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Our chapter has a beautiful structure, and our work is receivingnational attention.

We are a newer chapter, but we have tenured activists who have been with the movement from the beginning.

Police Accountability Civil Rights in Salt Lake City Black Lives matter Utah in Salt Lake City

We push hard for police reforms.

Rest In Peace - Dillon Taylor- Murdered by Utah Police in 2014

Yes Black Lives Matter fights for white police brutality victims. We just understand that a higher percentage of black people are killed by police. But yes we fight for ALL police brutality victims.

Dillon Taylor was minding his own business and buying some items from a 7-11. Someone called 911 and lied and said that he had a weapon. A police officer named Bron Cruz showed up and began yelling at Dillon as he was walking out of the 711. Dillon did not see the officer and was not facing the officer. Dillon had headphones in his ears and could not hear anything the officer was saying. When he heard the officer Dillon turned around and when commanded he put his hands in the air. As soon as Dillon followed the commands of the officer. Officer Cruz unloaded his gun into Dillon and killed him. While Dillon was dead on the ground. Officer Cruz handcuffed Dillon and went through his pockets in attempt to find drugs or a weapon or anything to justify this murder. He found nothing. Then the District Attorney Justified this murder.

According to KSL News- A report was released- "The report, in which shes referred to as Megan Clark, shows a history of vehicle-related issues. According to the document:

April 2010: Franklin struck a rock in the roadway as she made a U-turn;July 2010: Franklin struck another vehicle on the roadway while making a U-turn;August 2013: Franklin hit a construction barrel, which caused damage to the police vehicle;November 2014: Franklin backed into a light pole;December 2014: Franklin hit a concrete curb;May 2017: Franklin was involved in a single-vehicle crash.

The May 2017 incident was determined to be her fault and avoidable"

Rest in Power - Diamonte Riviore - Murdered by Utah Police in 2018

In October of 2018 police were called to Diamonte's apartment in response to a domestic disturbance. The police knocked on the door, three officers rushed into his apartment screaming and yelling. Diamonte was in his bathroom. The police punded on the door and demanded that he come out. When Diamonte opened the door, the officers shot him with a taser. Diamonte closed the door, and that is when the police began shooting him. Then the police took Diamonte's girlfriend and baby and put them in the back of a police car for 4 hours. The child's mother begged the police for diapers and milk and was ignored. She had to beg them to get a car seat from the house. When she was allowed to return to the apartment days later she found that the police had poured garbage all over the house. The living room was filled with needles and blood. The police officers confiscated the bathroom door. We believe that they took the door because the police shot through the door proving that they murdered him. The District Attorney still has not released the body cam footage.

Rest In Power Cindreia Europe- Murdered by Utah Police in 2019

On March 5th 2019, Officer Megan Franklin ran over Cindreia and killed her. Officer Franklin had a horrible driving record

Intersectional

We attempt to create inclusive spaces for every marginalized group.

Rest In Power- Elijah Smith - Murdered by Utah Police in 2018

On April 2nd 2018 police were searching the city for a black man. They did not have a good description of this person. They were looking for someone who allegedly stole a cell phone. Elijah Smith felt like the police were chasing him for some reason. He entered someone's house without permission. He then asked the homeowners for a glass of water. The homeowners said that he looked scared and that he did not hurt or threaten them.

When police came to the house, Elijah hid in the garage. In body cam footage we can see a police officer actually jump when he saw a cat go by. These police were afraid of their own shadows. The police entered the garage where Elijah was hiding and screamed at him while pointing gunsat him. These officers did not try any de-escalation tactics. These police did not try to calm the situation. These police scared him even more than he was before and then after they repeatedly told him to raise his hands, Elijah rose his hands and the moment he rose his hands they all began shooting at him. Why did they tell him to put his hands in the air if they were just going to shoot him anyway? He did not have a gun and was at least ten feet away from the officers, but it was very clear that the officers were cowards who should not be allowed to carry lethal weapons. The police investigated themselves and found themselves innocent.

Rest in Peace- James Barker - Murdered by Utah Police in 2015

In January 2015 James Barker was shoveling people's driveways for money. Someone called the police on James and said he was looking into windows of cars. Please note that there is no proof of this and even if there was proof of this, that act is not illegal.

