On July 20, 2020 thousands of laborers, from fast food workers living below the poverty line to well-paid Google engineers, asked one powerful question.
“Do Black lives really matter to corporations and this country’s leadership?”
The persistent oppression of Black people suggest otherwise. That led to a concerted effort to do something about it.
The Strike For Black Lives campaign, a coordinated effort by labor unions, grassroots coalitions, and social justice organizers, empowered workers to either strike for a full work day or walk off the job for eight minutes and forty-six seconds – a reverent nod to Minneapolis police brutality victim George Floyd.
Organizers and participants believed this would bring national attention to a list of actionable demands to manifest justice for Black communities. They include higher wages, safer working conditions, access to healthcare, and buy-in from elected officials and corporations, too.
“Even before George Floyd’s life was so horrifically taken, the ‘normal’ everyone keeps talking about going back to wasn’t working for us,” explained striker Glen Brown.
“From racially motivated attacks to being forced to go to work without protective equipment or hazard pay in the name of the economy, our lives have not been valued. We cannot go back to that. We must move forward!”