by Byron Wratee | National Catholic Reporter

Photo by Kindred Hues Photography

Nine years ago, in her “Love Letter to Black Folks,” Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza discerned the signs of the time. She used social media to prophetically highlight Black Americans’ griefs and anxieties after George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin. She wrote on Facebook, “We don’t deserve to be killed with impunity. We need to love ourselves and fight for a world where Black lives matter. Black people, I love you. We matter. Our lives matter.”

Millions of Americans responded to her message because it expressed genuine love for Black persons, not a social theory about anti-Black oppression.