Ariana Brown

I entered the white world of collegiate education as a first generation college student, a working class AfroLatina. Immediately, I found myself unable to relate to my peers, people who spoke multiple languages because of their “summers in Paris,” not out of necessity; whose parents paid their tuition out of pocket; the children of CEOs, investment bankers, engineers. Feeling erased, I came to Black Studies because I knew I could not survive the next four years without it.

by Leah C.K. Lewis

A recent Twitter beef occurred when Deray McKesson received a response from presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to discuss racial policy. Activist dream hampton tweeted that this moment should have happened between Sanders and founders of Black Lives Matter. Her response is being cast as a growing divide between the official BLM organizers and other protesters and activists such as McKesson who mobilize locally.

A little over a week ago, we published the article "What it Means to be Mixed Race During the Fight for Black Lives" by Shannon Luders-Manuel, which sparked a lot of discussion and was shared nearly 2,000 times.

by Altheria Gaston

In a more equitable world, 19 year-old Christian Taylor of Arlington, Texas would be preparing for his fall semester at Angelo State University. After spending the night in jail for [allegedly] breaking and entering and destruction of property/vandalism at a car dealership on August 7, 2015, his parents might have bailed him out and perhaps scolded him for his seemingly erratic actions. In a few years, after graduating from college, Christian might have looked back on this incident as a stupid episode performed by an immature, reckless teen. But this world is far from equitable, and instead of this hypothetical situation, Christian’s family gathered with hundreds of loved ones a couple days ago for his funeral.

by Anna Gibson

Nearly two weeks ago, 19-year-old Christian Taylor was shot during an altercation with police after allegedly crashing his car through the front window of a dealership in Texas. Since this tragic incident, numerous developments have occurred. The officer who shot Taylor has been fired, and edited video footage of the incident was released. The footage shows Taylor just moments before his death. While we can’t make assumptions about this case or his actions, various sources have noted a number of discrepancies in police accounts of his case.

In mid-July, A Black woman in America lost her life under suspicious circumstances whilst in police custody. Her name is Sandra Bland. We know this thanks to the power that social media wields in its capacity to bring to light issues that would otherwise go unnoticed, particularly with regard to issues that affect Black people.

by Leah C.K. Lewis

This week, news platforms and social media have been a-buzz with the story of Cecil the Lion, a 13-year-old national symbol that was lured from his home in a Zimbabwean animal reserve, shot with an arrow, skinned, and beheaded. It has come to light that American dentist, Walter Palmer, paid $50,000 to illegally kill the beloved animal. There has been international outrage, with some even threatening Palmer for his actions.

Growing factions of people, however, have noted that this same outrage has not been the reaction when news reports spread of Black folks being shot and killed extra-judicially. Or if these murders are discussed, the stories focus on some alleged “criminality” of the Black victims. Recent examples of this are apparent in news coverage of the deaths of Sandra Bland and Samuel DuBose.

While there certainly has been outrage and multicultural activism supporting the Black Lives Matters Movement, one question arises: Why is it so easy for white and non-Black people of color to see the inherent value of an animal, but not their fellow human beings? To answer this we must first acknowledge and address a seemingly foundational matter—the predatory inclination of white men who kill. Walter Palmer, Ray Tensing, Dylan Roof, Tim Loehmann, Darren Wilson, among others, have demonstrated a malignant indifference to killing unarmed humans, African Americans in particular, and defenseless animals.



It takes a special kind of human to kill. One must fail to see a sacred and precious spirit in another and the interconnectedness of humanity, the animal kingdom, plant life, and all things in the universe. Okay, I know I just got deep there, but in African cosmology, this notion is called “complementarity of difference,” which indicates all beings and things complement one another. Complementarity, as I see it, is crucial to valuing all aspects of the human race and the human experience. Let us call this a virtue.

This virtue has not been cultivated in the men listed above. Instead they emerge from an ethnic group that has been socialized to deem themselves separate, apart, and superior in every respect. Through at least four hundred years of false rhetoric, legal imposition, and demeaning images, white people, in particular, have been manipulated into imagining—and I mean this literally—people of African descent as less than human. It is terrifying, but inconsequential. In essence, people of African descent have been turned into the white man’s Bogeyman.