An officer approached James and began barking orders at him and screaming at him. James already had a traumatic brain injury. The officer used no de-escalation tactics, the officer continued to move closer to James. James took a shovel and hit the officer with it. The officer then shot and killed James. This incident could have been prevented if the officer would have used de-escalation tactics and if mental health counselors were called to the scene. Instead the officer lied about his injuries. The officer was not injured by the shovel. The officer is still working the streets and is probably escalating situations that could be easily defused and not made worse by poor policing.

Rest In Power - Patrick Harmon-Murdered by Utah police in 2017

OnAugust 13, 2017. OfficerKris Smith pulled Patrick over while he was riding his bike for no reason. Patrick had a warrant out for his arrest, and Patrick attempted to run away. At that point 3 officers opened fire upon Patrick. One officer used a taser. The other two officers used guns. Patrick was a danger to no one. If he had a warrant then he deserved to make it to court. This was a giant miscarriage of justice.

Rest In Power- Cody Belgard - Murdered by Utah Police November 2018

Salt Lake Police were called to the scene and claimed that Cody hit and run one of their vehicles. When they finally caught up to them they began shouting orders at him with no attempt to de-escalate the situation. One officer yelled "He has a gun" and then multiple officers fired upon Cody and killed him. No gun was ever found. This is a massive miscarriage of justice.

We never said that our lives matter more or the most. We simply said that our lives matter because they do.

Rest In Power - Darrien Hunt -Murdered by Utah Police in 2014

On the morning of September 10, 2014 ,police officers from the Saratoga Springs Police Department responded to a a call from a racist person who called them to tell them that Darrien was suspicious. Racist people often call the police on black people when those black people are simply minding their own business. Darrien was cosplaying Afro-Samurai and had a fake sword. It should be noted that Utah is an open carry state and it is against the law to stop anyone simply for carrying a weapon.

The police approached Darrien, the police scared Darrien. For some reason Darrien ran away. It should be noted that no one's life was ever in danger. The police shot Darrien several times in his back. This was a clear cut case of murder. The police then investigated themselves and found themselves innocent.

The official state autopsy documents six gunshot wounds on the body of 22-year-old Darrien Hunt and finds at least four of the shots entered his body from behind, generally confirming the results of an independent autopsy released by his family. It found no drugs in his system.

Killed By Utah Police - In Memoriam

Civil Rights Emergency?+1.3857430298

Unity

We fight divisions within our own race.

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We have achieved results that are long lasting.

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Civil Rights - Black Lives matter Utah

In the wake of at least 18 trans women killed in 2015, most of whom were women of color, black trans women and gender-nonconforming leaders collaborated with Black Lives Matter and other black movements to organize a National Day of Action on Twitter and in at least 14 cities on Tuesday. BuzzFeed News estimates that around 250 people gathered at dusk in front of the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn for what organizers called Trans Liberation Tuesday.

With tears in her eyes, one of the event organizers, black trans woman Cherno Biko, recited a poem by Lucille Clifton that concluded: Come celebrate with me that every day something has tried to kill me and has failed. Later, she and co-organizers Aaryn Lang and Joshua Allen announced the names of murdered black women like Amber Monroe from Detroit, Kandis Capri from Phoenix, and Elisha Walker from Salisbury, NC, while members of the crowd lit candles.

The reading of names was the most beautiful part for me, Allen said afterward. My sisters and I talk about these trans women in our little groups, but usually no one else cares. It was wonderful to hear their names in this crowd.

The event began with Lang speaking about the need for non-trans people to be involved in the movement to support black trans women. She then invited black cisgender men to come to the front of the makeshift stage about twenty of them did. Timothy DuWhite, a cisgender black poet and activist, called upon black men to mobilize around what he called the genocide of black trans women.

Aaryn Lang, Trans Liberation Tuesday organizer.

A man holds a poster of Islan Nettles.

We are the murderers, DuWhite said, referring to black men enacting violence against black trans women. He also criticized activists who tell black men that black women are their sisters and mothers to invoke sympathy, which he sees as an indication that black men only defend women who they see as possessions. Lets substitute possession with love, he concluded.

A member of Black Youth Project 100, Imani Brown, held cisgender black women accountable for what she saw as their dismissal of black trans womens concerns. We [cisgender black women] know what its like to be erased, Brown said. Yet we are also guilty of enacting that violence.

