1739 - The Stono rebellion. A group of slaves (growing in numbers as they moved from state to state) broke into a store and headed for refuge, leaving murder victims in their path. Most of the slaves in the rebellion ended up being arrested or executed.
1831 - Nat Turner’s rebellion. Nat Turner led a rebellion against Virginian slave masters and it ended with 60 slaves being executed.
1859- John Brown’s Raid. John brown along with a small group of men raided against the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. They stayed there with the captured arsenal until troops were able to come and overpower them. John Brown was tried and hung, but he was seen as a voice of justice against slavery.
1861- A group of slaves planned to rebel against Union troops as they were arriving in Adams County, Mississippi. Somehow people found out about this plan, and up to 40 slaves were executed before they got the chance to seek justice.
1908 - A wave of race riots occurred in response wide-spread violence against African Americans such as lynchings. These riots spurred the Niagara Movement to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
1955-1956 - The Montgomery Bus Boycotts. After the arrest of Rosa Parks, African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama for an entire year.
1963 - The March on Washington. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I have a dream speech," and over 200,000 demonstrators showed up and participated in the protest.
1965 - Selma to Montgomery March. Led by MLK, him and 600 other protesters began their march in Selma, Alabama after a state trooper shot a black man in that city. They did not make it to Montgomery before they were apprehended by state troopers with tear gas, whips, and night sticks.
1992 - Los Angeles Riots. After Rodney King was severely beaten and shot with a taser gun (for leading cops on a high speed chase while also being intoxicated), an estimated $1 billion in damage was done over the course of four days in L.A. Close to 1,000 buildings were burned.
1995 - Million Man March. African American men were urged to participate as a sort of "spiritual renewal." The march also wanted to denounce the stereotypes put on black men when the incarceration rate began to rise during the "war on drugs" movement.
2013-present - The Black Lives Matter movement was formed. 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. It sparked multiple protests and movements such as the Million Hoodie March, the kneeling of NFL players to call attention to police brutality in America, and now the George Floyd protests nationwide.
All of these rebellions, boycotts, protests, and riots have shaped America’s history. And we do not look back on them thinking how they could’ve been handled better. We look back on them thinking about how horrifically black people were treated before these brave people chose to stand against the oppression and outright racist ideals that had been plaguing society. And as much as we would like to say that America has changed, it is still tainted by the fundamental racist ideals that it was started with. There has been progression and we must all acknowledge how many black people have fought hard and well for their freedom and equal opportunities that should’ve have been given to them in the first place. But we must also acknowledge that there is still so much more for us to do. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and so many others are direct repercussions of police brutality in America, and it cost them their lives. Death is the only thing that is guaranteed for all of us, but the color of someone’s skin should NEVER be the cause for that fate. And now people are protesting, as they should. We need change. I am acknowledging my privilege, and I will do everything in my power to erase it. I did nothing to deserve this privilege, just like black people did nothing to deserve this abuse and injustice. I stand with #blacklivesmatter because they do, and they have fought the same fight far too long.
"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows." Isaiah 1:17
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
The Lord loves justice. He is justice. And He requires us to do justice. But do not forget He also requires us to love kindness. "Cancel culture" is counterproductive and it is not right. Justice is not the same as vengeance, and we cannot claim to want to love all people but then cancel those who are supporting the movement differently than us. The Lord will punish the wicked; it is our job to love the wicked while seeking justice for the oppressed. Do not give up, for the Lord is with us always and He wants to see change too.
Resource with ways you can help: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
Citation: History.com Edutors. "Black History Milestones: Timeline." HISTORY. N.p., 2009. Web. 2020.
Disclaimer - I am not the most educated on this topic and I do not claim to be, but I am trying to continue educating myself as we all should. I am always open to more knowledge and suggestions for how I can appropriately speak up and help the movement, so please feel free to email me or chat on here to let me know how I can do better.
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