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

He was first elected in 2021 at just 23 years old and previously was a prominent organizer for large causes in the city, like the Black Lives Matter movement, according to his website. —Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2026

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

During the Black Lives Matter protest movement in 2020, some conservative communities started to speak out against critical race theory and their fear that it was being taught in K-12 schools. —Carrie Sampson, The Conversation, 13 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