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

Roblox has long been the site of political activism, with players who were confined to their homes during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests virtually exercising their right to assemble. —Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2025

By the time Gamal was writing in 2016, military equipment was on display in the response to the Black Lives Matter movement. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 19 June 2025

Bergstrand believes the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality were an example of that. —Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 June 2025

The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 brought more attention to Juneteenth, and in 2023, Pew Research said at least 28 states and Washington DC — along with the federal government — recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday. —Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 18 June 2025

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