Rosza Lang-Levitsky, who described herself as a white trans dyke told BuzzFeed News: I dont know what world youre living in if youre not fighting for the lives of black trans women. She volunteered to monitor security and potential police interactions at the event through the Audre Lorde Project, an organization which advocates for queer people of color.

Brown, Dwight, and Biko all stressed that while online activity is important, tweeting is not enough. There are black trans women leading the movement, and we need your support, Biko implored. We shouldnt need to do sex work to fund the revolution. Biko also recounted how even though shes a nationally-recognized organizer and appeared on the three main stages of AfroPunk last weekend, she is in danger of being homeless because she cant pay rent.

Cherno Biko and Joshua Allen.

Other speakers included Kei Williams, a transmasculine member of Black Lives Matter NYC chapter, who, along with a call to stop the murders of black trans women, also called attention to vulnerable black trans men, and in particular the suicide of activist and former homecoming king Blake Brockington in March. Genderqueer activist Jamal T. Lewis also spoke: None of us will experience liberation until we free those in the margins.

The speeches were punctuated by frequent calls for the crowd to move or shout. Williams led the group in the chant, All lives will matter when black lives matter! and Biko asked the crowd to jump up and down while shouting, I believe that we will win!

At the end of the speeches and after sunset, many people continued to linger and talk, as Biko and another black trans woman, Shagasiya Diamond, spontaneously drummed on buckets and sang the Janelle Monae protest song Hell You Talmbout and its title refrain, along with the repeated invocation, Say her name! Except instead of Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner, they shouted names like Islan Nettles, Amber Monroe, and Penny Proud, all black transgender women whove been killed in recent years.

Crowd at the Trans Liberation Tuesday rally in New York City.

Responding to criticisms that the Black Lives Matter movement has not been responsive to the needs of black trans women in the past, BLM strategic partner and co-organizer of the National Day of Action Elle Hearns said, Black Lives Matter is a decentralized movement Theres a network of certified chapters and partners that have formed in collaboration with the co-founders of #BlackLivesMatter. The critiques that are happening are not reflective of the leadership or vision of the co-founders.

Lang called the National Day of Action unprecedented. For the first time, we were able to center black trans womens concerns and make them a vital part of the conversation. According to Lang, it has long been her hope that the larger black community could be more fully involved in supporting the lives of black trans women. The New York rally, as well as actions all over the country, give her hope that this can happen.

We just need to continue to do the work, Lang said. We will do the work.

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Black Lives Matter Calls Attention To Killed Black Trans ...

UPDATE: Please see a message from the author at the bottom of this article.

Freedom fighters around the globe commemorate July 13 as the day that three Black women helped givebirth to a movement. In the five short years since #Black LivesMatter arrived on the scene thanks to the creative genius of Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometti the push for Black liberation from state-inflicted violence hasevolved into one of the most influential social movements of the post-civil rights era.

Black Lives Matter has always been more of a human rights movement rather than a civil rights movement. BLM's focus has been less about changing specific laws and more about fighting for a fundamental reordering of society wherein Black lives are free from systematic dehumanization. Still, the movements measurable impact on the political and legal landscape is undeniable.

What gets referred to as the Black Lives Matter movement is, in actuality, the collective labor of a wide range of Black liberation organizations, each which their own distinct histories. These organizations include groups like the Black Youth Project 100, the Dream Defenders, Assatas Daughters, the St. Louis Action council, Millennial Activists United, and the Organization for Black Struggle, to name just a few.

Collectively, since 2013, these organizers have effected significant change locally and nationally, includingthe ousting of high-profile corrupt prosecutors. In Chicago, the labor of groups such as BYP100 and Assatas Daughters, among others, led Anita Alvarez who had inexplicably failed to charge police officers who shot at least 68 people to death to lose her re-election bid for Cook County prosecutor. And in Florida, groups like The Dream Defenders and othershelped end Angela Coreys reign as a state attorney. Corey remains infamous forfailing to convict Trayvon Martins killer George Zimmerman while prosecuting Marissa Alexander, a Black woman who didnt hurt anyone when firing a warning shot at her abusive ex-husband.

Podcast: Hear Patrisse Cullors on the Evolution of Black Lives Matter

The BLM movements work certainly doesnt stop there. Students on the ground in Missouri, as part of the #ConcernedStudent1950 movement,helped lead to the resignation of the University of Missouri president over his failure to deal with racism on campus. BLM compelled Democrats to restructure their national platform to include issues such as criminal justice reform, and the movement contributed to the election of Black leftist organizers to public office, such as activist Chokwe Lumumba to mayor of Jackson, Mississippi.

