The future of the Black Lives Matter movement has become a think piece topic of late. Just last week NFL player Richard Sherman wrote, “It’s hard to formulate an opinion and generalize because they have several different messages,” and other people have voiced similar confusion. Now, the demands are being crystallized, as The Movement for Black Lives outlined a platform titled “A Vision for Black Lives.”
The Movement for Black Lives is the umbrella group for more than 50 organizations — including Black Lives Matter — that have come together to determine a common vision and agenda to address state violence. On the site, their origins are explained as such: “A year ago, over 2,000 of us gathered in Cleveland to reflect on the state of our movement for liberation and celebrate our people, both those who have fallen and those who have survived. It was there that we began the process of uniting to articulate a shared vision of the world we want to live in.”
This is what social justice protests looked like around the world
State violence takes many forms, so while police brutality is a large concern, it is not the only issue on the list of demands. The Movement for Black Lives created a document that contains briefs for 30-plus policies, as well as tangible resources available for download.
And lest anyone label the movement as exclusionary, the organizers noted that all oppressed people have to come together to work for change: “We are a collective that centers and is rooted in Black communities, but we recognize we have a shared struggle with all oppressed people; collective liberation will be a product of all of our work.”