Black Lives Matter Founded

On July 13, 2013, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin, activist Alicia Garza wrote a widely shared social media post she called "a love letter to Black people." Patrisse Cullors shared it with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and Opal Tometi helped build it into an organizational infrastructure. Founded as a decentralized network rather than a hierarchical organization, Black Lives Matter became the largest civil rights organization of the twenty-first century, mobilizing millions following the killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and George Floyd.