A Norwegian lawmaker has nominated Black Lives Matter, the global racial justice movement, for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Black Lives Matter is a decentralized political and social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people.
In his nomination letter, Petter Eide, a Socialist Left member of the Storting, Norway’s parliament, wrote that he had nominated Black Lives Matter “for their struggle against racism and racially motivated violence.” “BLM’s call for systemic change have spread around the world, forcing other countries to grapple with racism within their own societies,” he continued.
“I find that one of the key challenges we have seen in America, but also in Europe and Asia, is the kind of increasing conflict based on inequality,” Eide said. “Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice. “Awarding the Peace Prize to Black Lives Matter, as the global strongest force against racial injustice, will send a powerful message that peace is founded on equality, solidarity, and human rights, and that all countries must respect those basic principles,” Sometimes the committee have been very brave,” Eide said via email to NBC News, pointing to the 1964 peace prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. and Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident, the 2010 winner. Eide added that Black Lives Matter will be “among the favorites” when the winner is announced in December.
As a reminder nominations for the Nobel peace prize are accepted from any politician serving at a national level, and they are allowed just 2,000 words to state their case. The deadline for this year’s submission is 1 February, and by the end of March the committee prepares a shortlist. The winner is chosen in October and the award ceremony is scheduled for 10 December. There were more han 300 nominations for last year’s award, which was ultimately won by the World Food Programme.
History
The Black Lives Matter movement was co-founded in 2013 by Alicia Garza (left), Patrisse Cullors (center) and Opal Tometi (right) in response to the acquittal in the US of the man who shot Trayvon Martin. It gained wider recognition in 2014 following protests over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and was the wellspring of a series of global protests in 2020 following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
As a black woman what always struck me the most is to see these Black women who are the leaders behind BLM for Black lives, building power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe. It is just amazing how Black women are becoming more powerful and influential. They are currently key leaders in the fight against racial injustice in America through the Black Lives Matter movement and are also helping wage political and legal campaigns as part of that effort.Kamala Harris’s election as vice president of the United States is the living proof. It is a moment of gratification and recognition, a symbol of what’s to come and what always has been. We are seeing now a shift that’s happening globally, a shift in the U.S.
This nomination echoes the one from French anti-racism activist Assa Traoré who received the 2020 BET International Global Good Award at the 20th edition of the BET Awards. The Global Good Award is BET International’s recognition of public figures who use their platform for social responsibility and are committed to the welfare of the global Black community. Traoré has been the leading force behind the fight for Black lives and the resistance against police violence in France since her brother Adama was asphyxiated to death in a police station in 2016. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, Traoré’s struggle to battle racial injustice and police brutality in the country has made waves, and she was able to bring together more than 10,000 people at a recent anti-racism rally in Paris. Through her commitment to finding out the truth about what happened to her brother, Traoré founded to the “Justice for Adama” movement in Paris.
Without a doubt, there is still a long way for Black Lives Matter to end racial injustice in America. The fight and struggle continue more than ever! But all I can say the movement is making positive change not just in the black community but globally. This nomination is demonstrating its impact beyond borders, in return of all efforts, contributions, risks and sacrifices to give hope for black people around the world. I tell myself that as long as there is life, there is hope! A dream about a new America and a new world, where all people are safe and treated fairly. An America and a world where discrimination is abolished and where we all join together to improve our communities. Future will tell while we must have to work work harder to make it happen and becoming successful. Call me an optimist but i strongly believe we can do it.
“Each generation must out of relative obscurity discovers its mission, fulfill it or betray it.” Frantz Fanon
By Alizé Utteryn 01/31/2021
