Memorable World History/Authors

What Does #BlackLivesMatter Mean (Part II)

BLM international movement

In 2015, after the death of FreddieGray in Baltimore, Maryland, black activists around the world modeledefforts for reform on Black Lives Matter and the Arab Spring. Thisinternational movement has been referred to as the "BlackSpring". Connections have also been forged with parallelinternational efforts such as the Dalit rights movement.

On July 18, 2020, thousands ofprotesters marched near Paris to commemorate the fourth anniversaryof the death of Adama Traoré, a man with color who died in policecustody. Adama Traoré was arrested in July 2016. He fainted afterbeing pinned to the ground by police officers and later died at apolice station. An anti-racism march also took place in the Berlin tocondemn police brutality. More than 1,500 protesters marched holdingposters saying, "racism kills, mentally, physically,globally".

Australia

Following the death of Ms Dhu in policecustody in August 2014, protests often made reference to the BLMmovement. In July 2016, a BLM rally was organized in Melbourne,Australia, which 3,500 people attended. The protest also emphasizedthe issues of mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians by theAustralian police and government.

In May 2017, Black Lives Matter wasawarded the Sydney Peace Prize, which "honors a nominee whohas promoted 'peace with justice', human rights and non-violence".

In early June 2020, following therecent George Floyd protests in the US, there were protests acrossAustralia, with many of them focusing on the local issue ofAboriginal deaths in custody, racism in Australia and otherinjustices faced by Indigenous Australians.

Canada

In July 2015, BLM protesters shut downAllen Road in Toronto, Ontario, protesting the shooting deaths of twoblack men in the metropolitan area—Andrew Loku and JermaineCarby—at the hands of police. In September, BLM activists shutdown streets in Toronto, citing police brutality and solidarity with"marginalized black lives" as reason for theshutdown. Black Lives Matter was a featured part of the Take Back theNight event in Toronto.

In June 2016, Black Lives Matter wasselected by Pride Toronto as the honored group in that year's Prideparade, during which they staged a sit-in to block the parade frommoving forward for approximately half an hour. They issued severaldemands for Pride to adjust its relationship with LGBTQ people ofcolor, including stable funding and a suitable venue for theestablished Blockorama event, improved diversity in theorganization's staff and volunteer base, and that Toronto Policeofficers be banned from marching in the parade in uniform. Prideexecutive director Mathieu Chantelois signed BLM's statement ofdemand, but later asserted that he had signed it only to end thesit-in and get the parade moving, and had not agreed to honor thedemands. In late August 2016, the Toronto chapter protested outsidethe Special Investigations Unit in Mississauga in response to thedeath of Abdirahman Abdi, who died during an arrest in Ottawa.

The other focal point of the BlackLives Matter movement in Canada is addressing issues, racism andother injustices faced by Indigenous Canadians.

New Zealand

On June 1, 2020, several BLM solidarityprotests in response to the death of George Floyd were held inseveral New Zealand cities including Auckland, Wellington,Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Hamilton. TheAuckland event, which attracted between 2,000 and 4,000 participants,was organized by several members of New Zealand's African community.Auckland organizer Mahlete Tekeste, African-American expatriateKainee Simone, and sportsperson Israel Adesanya compared racism, massincarceration, and police violence against African Americans to theover-representation of Māori and Pacific Islanders in New Zealandprisons, the controversial armed police response squad trials, andexisting racism against minorities in New Zealand including the 2019Christchurch mosque shootings. Hip hop artist and music producerMazbou Q also called on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to condemnviolence against black Americans.