eNewsletter
February 26 is Black Lives Matter Day, a day in remembrance of Trayvon Martin, a young Black teenager who was shot and killed in Florida. His murder helped to spark the wider Black Lives Matter movement across the nation, which seeks to address the systematic racism and profiling that Black Americans face everyday.
While Black Americans account for about 13% of the population, they made up 27% of those fatally shot and killed by police in 2021. The Say Their Name movement encourages individuals to use their voice to not only say the names of Black individuals killed through police violence, but to bring about change to fight inequality and racism within our society. The deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tyre Nichols gained widespread media attention and serve as a reminder that racism and violence against Black Americans is not a thing of the past.
During Black History Month, it’s important to not only look back on the accomplishments of Black Americans in the past. The work of Civil Rights Movement leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis do not exist in the vacuum of history. Their efforts are reflected in our world today, and they are critical to the conversation when discussing the Black Lives Matter movement.
If you’re looking to learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement, check out some of these books from the Yonkers Public Library.
Alison Robles is a part-time page at the Crestwood Library. She is an avid reader with a passion for YA lit, history and science fiction. A Yonkers native, she graduated from Iona University in 2020 with a dual-degree in Marketing and Public Relations.