What did Black Lives Matter accomplish?

Three-plus years later, here's what really changed

On May 25th, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, police responded to a call that a man named George Floyd used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill to buy cigarettes. 

As they approach his car, Floyd reacts. When police take him into custody, there’s a scuffle. As they head to the police cruiser, Floyd becomes louder and more erratic. He resists as they try to put him in the car. 

Cops take him back out and down to the ground. And, in an infamous video, Officer Derek Chauvin puts his knee on Floyd’s neck and keeps it there for over 9 minutes.

After the footage goes viral, protests break out nationwide. At least 19 people were killed, thousands of businesses were burned, and over two thousand police officers were injured.

The protests cost billions of dollars in damages. They also sparked change. But did those changes make things better … or worse? Did they actually make black lives better?

Well, one of the biggest changes was the call for defunding the police. And between 2019 and 2020, the U.S. murder rate jumped 29% … its largest increase in 60 years.

According to Bloomberg, in 2020 black Americans made up 13.5% of the U.S. population and 55.6% of the homicide victims. Most of them were young black men. Now, three and a half years later, many of those who called for defunding support stricter policing measures and more money for departments.

The Black Lives Matter movement (not the organization itself, but the idea) also resulted in changes like body cameras for officers, bans on choke holds, and bans on no-knock warrants. Some cities required de-escalation training or demanded officers intervene if their colleague was using excessive force. 

Politicians and celebrities jumped on the BLM movement as well. There was the viral picture of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and other Dems wearing kente cloth and kneeling in the U.S. Capitol. There were BLM banners and murals and kneeling sports teams. 

And businesses gave money – a LOT of money – to black causes. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America spearheaded an initiative to give $45 billion in loans and investments to the black community.

So, was the Black Lives Matter movement ultimately good or bad for America? Take a look at my video, and you can decide. 

— Ken