An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter
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0:02 - 0:06Mia Birdsong: Why is Black Lives Matter
important for the US right now -
0:06 - 0:08and in the world?
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0:09 - 0:12Patrisse Cullors: Black Lives Matter
is our call to action. -
0:12 - 0:17It is a tool to reimagine a world
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0:17 - 0:20where black people are free to exist,
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0:20 - 0:22free to live.
-
0:22 - 0:26It is a tool for our allies
to show up differently for us. -
0:26 - 0:29I grew up in a neighborhood
that was heavily policed. -
0:30 - 0:34I witnessed my brothers and my siblings
-
0:34 - 0:38continuously stopped and frisked
by law enforcement. -
0:38 - 0:40I remember my home being raided.
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0:41 - 0:44And one of my questions
as a child was, why? -
0:44 - 0:46Why us?
-
0:46 - 0:51Black Lives Matter
offers answers to the why. -
0:52 - 0:57It offers a new vision
for young black girls around the world -
0:57 - 1:00that we deserve to be fought for,
-
1:00 - 1:06that we deserve to call
on local governments to show up for us. -
1:07 - 1:09Opal Tometi: And antiblack racism --
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1:09 - 1:12(Applause)
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1:12 - 1:16And antiblack racism is not only
happening in the United States. -
1:16 - 1:19It's actually happening
all across the globe. -
1:19 - 1:23And what we need now more than ever
is a human rights movement -
1:23 - 1:28that challenges systemic racism
in every single context. -
1:28 - 1:31(Applause)
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1:32 - 1:36We need this because the global reality
-
1:36 - 1:41is that black people
are subject to all sorts of disparities -
1:41 - 1:45in most of our most challenging
issues of our day. -
1:45 - 1:48I think about issues like climate change,
-
1:48 - 1:53and how six of the 10 worst impacted
nations by climate change -
1:53 - 1:56are actually on the continent of Africa.
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1:57 - 2:02People are reeling
from all sorts of unnatural disasters, -
2:02 - 2:05displacing them
from their ancestral homes -
2:05 - 2:08and leaving them without a chance
at making a decent living. -
2:09 - 2:13We also see disasters
like Hurricane Matthew, -
2:13 - 2:16which recently wreaked havoc
in many different nations, -
2:16 - 2:19but caused the most damage to Haiti.
-
2:20 - 2:24Haiti is the poorest country
in this hemisphere, -
2:24 - 2:27and its inhabitants are black people.
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2:28 - 2:30And what we're seeing in Haiti
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2:30 - 2:33is that they were actually facing
a number of challenges -
2:33 - 2:36that even preceded this hurricane.
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2:36 - 2:38They were reeling from the earthquake,
-
2:38 - 2:42they were reeling from cholera
that was brought in by UN peacekeepers -
2:42 - 2:44and still hasn't been eradicated.
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2:45 - 2:47This is unconscionable.
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2:47 - 2:53And this would not happen if this nation
didn't have a population that was black, -
2:53 - 2:55and we have to be real about that.
-
2:55 - 2:57But what's most heartening right now
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2:57 - 2:59is that despite these challenges,
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2:59 - 3:02what we're seeing is
that there's a network of Africans -
3:02 - 3:04all across the continent
-
3:04 - 3:08who are rising up and fighting back
and demanding climate justice. -
3:08 - 3:10(Applause)
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3:12 - 3:13MB: So Alicia,
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3:13 - 3:16you've said that when
black people are free, -
3:16 - 3:18everyone is free.
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3:18 - 3:20Can you talk about what that means?
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3:20 - 3:21Alicia Garza: Sure.
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3:21 - 3:25So I think race and racism
is probably the most studied -
3:25 - 3:29social, economic and political
phenomenon in this country, -
3:29 - 3:32but it's also the least understood.
-
3:32 - 3:35The reality is that race
in the United States -
3:35 - 3:38operates on a spectrum
from black to white. -
3:38 - 3:42Doesn't mean that people who are
in between don't experience racism, -
3:42 - 3:46but it means that the closer
you are to white on that spectrum, -
3:46 - 3:47the better off you are.
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3:47 - 3:50And the closer to black
that you are on that spectrum -
3:50 - 3:52the worse off your are.
-
3:52 - 3:56When we think about
how we address problems in this country, -
3:56 - 4:00we often start from a place
of trickle-down justice. -
4:00 - 4:02So using white folks
as the control we say, -
4:02 - 4:05well, if we make things
better for white folks -
4:05 - 4:07then everybody else is going to get free.
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4:07 - 4:09But actually it doesn't work that way.
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4:09 - 4:12We have to address problems at the root,
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4:12 - 4:16and when you deal with what's
happening in black communities, -
4:16 - 4:18it creates an effervescence, right?
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4:19 - 4:21So a bubble up rather than a trickle down.
