There’s been a lot of renewed debate over the Black Lives Matter movement amid the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and multiple police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson has been making the rounds, explaining the Black Lives Matter cause on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and now with CNN.
Speaking with Chris Cuomo on Monday, McKesson doesn’t mince words when explaining why the movement is called “Black Lives Matter,” rather than “All Lives Matter.” He also uses an interesting comparison:
‘It’s this interesting thing that people are frustrated that black people are focusing on the unique trauma that black people have faced in this country. And I would never go to a breast cancer rally and yell out colon cancer matters.’
McKesson emphasizes that the issue of police officers killing black men deserves its own platform, because of how “the way that blackness has functioned in his country is unique,” and that their fight for equity and justice will benefit other groups as well. As a result, he says, “all lives matter” is a distraction from a simple message that Black Lives Matter wants a world where police don’t kill people.
As quoted in Raw Story, McKesson also says, “My heart goes out to the victims of all violence,” and that nobody should have to die by gunfire, whether they were police officers or the people they’re supposed to protect.
(via Raw Story)