Inaugural #BlackLivesMatter national conference strengthened foundation for local movement

Inaugural #BlackLivesMatter national conference strengthened foundation for local movement
Inaugural #BlackLivesMatter national conference strengthened foundation for local movement

Inaugural #BlackLivesMatter national conference strengthened foundation for local movement

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The Black Lives Matter movement started as a social media hashtag following the July 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Florida resident Trayvon Martin. Since then, it’s spread around the country and farther as organizers have focused their attention other black men and women who have died at the hands of police. So what’s the future of the movement? That was one of the issues explored last weekend at the first-ever Black Lives Matters convention in Cleveland. There were breakout sessions with titles like Examining Community Organizing Methods and Methodologies; Mastering Your Inside/Outside Strategy, Gaming the Political System and Winning; and Black Trans Lives Matter. A number of Chicago area activists made the trip to Cleveland, including our two guests. Charlene Carruthers is the national director for Black Youth Project 100 and Malcolm London is a member of that group and another organization: We Charge Genocide. (Flickr/The All-Nite Images)