Seven years ago today, #BlackLivesMatter was coined on social media

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( July 13, 2020 On February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin [was chased down and killed]( by George Zimmerman in Florida. A little over a year later, on July 13, 2013—seven years ago today—Zimmerman was found "not guilty," setting off a flood of [urgent and necessary protests around the country](. It also inaugurated the [first usage of "Black Lives Matter" on social media](: Outraged and saddened after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who killed a Black teenager in 2012, Oakland, California resident Alicia Garza posts a message on Facebook on July 13, 2013. Her post contains the phrase "Black lives matter," which soon becomes a rallying cry and a movement throughout the United States and around the world. Garza said she felt "a deep sense of grief" after Zimmerman was acquitted. She was further saddened to note that many people appeared to blame the victim, Trayvon Martin, and not the "disease" of racism. [Patrisse] Cullors, a Los Angeles community organizer and friend of Garza, read her post and replied with the first instance of #BlackLivesMatter. "Since launching the Black Lives Matter Global Network with Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors," my colleague Daniel King wrote last week in Recharge, "Garza has rallied and amplified the voices and lives of countless people who drive change—bearing witness to what has changed and what still needs to." Garza recently gave an interview to National Geographic that [is very much worth reading](: “Black lives matter” is so simple and yet so complex. It really is a very direct assertion of both a problem and a solution at the same time. Here we are seven years later, and I think what's become clear is that some of the discomfort with this statement is that it forces you to choose sides. You can't say some Black lives matter or they kind of matter or they matter sometimes. The statement asks you, do you believe Black lives matter? And if so, is that the world that we live in right now? And if not, what are we going to do to close the gap there? Read the whole thing at [NatGeo]( and catch Garza [in conversation with Mother Jones]( at a recent live event in Oakland. #BlackLivesMatter —Ben Dreyfuss [Epitaph Anti]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Science of Why Cops Shoot Young Black Men]( And how to reform our bigoted brains. BY CHRIS MOONEY [Trending] [21 things you can't do while Black]( BY LAUREN WILLIAMS [It's time we had a talk about white people calling the cops on Black people]( BY BRANDON E. PATTERSON [I'm a Black female scientist. On my first day of work, a colleague threatened to call the cops on me.]( RAVEN BAXTER, AS TOLD TO JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN [Police shootings won't stop unless we also stop shaking down Black people]( BY JACK HITT [Epitaph Anti]( [Health & Environment] [Special Feature]( [The Selfish and Unselfish Case for Sending Scientists and Doctors Abroad]( There's an "interdependency between the global and the local." BY KIERA BUTLER [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [A Growing #MeToo Wave in Egypt Is Driving Results and Signs of Change]( As movements for justice and human rights continue to expand across the United States, coalitions for change are mobilizing worldwide on the strength of protests that are getting results, including in [Cairo](. Egypt’s capital was named the [most]( dangerous city in the world for women in a recent Reuters poll, and pernicious street harassment is a familiar feature of daily life for Egyptian women, [99 percent]( of whom have been sexually harassed, according to a United Nations study within the past decade. But the #MeToo movement is growing as more women find paths for action and accountability. Three days after an Instagram page went up with dozens of women’s accusations of assault and harassment by an elite university student, police [arrested]( him—a rare result. [Before that](, a historic conviction was issued by a judge who sentenced a harasser to two years in prison, and Egyptian celebrities are speaking out against harassment in a video campaign by the Egyptian National Council for Women. Egypt’s #MeToo movement isn’t new or unfamiliar to many people in the United States who see patterns of resistance and strength across countries, but the movement is reaching new milestones, with support worldwide. If you have family, friends, or personal insight into Egypt’s reckoning with street harassment, and stories of community-driven change, let us know at recharge@motherjones.com. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755