Black Lives Matter (sometimes abbreviated as BLM) is a social and political protest movement “emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for Black people and campaigning against various forms of racism” (“Black lives matter Definition & Meaning.” Dictionary.com.) It is a decentralized movement with no formal leader. The phrase first appeared as the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media in July 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in February 2012 during a physical altercation in Zimmerman’s neighborhood. Protests erupted across the United States in 2014 when two more unarmed Black men—18-year-old Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, and 43-year-old Eric Garner of New York City—were killed by on-duty police officers. “Black lives matter” became a rallying cry for these protest movements, popularizing the phrase to national and international recognition.

Protestors also adopted the phrase “I can’t breathe” following the killing of Eric Garner. Police confronted Garner on the street in Staten Island and accused him of selling loose cigarettes. A bystander and friend of Garner, Ramsey Orta, filmed as Officer Daniel Pantaleo held Garner in an illegal chokehold. In the video, Garner can be heard “shouting ‘I can’t breathe’ at least eight times” (Eversley, Melanie and James, Mike.