Question

Does Khan-Cullors tell a fuller mission of Black Lives Matter than what is commonly portrayed in mainstream media?

Answer 1

Khan-Cullors' Black Lives Matter activism started way back in 2013, when she posted it as a hashtag on the Facebook profile of the co-founder of the movement, who was lamenting the denial of justice for a black man's shooting. In fact, Khan-Cullors herself discloses that the transformative moment for her to decide that this fight was crucial for her and that she was going to be in it for the long haul was when her brother, disgnosed with schizoaffective disorder, was taken to prison, where he was mistreated and physically abused. Similarly, her biological father spent much time in prison on multiple incarcerations, because of his trouble with substance abuse. As such, she says that her investment in the movement is to highlight how poorly people with mental illness are treated in our society, especially the Black people. The double disadvantage of a being a stigmatized race and having a mental disorder is what she wants to bring to public notice as well. This is definitely an extension of what has been portrayed in mainstream media, which has focused mainly on the historical subjugation of the community, and the still widely prevalent individual and systemic prejudices against them. The media has not really brought into the open the issue of mental health concerns of the Black people. Consequently, it has missed out on a crucial piece of what the movement intends to work towards.