The Black Lives Matter movement has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Indeed it was the Norwegian deputy Petter Eide that nominated Black Lives Matter for this prestigious prize.
The movement was nominated for the way its call for systemic change against racism has spread around the world.
Nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize are accepted from any politician serving at the national level, and they are allowed only 2,000 words to present their case. The winner is then chosen in October and the award ceremony is scheduled for December 10. There were more than 300 nominations for last year’s award, which was eventually won by the World Food Programme.
In his nomination letter, Petter Eide, wrote that he nominated Black Lives Matter “for their struggle against racism and racially motivated violence”. He added “they have been able to mobilize people from all groups of society, not just African-Americans, not just oppressed people, it has been a broad movement, in a way which has been different from their predecessors”.
This nomination did not please everyone because after the announcement, the Norwegian deputy reportedly received angry emails from Americans claiming that Black Lives Matter is not a peaceful organisation.
The movement started after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin‘s murderer in 2013 and was at the origin of a series of worldwide protests in 2020 after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
In addition, Data assembled by the Armed Conflict Location in September 2020 showed that 93% of Black Lives Matter demonstrations involved no serious harm to people or property.
The 61-year-old deputy added of course there have been incidents, but most of them have been caused by the activities of either the police or counter-protestors”.
#Peace.Love.BlackLivesMatter
