A Letter From Co-Founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors on Our Fifth Anniversary

Dear family,

Five years ago today Black people and our allies disrupted business as usual. We rose to the challenge, a generation forgotten, abandoned by local government and national government; a generation in so much distress, but also a generation moved by the ability to tell our own stories through social media. Five years ago today the murderer of Trayvon Martin was acquitted and a movement was born, born out of a phrase but more importantly born out of a commitment to loving and protecting Black people.

We have impacted the world; the Black Lives Matter Global Network, a crew of mostly young Black women and femmes challenging the culture to live up to our resilience. We evolved from a phrase, to hashtag, to a global network.

This work is carried out by our chapters, whose leadership spans across the country and world – from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and beyond. Black Lives Matter has impacted the globe and I’m proud to be celebrating this fifth anniversary with all of you.

We have survived lawsuits, court dates, multiple arrests; we’ve survived the continued attacks against our network and our movement. We’ve survived and we will continue to survive. This work is bigger than us, it’s about our ancestors and the foundation they’ve laid for us to do this work today. This work is about our descendants because when we fight for them now as we make the world a little more palatable, and a little more safe for them in the future.

Thank you to all of our supporters, to every person who has donated, every person who has used the hashtag, every person who has courageously stood up for Black people even if it wasn’t popular. I’m so proud to be apart of this movement in this time. It’s a blessing and honor.

Ase ooooooo

Patrisse Khan-Cullors