Since first appearing as a hashtag in 2013, the rallying cry 'Black Lives Matter' has grown through grassroots networks across America into a powerful political movement that now has more than 40 chapters worldwide. Protesting police brutality, mass incarceration and racial disparities in all areas of American life, Black Lives Matter has spanned two very different presidencies, transforming political debate and making visionary demands for justice.
The founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, in Australia to accept the 2017 Sydney Peace Prize, joined the ABC's Stan Grant for an intimate conversation about the birth of the protest movement, the future of black lives under President Trump, and what lessons Australians can learn from the American experience.
Patrisse Cullors
Founder, Black Lives Matter Global Network
Artist, organiser, freedom fighter, Fulbright scholar, public speaker, and NAACP History Maker from Los Angeles, CA. Patrisse has always been traveling on the path to freedom. Growing up with several of her loved ones experiencing incarceration and brutality at the hands of the state and coming out as queer at an early age, she has worked tirelessly for law enforcement accountability across the world, focusing on addressing trauma and building the resilience of the communities most affected.
Rodney Diverlus
Founder, Black Lives Matter Toronto
Rodney Diverlus is a queer, Black, Haitian, community organiser, facilitator, professional dancer, choreographer, and storyteller. He is a cofounder of Black Lives Matter-Toronto, a local chapter of the #blacklivesmatter movement. He has served as the Queer & Trans Commissioner for the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, where he co-developed the Provincial Anti-Homophobia Transphobia Campaign and Action Guide.
Stan Grant
Journalist, ABC
Stan Grant is one of Australia's best known and leading journalists in Australia. He is currently ABC's editor of Indigenous Affairs coverage. Stan is also an ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
