Here's What Black Lives Matter Wants: 6 Reforms Detailed In Social Justice Movement's Agenda
More than 60 organizations affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement have released an agenda Monday morning outlining the social justice movement's desired reforms. 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.
“In recent years we have taken to the streets, launched massive campaigns, and impacted elections, but our elected leaders have failed to address the legitimate demands of our Movement,” reads a release, reports BuzzFeed. “We can no longer wait.”
For example, the group calls for criminal justice reform and recommends ending militarized police presence in protests. Other reforms include free tuition and retroactive federal student loan forgiveness; rights for trans individuals; and ending the death penalty, mass incarceration and deportations. The organization is also requesting a bill be passed to create a committee to study reparations for those who descend from slaves.
"We seek radical transformation, not reactionary reform," Michaela Brown, a spokeswoman for Baltimore Bloc, one of the group's partner organizations, said in a statement. "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 Black Lives Matter movement dates back to 2012 but it truly gained momentum in 2014 after Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown. The Michael Brown tragedy — coupled with similar incidents around the nation — propelled the movement, which spread quickly on social media with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
