The True Meaning Behind "All Lives Matter"- Why It Is Not As Inclusive As You Think

With recent national focus highlighting police brutality against black individuals, the “Black Lives Matter” movement has hit an all-time climax - with it, carrying false assumptions about its true purpose.

Article By Aanya Shah

The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Tamir Rice, and countless others at the hands of police brutality have not only served to reignite the Black Lives Matter movement, but also the furor at its most common rebuttal: "All Lives Matter." It’s a common conversation these days: one person says, “Black lives matter.” Then another responds, “No, all lives matter.” However, saying “All Lives Matter” is a misinterpretation of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is doing more harm than good. Saying “All Lives Matter” is not only an expression of racism, but of ignorance, as well.

To avoid any confusion, let’s first take a look at the mission statement of the Black Lives Matter movement; [1]

“Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities. The impetus for that commitment was, and still is, the rampant and deliberate violence inflicted on us by the state.”

This statement says nothing about Black lives being valued more, and it specifically says that it [the organization] strives to achieve equality. Instead of saying, “Black lives matter more”, it’s actually trying to say, “Black lives matter too.”

How about the mission statement of All Lives Matter? There is none. Black Lives Matter is a credible movement fighting for racial equality. All Lives Matter is just a silly retaliation to try to take away from it. There is no real point in saying “All Lives Matter”, as it wouldn’t even exist if there was no Black Lives Matter Movement.

In a non-comparative sense, anyone would agree that all lives indeed, do matter. In a perfect world, people that are white, black, Asian, or any other race would be equal. In a perfect world, police brutality wouldn’t even exist, let alone be affecting all races equally. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. African Americans are nearly twice as more likely to die from police brutality than their white counterparts. [see figure 1]

Hence, saying that “all lives matter” in response to “Black Lives Matter” does not really make any sense. White people have not been oppressed, so we don’t need to focus on that. The point of Black Lives Matter isn't to suggest that black lives should be or are more important than all other lives. Instead, it’s simply pointing out that black people's lives are relatively undervalued in the US — and more likely to be ended by police — which is an inequity our country needs to recognize in order to bring an end to it.

Black lives are the ones we need to be focusing on right now. It doesn’t mean that Black lives matter any more than any other race. It’s just that saying, “Black lives are not equal to other races yet, so we should focus on racism towards African Americans, since it is a huge problem in our country” is not exactly catchy.

Let’s take a look at this Reddit user’s explanation on saying “All lives matter”. It perfectly sums it up into terms that we can understand, without bringing up the messy concept of race. [3]

“Imagine that you're sitting down to dinner with your family, and while everyone else gets a serving of the meal, you don't get any. So, you say ‘I should get my fair share.’ And as a direct response to this, your dad corrects you, saying, ‘everyone should get their fair share.’

Now, that's a wonderful sentiment -- indeed, everyone should, and that was kinda your point in the first place: that you should be a part of everyone, and you should get your fair share also. However, dad's comment just dismissed you and didn't solve the problem that you still haven't gotten any!

The problem is that the statement ‘I should get my fair share’ had an implicit ‘too’ at the end: ‘I should get my fair share, too, just like everyone else.’ But your dad's response treated your statement as though you meant ‘only I should get my fair share’, which clearly was not your intention. As a result, his statement that "everyone should get their fair share," while true, only served to ignore the problem you were trying to point out.”

So “Black Lives Matter” is to make all lives matter. Saying “All Lives Matter” in response to “Black Lives Matter” is taking away from Black voices. “All Lives Matter” was created as retaliation against “Black Lives Matter”; it wasn't a movement before. Black Lives Matter shouldn't bother anyone who actually cares about all lives, simply because black lives are included in all lives. Let’s stand in unity of the Black Lives Matter movement, and offer support as an ally in the fight against racially motivated crimes against African Americans.

Direct Sources

[2] What We Believe | Black Lives Matter. (n.d.). Black Lives Matter. https://blacklivesmatter.com/what-we-believe/

[Figure 1]

[3] Why is it so controversial when someone says “All Lives Matter” instead of “Black Lives Matter”? (n.d.). Reddit | Why Is It so Controversial When Someone Says “All Lives Matter” Instead of “Black Lives Matter”? https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3du1qm/eli5_why_is_it_so_controversial_when_someone_says/?utm_term=27889529257&utm_medium=comment_embed&utm_source=embed&utm_name=091e8976-d544-4425-b5f0-e0998d4e0f54&utm_content=footer

Additional Sources

All Lives Matter. (n.d.). All Lives Matter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter

Lopez, G. (2016, July 11). Why you should stop saying “all lives matter,” explained in 9 different ways. Why You Should Stop Saying “All Lives Matter,” Explained in 9 Different Ways. https://www.vox.com/2016/7/11/12136140/black-all-lives-matter

Racial and Ethnic Categories and Definitions for NIH Diversity Programs and for Other Reporting Purposes. (n.d.). Racial and Ethnic Categories and Definitions for NIH Diversity Programs and for Other Reporting Purposes. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not-od-15-089.html

Schumer, L. (2020, June 4). What Black Lives Matter Means (and Why It’s Problematic to Say “All Lives Matter”). What Black Lives Matter Means (and Why It’s Problematic to Say “All Lives Matter”). https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a32745051/what-black-lives-matter-means/