Black Lives Matter nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

The Black Lives Matter movement has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by Petter Eide, a Norwegian member of Parliament, who represents the Socialist Left Party.

"I find that one of the key challenges we have seen in America, but also in Europe and Asia, is the kind of increasing conflict based on inequality," Eide said, as reported by The Guardian. "Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice. They have had a tremendous achievement in raising global awareness and consciousness about racial injustice."

"They have been able to mobilize people from all groups of society, not just African-Americans, not just oppressed people, it has been a broad movement, in a way which has been different from their predecessors," Eide stated.

The Black Lives Matter movement spread to more than 2,000 cities in over 60 countries, according to the New York Times.

By June 22, 2020, less than a month after the police-involved death of George Floyd, the Washington Post estimates that police made 14,000 arrests in 49 cities during protests, which began on May 26.

Nine people were killed while participating in BLM protests in 2020, according to The Guardian.

Following the summer of riots and American cities being burned, support for protests against police brutality dropped, according to a poll taken in September.

The protests and riots that raged for months following the George Floyd death reportedly caused unprecedented damage. An Axios report stated that last summer's riots were the "most expensive in insurance history."

"The protests that took place in 140 U.S. cities this spring were mostly peaceful, but the arson, vandalism and looting that did occur will result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims — eclipsing the record set in Los Angeles in 1992 after the acquittal of the police officers who brutalized Rodney King," the report claimed.

The Black Lives Matter organization was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The Black Lives Matter organization was created by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors.

In 2015, Cullors admitted that she and Garza are "trained Marxists."

"Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers. We are trained Marxists," Cullors said during an interview. "We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories."

The Black Lives Matter organization now has a global network of more than 40 chapters.

Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel, who the award is named after, explained the qualifications for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in his will:

"The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- - -/ one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

All of my remaining realizable assets are to be disbursed as follows: the capital, converted to safe securities by my executors, is to constitute a fund, the interest on which is to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The interest is to be divided into five equal parts and distributed as follows: one part to the person who made the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; one part to the person who made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who, in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction; and one part to the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses."

This year, the deadline to submit a nomination is Feb. 1. In March, the committee narrows down the field to a shortlist. The winner is chosen in October, and the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 10, 2021.