#BlackLivesMatter

On August 28th, the “Black Lives Matters Ride” (BLM Ride) a national advocacy effort of #BlackLivesMatter, will bring concerned citizens from across the country to St. Louis, Missouri, as part of a national call to end state violence against Black people. The BLM Ride, organized in the spirit of the early 1960s interstate Freedom Rides to end racial segregation, is a call to action organized by advocates based in several states in close collaboration with the Organization for Black Struggle (OBS) and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE), the two lead organizations working with the Ferguson community in response to the shooting death of 18-year old Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. “The BLM Ride will bring together concerned citizens under which Black people can unite to end state sanctioned violence both in Ferguson, but also across the United States of America. In addition, it aims to end the widespread assault on Black life that pervades every stage of law enforcement interactions; be it in custody or in our communities,” notes Darnell L. Moore, ride co-organizer. On the issue of anti-Black state sanctioned violence, co-organizer Patrisse Cullors, states, “While Black people make up a mere 13% of the US population we make up more than a third of those killed in officer involved shootings across the country. We know that anti-Black racism in the form of vigilante violence is most often informed by law enforcement violence.”