Struggle & Resistance Achievement & Excellence

July 2013

The day George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Alicia Garza wrote a Facebook post she called a love letter to Black people. Patrisse Cullors shared it with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and with Opal Tometi they co-founded a movement that would become one of the most significant civil rights organizations of the twenty-first century.

Events

July 13, 2013
Black Lives Matter founded following Trayvon Martin verdict
The day George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Alicia Garza wrote a Facebook post she called a love letter to Black people. Patrisse Cullors shared it with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and with Opal Tometi they co-founded a movement that would become one of the most significant civil rights organizations of the twenty-first century.
July 13, 2013
Black Lives Matter movement founded
Alicia Garza wrote a 'love letter to Black people' on Facebook following George Zimmerman's acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case; Patrisse Cullors shared it with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter; Opal Tometi amplified it online. This act launched one of the most consequential social movements of the 21st century, which mobilized millions worldwide and forced a global reckoning with systemic racism following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.