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BLM movement began as a hashtag on social media
The Black Lives Matter movement started as a hashtag on social media after police named George Zimmerman shot a black teenager named Trayvon Martin at 17 in 2012. -
Breonna Taylor is murdered
Plain clothes Louisville police shot and killed Breonna Taylor, 26. As a result of her death, #SayHerName raised the profile of female victims of anti-black violence. -
Footage of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder begins circulating
Ahmaud Arbery was killed by gunfire in Glynn County, Georgia, while he was walking along. Arbery was 25 years old, unarmed, and black. When the public saw footage of the incident, they began calling for justice and making arrests for the murder that had occurred over two months earlier. -
George Floyd is killed
Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes during his arrest in Minneapolis. Floyd said he couldn't breathe 20 times, but the officer didn't remove his knee from his neck. Social media went crazy with footage and the Black Lives Matter movement started. -
First protests in the US
Protests started almost immediately in Minneapolis, where Floyd's murder took place, and spread rapidly to other cities in the United States and abroad. People clashed with the police regularly. -
UK-wide anti-racism protests begin
The UK joins the Black Lives Matter movement. We protest police brutality in the US and racism here at home - the recent avoidable death of a transport worker raises questions about racial inequality, for example. Lots of people took a knee to show support. -
13 million petition signatures
George Floyd's petition is Change.com's most signed ever. Since the petition started on 27 May, it's gotten over 13 million signatures calling for charges against all four officers. It now has over 19.5 million signatures. -
Black Lives Matter caused the world to be shocked when it occurred
Violence against Black people by police officers. African American murders shocked the world. -
Edward Coulston statue torn down
At a BLM protest in Bristol, a statue of slave owner Edward Colston was ripped down. A slave trader, Colston's name was emblazoned on streets, buildings, and a school until recently. It was a symbol of defiance against his legacy that leaves scars to this day. -
Boris Johnson claimed the UK isn’t racist
Boris Johnson claimed the UK isn’t racist. The Prime Minister said on Twitter that the UK is 'not racist' in response to protests taking place across the country, but very soon people proved him wrong with his own racist comments. -
Keir Starmer takes the knee in support of BLM
Taking a knee on their Twitter accounts, Labour leader Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner showed support for BLM. It was pointed out that he hasn't done anything about racism in his own party. -
Premier League football resumes
Premier League fans haven't seen football for a long time. For the first 12 games, players wore shirts with a badge reading 'Black Lives Matter, and all took the knee before kickoff. -
Keir Starmer calls idea of defunding the police “absurd’
Keir Starmer said on BBC Breakfast he supported BLM's "moment", which broadly stands against anti-Black violence, but called its call to defund the police "absurd", which Nigel Farage agreed with. -
Government announces Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities
A new commission will focus on issues of racial injustice in the areas of health, education, criminal justice, and employment. BLM spread questions about racial discrimination, prejudice, and inequality in British society, which hasn't reckoned with its racist history that permeates the present. This commission will look into it. -
Biden wins US election with help from the Black vote
Many praised Black voters for helping Joe Biden win the US election. Black voters helped flip some of the states Trump won in 2016 - places like Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. -
Football fans boo taking the knee
Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, a limited number of fans were allowed back into stadiums. When players took a knee at the start of the game, a minority of fans at Millwall and Colchester United booed. Football players stand up against racial injustice defiantly.