How is Gen Z handling BLM movement?
Inspiring. Rebellious. Dangerous. Brave. Irrational. Necessary.
There are so many words to describe the latest trending topic in today's society. The #BlackLivesMatter movement is everywhere, and it seems like everyone has an opinion. Some think the protests are crucial to gaining traction for a change while others think it's a pointless nuisance. But overall, thousands of people of every gender, age, race, religion, and status are rising to the occasion to help bring about some kind of change. But there is one type of voice that seems to be more vocal than all the others: #GenerationZ - The kids, the influencers, the students, the socialites, even the hermits have come out to make their opinions known. They're cunning, ruthless, and take to Twitter and Instagram, armed with data, evidence, and statistics to establish their ideas. Even celebrities are using their platforms to vocalize their support for this historic protest.
On June 3rd, actress Keke Palmer was seen pleading with the U.S. National Guard to come and "make history with us." Palmer said the following, "You have to pay attention to what's going on, or else — we have a president who's trying to incite a race war," and "March beside us. Get your people. March beside us. Let the revolution be televised. March beside us and show us that you're here for us. Make history with us!" And although the soldiers were unable to desert their posts, many were reported to have shown their support in other ways.
Another celeb that was on the frontlines of the protests was pop-singer Halsey. Halsey was spotted attending numerous L.A. protests with a group of friends, in which she was also seen carrying a backpack of medical supplies and taking care of injured protestors. The singer has also been utilizing her platform to educate people on the details and facts of the #BLM movement and police brutality. Other celebs, including Machine Gun Kelly, Logan Paul, Emily Ratajkowski, Ben Affleck, and even Mitt Romney have taken to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd and to gain support for the movement.
The death of George Floyd has also gained attention worldwide with the popular K-pop group BTS recently making a generous donation of 1 million dollars to support the Black Lives Matter Movement.
On a smaller scale, many Gen Z kids are protesting from home. Twitter users are outraged over the situation, many calling the murder of George Floyd a tragedy and some even say it was an act of cowardice. One user (@ndreal03) tweeted the following: "Martin Luther King Jr. may have had peaceful protests that helped but you wanna know what else helped? Malcolm X and the riots". Another (@discounthannah) tweeted "US high schools make you read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and are like 'that's enough learning about racism’”.
From small-town tweets to expensive global donations, it seems like everyone is doing something to show their support for the historic Black Lives Matter movement. In their actions, they're showing the world that racism can't ever and will never be tolerated from anyone regardless of how 'harmless' or 'innocent' the act may seem.
You can do your part to stop the violence and aggression. Anyone can help. The best ways to benefit the cause are to stay informed, educate others, inform others of your experiences, and donate to the Black Lives Matter movement.
You can use this link to directly donate to the movement.