Black Lives Matter Is a Global Cause

The United States is in turmoil over gun rights, police shootings, and racial and political divides during a heated presidential campaign. Protesters associated with the Black Lives Matter movement gathered around the nation after police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. During a protest in Dallas, a sniper targeted police, killing five officers and injuring 11 others, and critics of such protests argue that focusing on one race accentuates racial divisions. Such shootings are rare in Europe, but “the language and politics of the Black Lives Matter movement have tremendous global echoes,” explains Ishaan Tharoor for the Washington Post. “Solidarity protests took place in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada.” The protests in other countries reflect concerns over widening inequality, the vulnerability of marginalized populations, and insecurity as police forces are expected to make snap judgments and manage on all manner of social challenges including illiteracy, mental illness and poverty. Government is charged with delivering and balancing multiple layers of protection while protecting competing rights, which in the United States include freedom of speech and peaceful assembly along with a right to bear arms. – YaleGlobal