When you say “all lives matter,” this is what it means:

At the end of May 2020, protests erupted across our country and around the world to decry the racist murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and the countless other Black lives ended by police brutality. As we work to process these senseless acts of violence, we have seen your questions and conversations — both in our inbox and across social media.

We want to address one question in particular: Why do Black lives matter right now? Don’t all lives matter?

We say Black lives matter to affirm that, in the face of the ongoing and systemic injustices that the Black community has to face every day, we’re standing up and saying no more. We must recognize that the Black community has been uniquely disenfranchised and targeted by racialized violence.

No one’s life is negated by stating the value of Black lives specifically. Far from excluding others, it underscores that every human life is worthy of dignity and justice.

We’ve made a helpful video to explain why we say ‘Black lives matter,’ and why saying ‘all lives matter’ is harmful. Watch then make sure you share it with your friends and family.