The Movement for Black Lives released a “Vision for Black Lives” platform Monday that articulates demands the coalition has set for the movement going forward.
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Titled “A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom and Justice”, the agenda lists six demands and offers 40 suggestions on how to meet them.
Activists and protesters have acted regularly under the Black Lives Matter umbrella, often in response to incidents or events central to their cause – such as the Ferguson shooting, Garner’s death, the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore past year, and this summer’s controversial deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philandro Castile in Minnesota. The agenda also calls for the creation of a commission to study reparations for descendants of slaves.
The Movement for Black Lives conglomerate will put forth a series of policy goals on Monday, framing the proposals as an end to the “war on black people”.
This is the first time Black Lives Matter articulated its demands and faced pressure to do so. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article. “As the 2016 election continues, this platform provides us with a way to intervene with an agenda that resists state and corporate power, an opportunity to implement policies that truly value the safety and humanity of Black lives, and an overall means to hold elected leaders accountable”.
The announcement comes on the heels of the Democratic and Republican national conventions in Philadelphia and Cleveland, respectively, where protests were had, but not at a level of violence predicted by many in the media.
For a deep, informed, and only slightly out-of-date discussion of how BLM fits into the history of black liberation movements and the fight for racial and economic justice in the USA, check out the June 2 episode of Doug Henwood’s “Behind the News” podcast featuring Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, on how BLM might become a transformative movement.
Releasing the platform near the anniversary of the Ferguson shooting is a powerful statement, said Dara Cooper, an organizer with the National Black Food & Justice Alliance, one of the partner groups.
Social media has been a big part of the Black Lives Matter presence and the outcry has been large enough to get the attention of elected officials, including President Barack Obama, who have invited members of the movement to voice their concerns, criticisms, and solutions.
“I think both Asian communities and Latin communities really need to recognize there are black people who exist in their communities already”, said Gian-Luca Matsuda.
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Organizers describe the policy paper as the result of a year-long process by the United Front of organizations and the Movement for Black Lives Policy Roundtable, that drew on the expertise of local and national organizations and hundreds of others “through research, surveys, convenings and national calls” a spokesperson said. “Policing and mass incarceration has so much to do with it, but it’s also the education we receive, the type of food we have access to, the ability to be self-determining through land ownership”.