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4:21 - 4:23Let me give an example.
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4:23 - 4:25When we talk about the wage gap,
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4:25 - 4:30we often say women make 78 cents
to every dollar that a man makes. -
4:30 - 4:32You all have heard that before.
-
4:32 - 4:35But those are the statistics
for white women and white men. -
4:35 - 4:39The reality is that black women
make something like 64 cents -
4:39 - 4:42to every 78 cents that white women make.
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4:43 - 4:47When we talk about latinas,
it goes down to about 58 cents. -
4:47 - 4:49If we were to talk about indigenous women,
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4:49 - 4:51if we were to talk about trans women,
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4:51 - 4:53it would even go further down.
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4:53 - 4:54So again,
-
4:54 - 4:57if you deal with those
who are the most impacted, -
4:57 - 5:00everybody has an opportunity
to benefit from that, -
5:00 - 5:04rather than dealing with the folks
who are not as impacted, -
5:04 - 5:06and expecting it to trickle down.
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5:06 - 5:08MB: So I love the effervescence,
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5:08 - 5:09bubbling up.
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5:09 - 5:11AG: Effervescence -- like champagne.
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5:11 - 5:12(Laughter)
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5:12 - 5:14MB: Who doesn't love
a glass of champagne, right? -
5:14 - 5:16Champagne and freedom, right?
-
5:16 - 5:17(Laughter)
-
5:17 - 5:19What more could we want, y'all?
-
5:19 - 5:22So you all have been
doing this for a minute, -
5:22 - 5:26and the last few years have been --
-
5:26 - 5:27well, I can't even imagine,
-
5:27 - 5:29but I'm sure very transformative.
-
5:29 - 5:33And I know that you all
have learned a lot about leadership. -
5:33 - 5:36What do you want
to share with these people -
5:36 - 5:38about what you've learned
about leadership? -
5:38 - 5:39Patrisse, let's start with you.
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5:39 - 5:42PC: Yeah, we have to invest
in black leadership. -
5:42 - 5:44That's what I've learned the most
in the last few years. -
5:44 - 5:47(Applause)
-
5:47 - 5:53What we've seen is thousands
of black people showing up for our lives -
5:53 - 5:56with very little infrastructure
and very little support. -
5:57 - 6:03I think our work as movement leaders
isn't just about our own visibility -
6:03 - 6:07but rather how do we
make the whole visible. -
6:07 - 6:10How do we not just fight
for our individual selves -
6:10 - 6:12but fight for everybody?
-
6:12 - 6:16And I also think
-
6:16 - 6:20leadership looks like
everybody in this audience -
6:21 - 6:24showing up for black lives.
-
6:24 - 6:28It's not just about coming
and watching people on a stage, right? -
6:28 - 6:30It's about how do you
become that leader -- -
6:30 - 6:34whether it's in your workplace,
whether it's in your home -- -
6:34 - 6:38and believe that the movement
for black lives isn't just for us, -
6:38 - 6:40but it's for everybody.
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6:41 - 6:45(Applause)
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6:45 - 6:47MB: What about you, Opal?
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6:47 - 6:50OT: So I've been learning
a great deal about interdependence. -
6:50 - 6:54I've been learning
about how to trust your team. -
6:54 - 6:56I've come up with this new mantra
-
6:56 - 6:59after coming back
from a three-month sabbatical, -
6:59 - 7:02which is rare for black women to take
who are in leadership, -
7:02 - 7:07but I felt it was really important
for my leadership and for my team -
7:07 - 7:09to also practice stepping back
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7:10 - 7:12as well as also sometimes stepping in.
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7:12 - 7:17And what I learned in this process
was that we need to acknowledge -
7:17 - 7:21that different people
contribute different strengths, -
7:21 - 7:25and that in order
for our entire team to flourish, -
7:25 - 7:29we have to allow them
to share and allow them to shine. -
7:29 - 7:30And so during my sabbatical
-
7:30 - 7:33with the organization
that I also work with, -
7:33 - 7:36I saw our team rise up in my absence.
-
7:36 - 7:39They were able to launch new programs,
-
7:39 - 7:40fundraise.
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7:40 - 7:42And when I came back,
-
7:42 - 7:46I had to give them
a lot of gratitude and praise -
7:46 - 7:50because they showed me
that they truly had my back -
7:50 - 7:53and that they truly had their own backs.
-
7:53 - 7:55You know, in this process
of my sabbatical, -
7:55 - 7:57I was really reminded
-
7:57 - 8:02of this Southern African
philosophy of Ubuntu. -
8:02 - 8:04I am because you are;
-
8:05 - 8:06you are because I am.
