Yesterday I had the privilege to listen to Shaun King speak. For those of you that aren’t in the know, Shaun is one of the prominent voices in the Black Lives Matter movement and an activist. We (Katie and I) both enjoyed his presentation. Attached I have some videos, but I just really wanted to talk about some important things he discussed.
- People confuse the steady progression of technology with the steady improvement of humanity
Shaun explained that throughout history, humanity has had it’s ups and downs. Many people believe that humanity is improving, but that is not necessarily true. There have been events throughout history (such as slavery and the Holocaust) that show that humanity progresses then it digresses and it’s a cycle.
- We are living in a pivotal historical moment
In 2016, one hundred and two unarmed black men, women and children were killed. The last time that this many unarmed black people were killed was in 1902, during Reconstruction (during this period the KKK was formed and lynchings were very popular).
- After the introduction of innovation, there is a dip
In 2008, history was made. Senator Barack. H Obama become the 44th (and 1st African-American) President. As a result, there has been backlashing (resulting in the election of Donald Trump). This has happened throughout history. Shaun gave another example of this happening- after the Civil Rights Movement, mass incarceration was created, resulting in the unnecessary arrests and prolonged jail sentencing for black males.
All in all, Shaun was everything I expected and more. He’s intelligent and an excellent speaker. I hope you enjoy the following videos and share these concepts with your friends. And remember- change is gonna come.
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