Over the last few years (and rising over the last few weeks), the phrase Black Lives Matter has come under assault. People opposed argue that All Lives Matter. But Black Lives Matter is actually quite similar to Breast Cancer Awareness and a host of other similar rallying cries.

We have all sorts of programs that are designed to raise awareness for various causes and concerns. Just because we celebrate and raise awareness for Breast Cancer, its survivors, its lost souls, and its search for a cure, doesn’t mean that we don’t care about other cancers and the people affected by them. Whether it is Epilepsy Awareness, Alzheimer’s Awareness, National Pet Month, Mental Health Awareness, Save the Seals, and on and on, these initiatives bring awareness to issues that people feel strongly about and are organized in a way that helps centralize their message so it can be heard.

Black Lives Matter raises awareness for our friends, families and fellow citizens who have suffered injustice. It allows three words to tell a story, which some will misinterpret while others hijack. But in the end, this simple phrase has made people uncomfortable, caused others to think, and raised the veil on a society still reeling from more than 300 years of evolving oppression for our African American citizens and community.

Black Lives Matter is a rallying cry that has awoken our soul. Now, do we rise up together to fight the disease, just like those battling breast cancer and so many other illnesses have done? Or do we choose to ignore it, in the hope that it will just disappear. History is watching…