By consequence of sharing in a world where this propaganda dominates, non-Black POC and even African peoples internalize this insidious misinformation. Constantly receiving these contrived messages of African inferiority is enough to make anyone pathological.

So, “why is it so easy for white and non-Black POC to see the inherent value of an animal, but not their fellow human beings?” In short, because their minds have been altered in such a way that they are literally blind to a natural truth—that people of African descent are, in fact, human and that we too are a part of the human race. Such blindness obscures our value as well as our human vulnerability.

White people and non-Black POC who cannot see the inherent value and human character of Black people are holistically impaired. Their intellectual, spiritual, psychological, and emotional character has been damaged. Thus, their inability to empathize with people of African decent who are murdered and harmed in myriad ways.

The conditions herein describe two psychological conditions—that of a sociopath (one who lacks a conscience) and a narcissistic personality disorder (one characteristic is lacking the ability to be empathic). A world where the ideology of white supremacy has been promulgated has long produced a white world of psychologically damaged individuals. Yet, people of color and animals suffer. Suffering and mayhem result from their white psychosis, which is caused by a distorted sense of reality—that they are superior and that people of African descent are not human.

Empathizing with Cecil the Lion or any animal over that of a human is but part and parcel of their mental impairment. Generally, we empathize with those we relate too. So, to have empathy for a lower level life form, over and above a human being, says a great deal.

For these reason, the problem of solving xenophobia and oppression—the constituent elements of “racism”—belongs, by and large, to white people. They are the ones who developed and perpetuate the myth of white supremacy. Having made a mess, which demeans them more than they are capable of recognizing, they by and large are the source of the wickedness that steals, kills, and destroys social health in this world. No other ethnic group can solve their intra-ethnic ailment. We, African peoples (and other POC), unfortunately, are collateral damage to the chaos that has resulted from the ideology of white supremacy.

Understanding and embracing these realities would best serve people of African descent. Our energies would be better utilized in activism, and nurturing self-preservation and joyousness in the midst of this madness rather than ruminating on the question, “Why?”

Photo: Andrew Loveridge/Wildlife Conservation Unit - PA

Leah C.K. Lewis, J.D., M.Div., D.Min. (ABD), is among other good and wonderful things, a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Howard University School of Law, the latter of which trained her to be a social engineer for righteous causes. A frequent contributor to ForHarriet.com she is a councilwoman and literary activist. Follow her on Twitter @HumanStriving, SoundCloud.com/Reverend-Leah-CK-Lewis, and http:www.facebook.com/The.Reverend.Leah.CK.Lewis. Check out her personal blog at http://humanstriving.blogspot.com. #BlackLivesMatter #SayHerName #StayWoke #HumanStriving

by Matlaleng Babatunde

When does a Black female victim of violence become worthy of empathy? Is it after she has been "humanized" by the mentioning of a family and by the realization that she could've been you, or is the fact that she is a person-- a Black woman, enough. For many on social media it seems to be the former. Thursday morning, as I scrolled through my Tumblr, I was overwhelmed with the lingering wave of anger, grief, and pain that I've become accustomed to this summer. Another hashtag, followed by the name of yet another Black person violated and killed at the hands of state sanctioned violence.

by Danielle Stevens for This Bridge Called Our Health

I think some of the discourse emerging from these ‪#‎IfIDieInPoliceCustody and ‪#‎WhatHappenedToSandraBland‬ conversations are dangerously limited. Folks are saying “Sandra Bland was mentally sound” and “Black women like her would never commit suicide”, etc. Not only are we upholding precarious and dehumanizing ‘strong black woman’ archetypes that neglect to hold Black women in the fullness and breadth that we embody, but our failure to operate within a mental health & disability justice framework by making the assertion that Sandra Bland was ‘mentallly sound’ in order to prove that she did not commit suicide is a dangerous narrative that both devalues black people who navigate mental health difficulties and trauma and also erases their/our narratives from the conversation.

