In 2013, following George Zimmerman's acquittal for the murder of 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin, the iconic 'Black Lives Matter' began to circulate on the web. This protest, and consequently a movement, was started by three women: Alicia Garza, who wrote a Facebook post entitled "A love letter to Black People"; Patrisse Cullors, who shared the post with the hashtag #BLM; and Opal Tometi, who created both the website www.blacklivesmatter.com and the social media for the movement.
Alicia Garza is an American writer and activist who campaigns for issues such as health, students and transgender rights, and against racism. She has received several awards and written her first book "The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart".
Patrisse Cullors is an educator, artist, organiser and public speaking expert. She has been fighting for criminal justice reform for 20 years and was the initiator of the 'Yes on R' campaign to stop violence and abuse of power in prisons. From 2016 to 2018, she worked at MomsRising, collaborating on groundbreaking federal legislation about maternal mortality.
Opal Tometi has been fighting for years to keep anti-racism, immigration and gender justice at the forefront of international discourse. As the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, she faced the hardships of many migrants from an early age, which made her want to make her voice heard louder and louder; before becoming a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, she was executive director of BAJI (Black Alliance for Just Immigration), an organisation that helps migrants pursue social and economic justice goals. Her cry against injustice has reached as far as the United Nations. Her goal is to unify the global Black Community.
These three brilliant women have been included in the list of the 100 most influential people in the world for the year 2020 according to Time.
The interview with the three activists for the Ted format is highly recommended: https://www.ted.com/talks/alic...
Translated by Francesca Cioffi
Original version by Francesca Oggiano
The sources can be consulted freely:
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/26/us/trayvon-martin-death-anniversary/index.html
ALICIA GARZA:
https://aliciagarza.com/about/
PATRISSE CULLORS:
https://patrissecullors.com/about/
OPAL TOMETI:
https://www.opaltometi.org/biography/
https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888228/black-lives-matter-founders/
Francesca Oggiano
Mi chiamo Francesca Oggiano e sono una studentessa iscritta al corso di “Scienze Internazionali ed Istituzioni Europee” presso l’Università degli Studi di Milano.
Da sempre la scrittura mi permette di rendere reale ciò che nasce come pensiero astratto, ed in particolare lo studio di materie giuridiche, economiche e sociali, improntate verso una visione internazionale, ha consolidato in me la necessità di voler raccontare ciò che accade nel mondo attraverso la ricerca di usi e tradizioni appartenenti a luoghi diversi e lontani dal nostro quotidiano.
Sono venuta a conoscenza della realtà “Mondo Internazionale” e da subito mi ha incuriosita il fatto che si trattasse di ragazzi giovani impegnati a creare uno spazio che permettesse loro di credere in qualcosa di grande ed ho così deciso di voler fare anche io la mia parte.
Insieme al meraviglioso Team che si occupa del progetto “TrattaMi Bene”, ho la possibilità di esprimermi riguardo a temi che da sempre mi appassionano e mi stanno a cuore, come i diritti umani e la violenza di genere, e che mai più di ora penso debbano essere divulgati fra le generazioni. Credo profondamente nel valore dello scambio comunicativo e sono convinta che con la forza della conoscenza e dell’informazione si possa crescere e migliorare, sia come individui che come Comunità.
My name is Francesca Oggiano and I am currently a student of International Studies and European Institutions at the University of Milan.
Writing has always allowed me to translate abstract thoughts into concrete realities and studying subjects like law, economics and social sciences, especially when marked by an international directory, has strengthen in me the need to tell what happens in the world through specific research of traditions belonging to places that are diverse and far from our daily life.
I came across “Mondo Internazionale” and the fact that it involved young people engaged in creating a space that would let them believe in something greater made me curious from the very beginning; hence, I decided that I also wanted to give my contribution to this project.
Together with the wonderful team of the “TrattaMi Bene”, I have the chance to express my ideas on themes that have always been close to my heart and that deeply interest me, such as human rights and gendered violence, and that I am certain now more than ever need to be discussed through generations. I strongly believe in the importance of communicative exchanges and I am committed to the idea that, thanks to the power of knowledge and information, one can grow and get better both as an individual and as a community.