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8:07 - 8:11And I realized that my own leadership,
-
8:11 - 8:13and the contributions
that I'm able to make, -
8:13 - 8:17is in large part due to the contributions
that they make, right? -
8:17 - 8:20And I have to acknowledge that,
and I have to see that, -
8:20 - 8:23and so my new mantra is,
"Keep calm and trust the team." -
8:24 - 8:26And also,
-
8:26 - 8:28"Keep calm and thank the team."
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8:28 - 8:31MB: You know, one of the things
I feel like I've heard -
8:31 - 8:34in the context of the Black Lives Matter
movement more than anywhere else -
8:34 - 8:37is about being a leaderful movement,
-
8:37 - 8:38and that's such a beautiful concept,
-
8:38 - 8:40and I think that something
-
8:40 - 8:43that women often bring
to the conversation about leadership -
8:43 - 8:44is really the collective piece.
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8:44 - 8:45What about you, Alicia?
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8:46 - 8:48AG: Yeah ...
-
8:48 - 8:51How many of you heard that saying
that leadership is lonely? -
8:53 - 8:56I think that there is an element
where leadership is lonely, -
8:56 - 9:00but I also believe
that it doesn't have to be like that. -
9:00 - 9:02And in order for us to get to that point,
-
9:02 - 9:05I think there's a few things
that we need to be doing. -
9:05 - 9:09So one is we have to stop
treating leaders like superheroes. -
9:09 - 9:15We are ordinary people
attempting to do extraordinary things, -
9:15 - 9:17and so we need to be
supported in that way. -
9:18 - 9:20The other thing that
I've learned about leadership -
9:20 - 9:27is that there's a difference
between leadership and celebrities, right? -
9:27 - 9:32And there's a way in which we've been
kind of transformed into celebrities -
9:32 - 9:35rather than people
who are trying to solve a problem. -
9:36 - 9:39And the way that we treat
celebrities is very fickle, right? -
9:39 - 9:40We like them one day,
-
9:40 - 9:42we don't like what they're
wearing the next day, -
9:42 - 9:45and all of a sudden we have issues, right?
-
9:45 - 9:47So we need to stop deifying leaders
-
9:47 - 9:50so that more people
will step into leadership. -
9:50 - 9:52Lots of people are terrified
to step into leadership -
9:52 - 9:55because of how much scrutiny they receive
-
9:55 - 9:58and how brutal we are with leaders.
-
9:58 - 10:01And then the last thing
that I've learned about leadership -
10:01 - 10:04is that it's really easy to be a leader
when everybody likes you. -
10:05 - 10:09But it's hard to be a leader
when you have to make hard choices -
10:10 - 10:12and when you have to do what's right,
-
10:12 - 10:15even though people
are not going to like you for it. -
10:15 - 10:16And so in that way,
-
10:16 - 10:18I think another way
that we can support leaders -
10:18 - 10:21is to struggle with us,
-
10:21 - 10:23but struggle with us politically,
-
10:23 - 10:24not personally.
-
10:25 - 10:28We can have disagreements
without being disagreeable, -
10:28 - 10:32but it's important for us
to sharpen each other, -
10:32 - 10:33so that we all can rise.
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10:33 - 10:35MB: That's beautiful, thank you.
-
10:35 - 10:37(Applause)
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10:40 - 10:43So you all are doing work
-
10:43 - 10:47that forces you to face
some brutal, painful realities -
10:47 - 10:49on a daily basis.
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10:50 - 10:52What gives you hope
-
10:52 - 10:54and inspires you in that context?
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10:55 - 10:58PC: I am hopeful for black futures.
-
10:58 - 11:03And I say that because
we live in a society -
11:03 - 11:05that's so obsessed with black death.
-
11:05 - 11:10We have images of our death
on the TV screen, -
11:10 - 11:12on our Twitter timelines,
-
11:12 - 11:14on our Facebook timelines,
-
11:14 - 11:18but what if instead
we imagine black life? -
11:18 - 11:22We imagine black people
living and thriving. -
11:22 - 11:23And that --
-
11:23 - 11:24that inspires me.
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11:27 - 11:31OT: What inspires me
these days are immigrants. -
11:32 - 11:36Immigrants all over the world
who are doing the best that they can -
11:36 - 11:41to make a living,
to survive and also to thrive. -
11:41 - 11:44Right now there are
over 244 million people -
11:44 - 11:46who aren't living
in their country of origin. -
11:47 - 11:51This is a 40 percent increase
since the year 2000. -
11:51 - 11:53So what this tells me
-
11:53 - 11:58is that the disparities across the globe
are only getting worse. -
11:58 - 12:04Yet there are people who are finding
the strength and wherewithal to travel, -
12:04 - 12:05to move,
-
12:05 - 12:07to eke out a better living for themselves
-
12:07 - 12:10and to provide for their families
and their loved ones. -
12:10 - 12:13And some of these people
who are immigrants -
12:13 - 12:15are also undocumented.
-
12:15 - 12:17They're unauthorized.