The BLMmovements unrelenting work on the issue of police corruption, helped incite the release of four unprecedented U.S. Department of Justice reports that confirm the widespread presence of police corruption in Baltimore, Chicago, Ferguson, and Cleveland. Moreover, the Movement for Black Livespublication of awatershed multi-agenda policy platform authored by over 50 black-centered organizations laid bare the expansive policy goals of the movement. The fact that these accomplishments have happened so quickly is an extraordinary achievement in and of itself.

Moreover, the broader cultural impact of BLM as a movement has been immeasurably expansive. BLM will forever be remembered as the movement responsible for popularizing what has now become an indispensable tool in 21st-century organizing efforts: the phenomenon that scholars refer to as mediated mobilization. By using the tools of social media, BLM was the first U.S. social movement in history to successfully use the internet as a mass mobilization device. The recent successes of movements, such as #MeToo, #NeverAgain, and #TimesUp, would be inconceivable had it not been for the groundwork that #BlackLivesMatter laid.

Many have suggested, erroneously, that the BLM movement has quieted down in the age of Trump. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything the opposite is true: BLM is stronger, larger, and more global now than ever before. The success of initiatives such as Alicia Garzas Black Census Project the largest national survey focusing on U.S. black lives in over 150 years and Patrisse Cullorslaunch of the grassroots effort Dignity and Power Now in support of incarcerated people, both exemplify the BLM movements continued impact, particularly in local communities.

The idea that BLM is in a decline stage is false. Instead, what is true is that American mainstream media has been much less willing to actually cover the concerns of the BLM in part because it has been consumed by the daily catastrophes of the Trump presidency. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to assume that BLM is dwindling away simply because the cameras are no longer present. The revolution is still happening it is just not being televised. All throughout the country, BLM organizers are at work in their local communities feverishly fighting for change and relentlessly speaking truth to power.For instance,The Dream Defenders in Florida just released their visionary project The Freedom Papers, and BYP100 just celebrated its five-year anniversary.

Ironically, many of the debates that have come to define the age of Trump, such as the immigration debate, are arguably indirectly influenced by BLM. A notable example: Recently, some congressional Democrats have called for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been violating the rights of undocumented immigrants. What has been missing in much of the mainstream coverage of the ICE debate is an acknowledgment of how the democratic lefts radicalization would not have been possible without the efforts of Black radical grassroots social movements, such as BLM.

Indeed, long before congressional Democrats dared to call for the abolition of ICE, #blacklivesmatter activists pioneered the call for an end of modern policing in America. The language of abolition comes directly from the work of grassroots activists, such asthose in the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Their work helped to revive a long black radical tradition of engaging the rhetoric of abolitionism.

We literally would not even be using the word abolition let alone embracing it as a framework had it not been for the labor of BLM activists. The fact that Democrats are gradually calling for the abolition of ICE is a testimony to the continued impact of BLM as a social movement.

As we reflect on five years of BLM, we would do well to consider the myriad ways that #blacklivesmatter has influenced our contemporary moment and given us a framework for imagining what democracy in action really looks like. Whether it be transforming how we talk about police violence or transforming how we talk about abolitionism, the BLMmovementhas succeeded in transforming how Americans talk about, think about, and organize for freedom.

Frank Leon Roberts is the founder of the Black Lives Matter Syllabus and teachesat New York University.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: An earlier version of this essay inadvertently conflated two important distinctions: Black Lives Matter, the organization, vs. Black Lives Matter, the movement. Black Lives Matter, the organization, is a global decentralized networkwith over 30 chapters across the world. Black Lives Matter, the movement, is a broad conceptual umbrella that refers to the important work of a wide range of Black liberation organizations. Sometimes referred to as the Movement for Black Lives, the achievements of the Black Lives Matter movement would not be possible had it not been for the collective efforts of groups such as Black Youth Project 100, the Dream Defenders, Assatas Daughters, the St. Louis Action council, Millennial Activists United, and the Organization for Black Struggle, to name just a few. This essay is an attempt to celebrate the movement without attributing the movements achievements solely to Black Lives Matter, the organization.

