#BLM

Before and during Jim Crow period this was how America dealt with its black folks. They were hung from the newest tree.

However, after Jim Crow and civil rights fights, they changed the method of execution.

They have changed the noose to the gun of the police. They now routinely shoot to kill black men at any perceived infringement of the law including traffic offences and unjustified fear of their own lives.

Hence BLACK LIVES MATTERS #BLM. This is the context in which the hashtag was created. Institutional racism is the public manifestation of the lack of value accorded to black lives in the US.