Black Lives Matter. Still. Always.

When the Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013 (12 years ago yesterday), I was in a very different place — both literally and figuratively. As a young soldier preparing to deploy overseas with a military police unit based out of Long Island, I found myself confronting a complicated truth: I was serving in a system that didn’t always serve us back. I often spoke up — and not always comfortably. I clashed with fellow soldiers, not out of disrespect, but from a deep belief that has never wavered: Black lives matter, and our systems do not protect them equally.

In 2015, while studying at Onondaga Community College, I formally stepped into organizing. The killing of Walter Scott — a Black man fatally shot in the back while fleeing a police officer — left no room for ambiguity. It was a clear act of murder, followed by a deliberate effort to cover it up. Without a bystander’s video, the truth might never have come to light. While the deaths of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Sean Bell, and so many others had already shaped my awareness, the timing of Walter Scott’s death and my own personal growth made one thing painfully obvious: there is a system in place that endangers people who look like me, and it must be changed.

Later that year, we organized a Black Lives Matter meeting on campus where students were given space to speak openly about their experiences — including injustices within our own athletic department. It was empowering to witness our voices taken seriously, and even more powerful to see our concerns addressed by the administration. That experience showed me the transformative power of organizing and affirmed my commitment to seeking justice.

That commitment carried into 2020, when I managed a political campaign in Ithaca, NY at the height of the pandemic and national protests. In that role, I used the platform of our campaign to elevate the voices of those speaking out after the killing of George Floyd. We worked to ensure that our message and our policies reflected the urgency and clarity that the moment demanded. It was another reminder that electoral politics can be a vehicle for change — if we are intentional in how we use it.

Thirteen years after the movement began, the message has been misunderstood, misrepresented and intentionally distorted. “Black Lives Matter” was never a claim that only Black lives matter — it has always been a declaration of our humanity in the face of systemic violence and neglect. The recent killing of Robert Brooks in a nearby New York State prison makes clear how much more work remains.

Today, I fight in a different uniform. I’ve gone from soldier to campaign staffer to elected official. My role has changed, but the mission has not. The movement endures. And so does the reason we say these words, loudly, unapologetically, and together.

Black Lives Matter. Still. Always.

In solidarity,

Maurice Brown
Maurice is an Onondaga County Legislator and active collaborator with SCW