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ABC News takes a look back at the Black Lives Matter movement. The phrase "Black Lives Matter" was born in a Facebook post by Alicia Garza in response to the July 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Martin. The movement emerged as a reaction to the perceived violence and systemic racism by police toward African-American communities.

A man argues with a police officer over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, in New York, July 14, 2013.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Florida neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin on July 13, 2013, sparking fury across the country. His acquittal is credited with beginning the Black Lives Matter movement, which first started as a hashtag on social media. To show solidarity, activists began wearing hooded sweatshirts as Trayvon Martin had been wearing the night he died.

Sam Hill, 11, wipes away tears during a youth service at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Sanford, Florida, July 14, 2013. Many in the congregation wore shirts with a photo of Martin.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, 43, died on Staten Island, New York, after he was stopped by several officers who put him in what has been described as a chokehold. His last words, I cant breathe, became a slogan for Black Lives Matter and other protesters.

Logan Browning stands with duct tape over her mouth with other demonstrators during a protest against police violence in Hollywood, California, Dec. 6, 2014.

Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters

A year later, on Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri. Protests in the St. Louis area went on for weeks following the shooting, and the Black Lives Matter movement helped organize demonstrations across the country. Wilson was not indicted, and that announcement set off another wave of protests in November of that year.

Tear gas surrounds a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air after a protest for Michael Brown, Aug. 17, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Patrisse Cullors, one of the cofounders of the Black Lives Matter movement, emphasized the importance of photography being used by activists on social media to represent the movement. "These images have shaped the ideas about our movement. We have seen black folks resist tear gas, rubber bullets, and racist elected officials. The images have provided hope and strength," she told ABC News.

A demonstrator throws a tear gas container during a protest over the shooting death of Michael Brown, Aug. 13, 2014, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP Photo

Patrisse Cullors said that through images of the movement she sees "the urgency in Black America, the fight, resilience, rage and desperation."

Police fire tear gas during a protest over the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 18, 2014.

David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris

Protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 20, 2014.

Jeff Roberson/AP Photo

A man is doused with milk and sprayed with mist after being hit by an eye irritant from police in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 20, 2014, during the protests over the death of Michael Brown.

Adrees Latif/Reuters

Michael Brown Sr. cries out as his son's casket is lowered into the ground at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, Aug. 25, 2014.

Richard Perry/Reuters

Pastor Charles Burton lies on the driveway at the Ferguson, Missouri, police station as a chalk drawing is made as a memorial to Michael Brown, Oct. 13, 2014.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo

Months after Michael Browns death, Laquan McDonald, 17, was shot 16 times and killed on Oct. 20, 2014, in Chicago. Protests broke out after police dashcam footage was released showing the fatal exchange between the police officer and McDonald, appearing to contradict officers accounts.

Demonstrators hold a "Laquan" sign, Nov. 24, 2015, in Chicago following the release of police dashcam video of the shooting death of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. He was charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. As of Jan. 29, he is awaiting trial.

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images

On Nov. 25., 2014, a grand jury decided there was not enough probable cause to indict police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, leading to more protests across the U.S. In this photo, police Sgt. Bret Barnum hugs 12-year-old Devonte Hart during a demonstration calling for police reform in Portland, Oregon.

Johnny Nguyen

Bishop Derrick Robinson, who had become a notable leader among the Ferguson protesters, was arrested by riot police while protesting in a public park after a non-violent march outside a football game, Nov. 30, 2014, in St. Louis.

Natalie Keyssar

Just before the controversial grand jury decision in the Michael Brown shooting case, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot to death in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014. Tamir was playing with a toy gun in a public park when officers mistook it for a real gun, and Officer Timothy Loehmann shot him at point-blank range seconds after arriving on the scene.

In December 2015, protesters took to the streets of downtown Cleveland the day after the local grand jury decided not to indict Loehmann and his partner.

Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

People join in the National March Against Police Violence, which was organized by the National Action Network, Dec. 13, 2014, in New York. The march coincided with a march in Washington, D.C., following two grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of unarmed African-American men by police.

Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Protesters congregate at the Alameda County Court House during a Millions March demonstration protesting the killing of unarmed African-American men by police, Dec. 13, 2014, in Oakland, California. The march was one of many held nationwide.

