It seems we can now also add a number of Facebook employees to the list of individuals troubled by the movement’s message.
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Facebook employees replaced “black lives matter” with “all lives matter” on the scrawl walls of the conglomerate’s Menlo Park, California, headquarter according to an internal memo reported by Gizmodo and BuzzFeed News.
Tracing its roots back to the fatal 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida, the Black Lives Matter movement gained national ground after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. In response to public scrutiny about the homogeneity of Facebook’s employees, they have been making an effort to diversify their staff and, especially, their leadership.
“I was already very disappointed by this disrespectful behavior before, but after my clear communication I now consider this malicious as well”, he wrote in the post.
His note also talked about the how the black community in the United States is facing the same issues today that started from the history of racism and oppression.
“Zuckerberg gave his own interpretation of the movement: “‘Black lives matter’ doesn’t mean other lives don’t – it’s simply asking that the black community also achieves the justice they deserve”.
Some advocacy groups such as the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which is led by well-known civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson praised Zuckerberg for his remarks to employees.
Facebook didn’t immediately respond to make a comment on this subject.
Some are affiliated with the original Black Lives Matter network founded by Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza and their allies. This movement is a call to action and a response to the ongoing racism.
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Zuckerberg adds that the incidents are being investigated, meaning there may be repercussions for the Facebook employees responsible for “silencing speech”. Some people pushed back with the slogan “all lives matter“. These images are replayed as if the victims’ lives don’t matter.
