Black Lives Matter is not a terrorist organisation By A.L.

In 2012 George Zimmerman, a neighbourhood-watch volunteer, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old boy in Sanford, Florida. His acquittal a year later led Alicia Garza, an activist, to post on Facebook: “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter, Black Lives Matter.” Soon after, those last three words went viral, after several high-profile killings of African Americans at the hands of police. Black Lives Matter developed into a movement against police violence and racism, with more than 40 chapters in four countries.

Almost as soon as it began, Black Lives Matter met with a backlash. Protest slogans, such as All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, were created in reference to the police. President Donald Trump has said that Black Lives Matter is “a very, very divisive term because all lives matter”. In 2016 a petition calling for the movement to be labelled a “terrorist organisation” attracted 140,000 signatures in two weeks.

Today Ms Garza runs Black Futures Lab, an organisation that tries to give black communities a stake in politics. She spoke to The Economist about why Black Lives Matter is not a terrorist outfit and why she has not lost hope in the age of Trump...