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

People join hands during the National March Against Police Violence, which proceeded down Broadway to the headquarters of the New York Police Department Dec. 13, 2014, in New York.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Demonstrators stage a die-in at the Chicago Water Tower in Chicago during a march along the Magnificent Mile shopping district on Michigan Avenue to protest police abuse, Dec. 13, 2014.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Photographer Sheila Pree Bright said, From this particular protest it showed me how young people from all backgrounds came together in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I truly believe the young people are the ones who will bring about true change.

Children carry signs during a demonstration organized for Michael Brown calling for national solidarity in Ferguson, Missouri, March 20, 2015.

Sheila Pree Bright

Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets again following the fatal shooting of Walter Scott, whose coffin is seen above. Scott, 50, was pulled over for a broken tail light, April 4, 2015, in North Charleston, South Carolina, and subsequently shot and killed by Officer Michael Slager. Cellphone video recorded by a passerby appears to show Scott being shot in the back as he is running away, seemingly contradicting the officers testimony and sparking outrage nationwide. Slagers first state criminal trial ended in a hung jury. His federal civil rights trial is scheduled for this spring.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Two weeks after Walter Scotts shooting, Freddie Gray, 25, died, April 19, 2015, after his arrest a week earlier by Baltimore police. An autopsy concluded that his death was caused by a "high-energy" injury to his neck and spine that likely occurred while Gray was in the back of the police van.

Hundreds of demonstrators march toward the Baltimore Police Western District station during a protest against police brutality and the death of Gray in the Sandtown neighborhood April 22, 2015, in Baltimore.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Though the medical examiner ruled Freddie Grays death a homicide, none of the six officers charged were found guilty. Each officer was given a separate trial. One ended in a mistrial, three resulted in aquittals and then all remaining charges were dropped.

People wait for the bus while police secure Mondawmin Mall, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore, where riots broke out on the day of Freddie Grays funeral. A state of emergency was issued and National Guard troops were deployed following the violent gathering where people threw objects at police, set cars on fire and looted businesses.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Photographer Devin Allen's photo from the Freddie Gray protests in Baltimore on April 25, 2015 made the cover of Time magazine's May 11, 2015, issue with the year "1960" crossed out and replaced with "2015" with the text "What Has Changed and What Hasn't." Allen first published the image on his Instagram and Twitter accounts after being unable to get his images from other protests published. "I used Instagram, Twitter to get my photos out. Social media is a game changer for journalism. It gives people that cant be heard a voice," he said.

Devin Allen

A boy looks out a bus window at a line of National Guard and police officers in riot gear in the Winchester-Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, May 1, 2015, after charges were announced for six officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.

Gabriella Demczuk

People celebrate after charges were announced against the police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray in the Winchester-Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, May 2, 2015. Marilyn Mosby, states attorney for Baltimore, indicted all six officers involved with criminal charges, stating that Gray's death was a homicide case.

Gabriella Demczuk

A partially burned American flag lays on the street near the spot where Michael Brown was killed before an event to mark the one-year anniversary of his death in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 9, 2015. Hundreds of people marched, prayed and held moments of silence in Ferguson to mark the anniversary.

Rick Wilking/Reuters

Mecca Verde, 18, stands with other demonstrators of the Black Lives Matter movement at the Inner Harbor protesting the confirmation of Kevin Davis as the new Baltimore city police commissioner in Baltimore, Oct. 19, 2015. Protesters opposed his confirmation, stating that he did not reach out to residents to learn the issues plaguing their community after the riots in April and the steady rise in homicides.

Gabriella Demczuk

Philando Castile, 32, was shot multiple times by police Officer Jeronimo Yanez after being pulled over for a broken tail light, July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The gruesome aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting next to him in the car when he was killed. On Nov. 16, 2016, Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. He is awaiting trial.

Demonstrators march to protest the shooting death of Philando Castile, July 9, 2016, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

People protest the police shootings during five days of demonstrations on July 11, 2016, in Atlanta following the deaths of Philando Castile outside St. Paul and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. Sterling was shot and killed while pinned to the ground during an altercation with two police officers outside a convenience store on July 5, 2016. Crowds gathered in protest after a graphic video of the incident was posted online. The officers involved in Sterlings death have yet to have charges brought against them, but as of July 7, 2016, a civil rights investigation was opened by the DOJ.

Sheila Pree Bright

Dallas Police Chief David Brown pauses at a prayer vigil following the deaths of five police officers during a Black Live Matter march, July 8, 2016, in Dallas, Texas.

