--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Black Lives Matter, was founded by three…" description: "\"“Black Lives Matter, was founded by three women;”\" — Mary Beard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/mary-beard-3016_black-lives_black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three_1659610.png" --- # Black Lives Matter, was founded by three women; ![“Black Lives Matter, was founded by three women;” quote by Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/mary-beard-3016_black-lives_black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three_1659610.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/mary-beard-3016_black-lives_black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three_1659610.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/mary-beard-3016_black-lives_black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three_1659610.png) > ““Black Lives Matter, was founded by three women;”” [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The origin story of a movement can be oversimplified, ignoring broader contributions. **In simple terms:** Origins are often more complex. Key Takeaway Seek fuller historical context. Themes history activism misinformation Mood critical analytical Type educational historical When to use this quote - education - media reporting - activist organizing Key Concepts founding narratives gender studies Questions to Reflect On - What other voices are missing from this story? - How does simplifying history affect current activism? A Different Perspective Simplifying origins can erase key contributors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-lives/) [Black lives matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-lives-matter/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [Black Lives Matter started from a post that I put on Facebook after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. I woke up in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-garza/black-lives-matter-started-from-a-post-that-i-put-on-facebook-after/) [Alicia Garza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-garza/) > [Black Lives Matter has become what black communities all over the world have needed it to become. At times, it is a hashtag; at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/black-lives-matter-has-become-what-black-communities-all-over-the/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [Former New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, talk show Rush Limbaugh claim - " don't you love that, they "claim."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/former-new-york-mayor-rudy-giuliani-former-alaska-governor-sarah/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Of course Black Lives Matter and the killing of young black boys is heartbreaking to all of us. Everyone knows I am a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rozonda-thomas/of-course-black-lives-matter-and-the-killing-of-young-black-boys-is/) [Rozonda Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rozonda-thomas/) > [Yet civil rights issues are very much on the front burner in South Carolina between the Black Lives Matter movement and police shootings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shapiro/yet-civil-rights-issues-are-very-much-on-the-front-burner-in-south/) [Ari Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shapiro/) > [When I'm talking to people, I find myself quoting the three organizing rules of Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter was initiated by three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/when-i-m-talking-to-people-i-find-myself-quoting-the-three-organizing/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Everybody's life matters. But that's why we have to say black lives matter, because the highest disproportionality, police brutality, disenfranchisement, education disproportionality in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-dolezal/everybody-s-life-matters-but-that-s-why-we-have-to-say-black-lives/) [Rachel Dolezal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-dolezal/) > [With Black Lives Matter, we knew from the very beginning that it wasn't just going to live online. We were like, 'We're creating this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/with-black-lives-matter-we-knew-from-the-very-beginning-that-it-wasn/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [Black immigrants and refugees have just as much at stake in the fight to make Black Lives Matter as African Americans do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/black-immigrants-and-refugees-have-just-as-much-at-stake-in-the-fight/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Black lives matter' doesn't mean that all lives do not matter, rather it is a cry for equal treatment in the greater circle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/black-lives-matter-doesn-t-mean-that-all-lives-do-not-matter-rather/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [Myself and the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, but in truth, we are loving women whose life experiences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/myself-and-the-co-founders-of-the-black-lives-matter-movement-have/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [What Black Lives Matter is doing is a deliberate inversion of the proper processes of historical analysis. It is beginning with a conclusion. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/what-black-lives-matter-is-doing-is-a-deliberate-inversion-of-the/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [“I believe Black Lives Matter is a movement to rehumanize black citizens. All lives matter, but not all lives need to be pulled back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-believe-black-lives-matter-is-a-movement-to-rehumanize-black/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [At the end of the day, Black Lives Matter and we all know this and I get when people say all lives matter, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhea-ripley/at-the-end-of-the-day-black-lives-matter-and-we-all-know-this-and-i/) [Rhea Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhea-ripley/) > [What the Black lives matter movement is doing is they are making it personal. They are making it hash tagged, exposing the racial injustice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/what-the-black-lives-matter-movement-is-doing-is-they-are-making-it/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) ## More by Mary Beard > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [We have never escaped a certain male cultural desire for women's silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-never-escaped-a-certain-male-cultural-desire-for-women-s/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“defend women’s right to be wrong, at least occasionally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/defend-women-s-right-to-be-wrong-at-least-occasionally/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [You don't overturn x-thousand years of patriarchy in a generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/you-don-t-overturn-x-thousand-years-of-patriarchy-in-a-generation/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“we have no template for what a powerful woman looks like, except that she looks rather like a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-no-template-for-what-a-powerful-woman-looks-like-except-that/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“(In the Afghan parliament, apparently, they disconnect the mics when they don’t want to hear the women speak).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/in-the-afghan-parliament-apparently-they-disconnect-the-mics-when/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I've chosen to be this way because that's how I feel comfortable with myself. That's how I am. It's about joining up the dots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-ve-chosen-to-be-this-way-because-that-s-how-i-feel-comfortable-with/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [People who exploit others come to spend an enormous amount of energy wondering about and justifying that exploitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/people-who-exploit-others-come-to-spend-an-enormous-amount-of-energy/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [Wherever possible, I try to see things from the other side of the dividing line and to read civilisation 'against the grain.