-
12:17 - 12:19And they inspire me even more
-
12:19 - 12:23because although our society
is telling them, you're not wanted, -
12:23 - 12:24you're not needed here,
-
12:24 - 12:28and they're highly vulnerable
and subject to abuse, to wage theft, -
12:28 - 12:32to exploitation and xenophobic attacks,
-
12:32 - 12:36many of them are also beginning
to organize in their communities. -
12:36 - 12:40And what I'm seeing is
that there's also an emerging network -
12:40 - 12:44of black, undocumented people
who are resisting the framework, -
12:44 - 12:47and resisting the criminalization
of their existence. -
12:47 - 12:50And that to me is incredibly powerful
-
12:50 - 12:52and inspires me every singe day.
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12:52 - 12:54MB: Thank you.
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12:55 - 12:56Alicia?
-
12:57 - 13:01AG: So we know that young people
are the present and the future, -
13:01 - 13:05but what inspires me are older people
-
13:05 - 13:09who are becoming transformed
in the service of this movement. -
13:09 - 13:11We all know that as you get older,
-
13:11 - 13:13you get a little more
entrenched in your ways. -
13:13 - 13:16It's happening to me, I know that's right.
-
13:16 - 13:21But I'm so inspired when I see people
who have a way that they do things, -
13:21 - 13:23have a way that they
think about the world, -
13:23 - 13:28and they're courageous enough to be open
to listening to what the experiences are -
13:28 - 13:32of so many of us who want
to live in world that's just -
13:32 - 13:34and want to live
in a world that's equitable. -
13:34 - 13:39And I'm also inspired by the actions
that I'm seeing older people taking -
13:39 - 13:41in service of this movement.
-
13:41 - 13:45I'm inspired by seeing older people
step into their own power and leadership -
13:45 - 13:48and say, "I'm not passing a torch,
-
13:48 - 13:50I'm helping you light the fire."
-
13:51 - 13:52(Applause)
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13:52 - 13:54MB: I love that --
-
13:54 - 13:55yes.
-
13:55 - 13:57So in terms of action,
-
13:57 - 14:02I think that it is awesome to sit here
and be able to listen to you all, -
14:02 - 14:06and to have our minds open and shift,
-
14:06 - 14:09but that's not going to get
black people free. -
14:09 - 14:13So if you had one thing
you would like this audience -
14:13 - 14:16and the folks who are watching
around the world to actually do, -
14:16 - 14:17what would that be?
-
14:20 - 14:23AG: OK, two quick ones.
-
14:23 - 14:25One, call the White House.
-
14:25 - 14:29The water protectors
are being forcibly removed -
14:29 - 14:35from the camp that they have set up
to defend what keeps us alive. -
14:35 - 14:38And that is intricately
related to black lives. -
14:38 - 14:42So definitely call the White House
and demand that they stop doing that. -
14:42 - 14:43There are tanks
-
14:43 - 14:47and police officers arresting
every single person there as we speak. -
14:48 - 14:51(Applause)
-
14:51 - 14:55The second thing that you can do
-
14:55 - 14:58is to join something.
-
14:58 - 15:00Be a part of something.
-
15:00 - 15:02There are groups, collectives --
-
15:02 - 15:05doesn't have to be a non-profit,
you know what I mean? -
15:05 - 15:08But there are groups that are doing
work in our communities right now -
15:08 - 15:12to make sure that black lives matter
so all lives matter. -
15:12 - 15:14Get involved;
-
15:14 - 15:17don't sit on your couch and tell people
what you think they should be doing. -
15:17 - 15:19Go do it with us.
-
15:20 - 15:22MB: Do you guys want to add anything?
-
15:22 - 15:24That's good? All right. So --
-
15:24 - 15:26And I think that the joining something,
-
15:26 - 15:30like if you feel like there's
not something where you are, start it. -
15:30 - 15:31AG: Start it.
-
15:31 - 15:33MB: These conversations that we're having,
-
15:33 - 15:35have those conversations
with somebody else. -
15:35 - 15:38And then instead of just
letting it be a talk that you had, -
15:38 - 15:40actually decide to start something.
-
15:40 - 15:41OT: That's right.
-
15:41 - 15:43MB: I mean, that's what you all did.
-
15:43 - 15:45You started something,
and look what's happened. -
15:45 - 15:48Thank you all so much
for being here with us today. -
15:48 - 15:49OT: Thank you.
-
15:49 - 15:52(Applause)
- Title:
- An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter
- Speaker:
- Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi
- Description:
-
Born out of a social media post, the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked discussion about race and inequality across the world. In this spirited conversation with Mia Birdsong, the movement's three founders share what they've learned about leadership and what provides them with hope and inspiration in the face of painful realities. Their advice on how to participate in ensuring freedom for everybody: join something, start something and "sharpen each other, so that we all can rise."
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 16:05
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter |