What was The Lives Lost project
During the Black Lives Matter protest movement of 2020 I started a project called “The Lives Lost” which consisted of a website and database which documented instances of police brutality. Additionally I created a twitter account which posted weekly about occurrences of police brutality from the database.
About once a week, I would spend a few hours searching the internet for documented cases of police brutality to add to the database. 2 years after the project began I decided to take it down because it was clear that it contributed nothing to the larger movement.
Was the project useful? Could it have been?
No, the project had no impact. It had the potential to be useful if part a larger strategy to utilize the data to maintain attention on the issue, spur further action from Americans, and push forward change in collaboration with others.
Was the project harmful?
I think so, in two ways:
1. It was harmful to push out constant reminders of violent racist systemic oppression in front of those affected people, who are already abundantly aware of their vulnerability in American society.
2. Instead of spending time productively contributing to anti-racist movements (such as the BLM movement), I spent time on this ineffective project which served as a performance of activism to alleviate the guilt I felt for my inaction.
How I'm Trying To Do Better Now
Over the last 6 years I’ve spent considerable time learning (reading, listening, writing, discussing) more about the systems of racial oppression and anti-blackness in the United States and how they’ve evolved during this country's history. I’ve studied the various social movements and thought leaders which have combatted these systems. I understand that this learning is never complete and must continue throughout the course of my life.
I am also now involved in groups which organize to fight for a better future in America without social, political, and economic systemic racism. The work is guided by the perspective of those who are directly harmed by the racist systems and those who have spent considerable time fighting it.