Five police officers were killed and seven others were injured in a coordinated ambush at an anti-police brutality demonstration in Dallas following the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. The gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, who was black, had previously expressed anger at police and white people. After a standoff he was killed when police detonated an explosive strapped to a robot.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 9, 2016.

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Ieshia Evans is detained by law enforcement in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 9, 2016, during a demonstration following the shooting of Alton Sterling.

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was killed, Sept. 20, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Brentley Vinson, an African-American police officer. Police stated that Scott had a handgun and did not comply with the officer's instructions to "drop the weapon." Kerr Putney, chief of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, said that a handgun was seized at the scene.

Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott, 43, in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sept. 20, 2016.

Adam Rhew/Charlotte Magazine/Reuters

Attorney General Loretta Lynch launched an investigation into Keith Lamont Scott's shooting death with the DOJ and found officer Brentley Vinson "acted lawfully" and no charges were brought against him.

Police officers face off with protesters during protests in the early hours of Sept. 21, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina, following the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The shooting sparked a week of sometimes violent demonstrations which caused some businesses to close, the deployment of National Guard troops and the declaration of a state of emergency by Gov. Pat McCrory.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A woman smears blood on a police riot shield, Sept. 21, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Demonstrators attempt to make their way onto Interstate 277 to block traffic as they march in the streets amid a heavy police and National Guard presence as they protest the death of Keith Lamont Scott, Sept. 22, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

Excerpt from:
Black Lives Matter: A movement in photos Photos - ABC News

In 2013, three radical Black organizersAlicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometicreated a Black-centered political will and movement building project called #BlackLivesMatter. It was in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martins murderer, George Zimmerman.

The project is now a member-led global network of more than 40 chapters. Our members organize and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.

Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.

As organizers who work with everyday people, BLM members see and understand significant gaps in movement spaces and leadership. Black liberation movements in this country have created room, space, and leadership mostly for Black heterosexual, cisgender menleaving women, queer and transgender people, and others either out of the movement or in the background to move the work forward with little or no recognition. As a network, we have always recognized the need to center the leadership of women and queer and trans people. To maximize our movement muscle, and to be intentional about not replicating harmful practices that excluded so many in past movements for liberation, we made a commitment to placing those at the margins closer to the center.

As #BlackLivesMatter developed throughout 2013 and 2014, we utilized it as a platform and organizing tool. Other groups, organizations, and individuals used it to amplify anti-Black racism across the country, in all the ways it showed up. Tamir Rice, Tanisha Anderson, Mya Hall, Walter Scott, Sandra Blandthese names are inherently important. The space that #BlackLivesMatter held and continues to hold helped propel the conversation around the state-sanctioned violence they experienced. We particularly highlighted the egregious ways in which Black women, specifically Black trans women, are violated. #BlackLivesMatter was developed in support of all Black lives.

In 2014, Mike Brown was murdered by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. It was a guttural response to be with our people, our familyin support of the brave and courageous community of Ferguson and St. Louis as they were being brutalized by law enforcement, criticized by media, tear gassed, and pepper sprayed night after night. Darnell Moore and Patrisse Cullors organized a national ride during Labor Day weekend that year. We called it the Black Life Matters Ride. In 15 days, we developed a plan of action to head to the occupied territory to support our brothers and sisters. Over 600 people gathered. We made two commitments: to support the team on the ground in St. Louis, and to go back home and do the work there. We understood Ferguson was not an aberration, but in fact, a clear point of reference for what was happening to Black communities everywhere.

When it was time for us to leave, inspired by our friends in Ferguson, organizers from 18 different cities went back home and developed Black Lives Matter chapters in their communities and townsbroadening the political will and movement building reach catalyzed by the #BlackLivesMatter project and the work on the ground in Ferguson.

It became clear that we needed to continue organizing and building Black power across the country. People were hungry to galvanize their communities to end state-sanctioned violence against Black people, the way Ferguson organizers and allies were doing. Soon we created the Black Lives Matter Global Network infrastructure. It is adaptive and decentralized, with a set of guiding principles. Our goal is to support the development of new Black leaders, as well as create a network where Black people feel empowered to determine our destinies in our communities.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network would not be recognized worldwide if it werent for the folks in St. Louis and Ferguson who put their bodies on the line day in and day out, and who continue to show up for Black lives.

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Black Lives Matter | Herstory