Black Lives Matter

noun

: a movement founded in 2013 to end white supremacy and support Black communities

Note: Black Lives Matter was founded by Black community organizers Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi after George Zimmerman was acquitted of charges relating to his fatal shooting of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012; the movement expanded as people reacted to police killings of unarmed Black people in years following. The name Black Lives Matter functions as a declaration that Black people's lives have as much value as white people's lives, and as a call to end systems and practices that challenge this fact.

—abbreviation BLM

Examples of Black Lives Matter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Black Lives Matter of Greater New York held a small protest against the decision to grant Duran's bail in Manhattan's Flatiron District. —Mark Prussin, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026

Pink has used her fame not only to entertain but champion humanitarian causes such as Human Rights Campaign, Save the Children, and Black Lives Matter. —Sharareh Drury, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Apr. 2026

There have been notable instances of the FBI’s noncompliance with the 702 program with improper searches related to Black Lives Matter protesters, individuals who breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and federal lawmakers. —Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 7 Apr. 2026

The city erased multiple Black Lives Matter crosswalks in South Dallas on Wednesday, two days after the removal of Oak Lawn’s rainbow crosswalks began. —Elissa Jorgensen, Dallas Morning News, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2014, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Black Lives Matter

• antimatter
• atter
• batter
• blatter
• catarrh
• chatter
• clatter
• fatter
• flatter
• hatter
• latter
• natter