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/wherever-possible-i-try-to-see-things-from-the-other-side-of-the/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I remember plastering the kitchen with Black Power pictures of Angela Davis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-remember-plastering-the-kitchen-with-black-power-pictures-of-angela/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“thinking about power as an attribute or even a verb (‘to power’), not as a possession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/thinking-about-power-as-an-attribute-or-even-a-verb-to-power-not-as-a/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [If women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/if-women-are-not-perceived-to-be-fully-within-the-structures-of-power/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [When it comes to silencing women, Western culture has had thousands of years of practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/when-it-comes-to-silencing-women-western-culture-has-had-thousands-of/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I think that what will help women get into positions of power - well, day nurseries, equal pay, family-friendly working hours. And I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-think-that-what-will-help-women-get-into-positions-of-power-well/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“One of its (civilisations) most powerful weapons has always been 'barbarity': 'we' know that 'we' are civilised by contrasting ourselves with those we deem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/one-of-its-civilisations-most-powerful-weapons-has-always-been/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) [Explore all 137 Mary Beard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) ## More Black lives quotes > [Black Lives Matter started from a post that I put on Facebook after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. I woke up in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-garza/black-lives-matter-started-from-a-post-that-i-put-on-facebook-after/) [Alicia Garza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-garza/) > [You take a look at the history of African Americans in the US. There's been about thirty years of relative freedom. There was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/you-take-a-look-at-the-history-of-african-americans-in-the-us-there-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The national conversation around white entitlement, around institutionalized racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, I think, came about in large part because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/the-national-conversation-around-white-entitlement-around/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) > [I don't agree with the Black Lives Matter organizers. They are stated as anti-capitalists. And it's much more than just the police to them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/i-don-t-agree-with-the-black-lives-matter-organizers-they-are-stated/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [“You who came of age in the past decade have had eight years of a Black U.S. president, and that gloss looked good, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohja-kahf/you-who-came-of-age-in-the-past-decade-have-had-eight-years-of-a/) [Mohja Kahf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohja-kahf/) > [If a brand will shy away from you because you dare to say that black lives matter, that's probably not a brand you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luvvie-ajayi/if-a-brand-will-shy-away-from-you-because-you-dare-to-say-that-black/) [Luvvie Ajayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luvvie-ajayi/) > [At the end of the day, Black Lives Matter and we all know this and I get when people say all lives matter, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhea-ripley/at-the-end-of-the-day-black-lives-matter-and-we-all-know-this-and-i/) [Rhea Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhea-ripley/) > [There's no idea in the world that is not contained by black life. I could write forever about the black experience in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-s-no-idea-in-the-world-that-is-not-contained-by-black-life-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“I believe Black Lives Matter is a movement to rehumanize black citizens. All lives matter, but not all lives need to be pulled back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/i-believe-black-lives-matter-is-a-movement-to-rehumanize-black/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I don't know who Joe Biden is talking to, but I don't know one Black person in America who sees the Proud Boys tearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/i-don-t-know-who-joe-biden-is-talking-to-but-i-don-t-know-one-black/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [What Black Lives Matter is doing is a deliberate inversion of the proper processes of historical analysis. It is beginning with a conclusion. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/what-black-lives-matter-is-doing-is-a-deliberate-inversion-of-the/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [Myself and the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, but in truth, we are loving women whose life experiences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/myself-and-the-co-founders-of-the-black-lives-matter-movement-have/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [Black lives matter' doesn't mean that all lives do not matter, rather it is a cry for equal treatment in the greater circle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/black-lives-matter-doesn-t-mean-that-all-lives-do-not-matter-rather/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [Black immigrants and refugees have just as much at stake in the fight to make Black Lives Matter as African Americans do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/black-immigrants-and-refugees-have-just-as-much-at-stake-in-the-fight/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [With Black Lives Matter, we knew from the very beginning that it wasn't just going to live online. We were like, 'We're creating this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/with-black-lives-matter-we-knew-from-the-very-beginning-that-it-wasn/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) [Browse all 168 Black lives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-lives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Black Lives Matter, was founded by three women;”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Beard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three-women/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black lives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three-women/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/mary-beard-3016_black-lives_black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three_1659610.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/mary-beard-3016_black-lives_black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three_1659610.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/mary-beard-3016_black-lives_black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three_1659610.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Black Lives Matter, was founded by three women;” — Mary Beard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary Beard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Black Lives Matter, was founded by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three-women/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/black-lives-matter-was-founded-by-three-women/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```