Sandra Bland was pulled over by Officer Brian Encinia in Waller County, TX on Friday, July 10th. Her offense? Failing to signal when switching lanes. In video captured by an unidentified bystander, Bland is shown being held down on the ground by two white male police officers.

Eyewitness Malcolm Jackson told a local news station of the roadside incident, “[The police officer] pulled her out of the car forcibly and threw her, tossed her to the ground, knee to the neck, and arrested her.” Not shockingly, this eyewitness account has been all but neglected by the mainstream media coverage of Bland’s arrest and subsequent death.


Bland spent the weekend in Waller County Jail. By Monday morning, she was dead.

On Thursday, July 16th—three days after her death—police claimed the Prairie View A&M graduate had used a trash bag in her cell to hang herself.

The police were quick to point out that Bland posted a video back in March in which she discussed dealing with depression and PTSD. “I am suffering from something that some of you all may be dealing with right now,” Bland said in the video. “It’s a little depression, as well as PTSD. I’ve been real stressed over these last few weeks.”

Those are pretty much Bland’s only words getting any attention in the mainstream media, despite the fact that she posted several videos. The majority of the content in her other posts are about race relations in America.

Sandra was dedicated to discussing the problems of police brutality and racism in this country. Starting in January of this year, Bland began making a series of videos called, "Sandy Speaks." They can be described as a publicly shared video diary. They are not edited. They are not scripted. They are more of a stream of consciousness commentary. They are a call to action to her viewers, whom she referred to as kings and queens. Prior to Sandra Bland’s death, her videos were not widely seen by the public, though they are posted on her Facebook page.

In an effort to keep Sandra voice alive, I have found some of the most powerful quotes from the "Sandy Speaks" series.

Sandra Bland on being Black in America:

“Being a black person in America is very, very hard.”

“We can’t help but get pissed off when we see situations where it’s clear that black life didn’t matter.”

Sandra Bland on the Walter Scott case:

Scott was a black man gunned down on April 4th, shot 8 times in the back by then South Carolina police officer Michael Slager. “For those of you questioning [Walter Scott] running away, well goddamn, because in the news as we’ve seen of late…you can stand there, surrender to the cops, and still be killed.”

Sandra Bland on systemic racism:

“Our legal system and the way our country is run is based upon discrimination.”

Some of her commentary about the #AllLivesMatter social media trend that was created in response to #BlackLivesMatter:

“White people, if all lives mattered, would there need to be a hashtag for black lives mattering? Think about that.”

“Show me in American history where all lives mattered. Show me where there has been liberty and justice for all.”

“White people, yes, black people know all lives matter. But what I need you guys to understand is that being a black person in America is very, very hard.”

“Black lives matter. They really do.”

Her encouragement of non-blacks to join in the protest and be vocal about police violence against black people:

So, for y’all that can sit around and say all lives matter, I want you to go, put it on a poster, and stand out on a corner somewhere. If we can get enough white people to show that all lives matter, maybe they’ll stop killing our black brothers. Cuz obviously, that’s what it’s going to take; for the white people to get up and get tired of black people [alone] saying black lives matter. So if y’all want it to stop, you get out there and do something about it.

Bland said some people accused her of being a racist because of her videos, even going so far as to call her "bitch" and other names. Here are a few of her words in response to being labeled a racist:

"I am not racist. I don’t think all white people are racist."

She also spoke on the power of social media:

“This thing that I’m holding in my hand, this telephone, this camera. It is quite powerful. Social media is powerful. We can do something with this. If we want a change, we can really, truly make it happen.”

Sandra Bland ended most of her videos with words of inspiration. She shared this message in the closing of a video she posted on April 3th, which was Good Friday: “Do what you can to be a positive light in someone’s life. I hope that I’ve done that for you. Know that somebody loves you. Somebody is out there praying for you, and hoping the best for you." She always closed her videos with the same two words: "Sandy speaks.”

Sandy, we will not let your voice be silenced, Queen. We are listening. We will continue to carry the torch and be a collective positive light. #BlackLivesMatter. Your life mattered.

Photo: Facebook

Evan Seymour is a Southern California based freelance journalist whose daytime job is in entertainment news. She is also a professional daydreamer.