Christina Swarns talks about what the mantras “Hands up, don’t shoot,” “I can’t breathe,” and “Black lives matter” mean for the current and historic civil rights movements.
“Hands up, don’t shoot.”
“I can’t breathe.”
“Black lives matter.”
These are the now ubiquitous chants, hashtags and mantras that stand as succinct and eloquent expressions of the current crisis in race and criminal justice. They also effectively capture the struggle for racial justice throughout our nation’s history and embody a call to action. Thus, “hands up, don’t shoot” reminds us that while some have the capacity to devalue and destroy life, a gesture of surrender can also become a symbol of strength.
Read the full blog post here.
