When Patrisse Cullors first wrote the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in 2013, it was a simple and powerful demand for Black liberation – a phrase that at the time felt to her like a “freedom portal” and a “beacon of hope”.
But last month, the BLM co-founder and longtime organizer was faced with a personal and painful reminder of how little has changed in the 10 years since she helped spark a global movement. On 3 January, her cousin, Keenan Anderson, got in a traffic accident in Los Angeles and was met with LAPD officers who repeatedly Tased and restrained him before he died, sparking protests decrying yet another senseless killing by police in America.
