STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Alton Sterling: Watch This Mother Preach That Our People Are Not Just Hashtags

Are you mad yet?

With the tragic death of Alton Sterling, the Black Lives Matter movement has yet one more name to hashtag. But one mother has had enough.

A mother of three took to her phone to record a video while sitting in her car to let the world know how she feels about having to add one more name to the list of young Black men and women who have been killed at the hands of police officers.

"So the Black Lives Matter movement has earned yet another hashtag," she begins, with her three children sitting in the back of her car. "He's not a hashtag, she's not a hashtag, he's not a hashtag...They're not hashtags, and how often do we continue to let someone else's child be a hashtag. Ya'll mad yet?"

"You killed a father. A father! You know the ones that you keep saying don't exist in our community." 

Clearly this woman is upset, and for good reason. It's not clear whether or not she is explicitly angry at the Black Lives Matter movement, but it is clear that she has had enough with the police killings in the Black community.

While social media activism is an important part of directing the national dialogue, this woman clearly has a point. You can't expect everything to change if we are only able to stand up behind the screens of our cell phones and computers.

She believes we have to express our anger with our own voices for any big changes to be made. And she may be right.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.