Zimbabwean Lives Matter is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

protest movement A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

modeled after the American

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

campaign. The protest movement is directed towards the Zimbabwean government of incumbent

Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, American English, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Muga ...

who took over through a 2017 bloodless coup from

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

Celebrities who have endorsed the cause

Celebrities who have expressed support for the protest include former Botswana President

Ian Khama Seretse Khama Ian Khama (born 27 February 1953) is a Botswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence ...

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the ind ...

and actresses

Thandiwe Newton Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. Newton has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for ...

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

and

Pearl Thusi Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi (born 13 May 1988) is a South African actress, model, and presenter. She is known for her roles as Patricia Kopong in the BBC/ HBO comedy-drama series ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'', Dayana Mampasi in the A ...

Tsitsi Dangarembga Tsitsi Dangarembga (born 4 February 1959) is a Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker. Her debut novel, ''Nervous Conditions'' (1988), which was the first to be published in English by a Black woman from Zimbabwe, was named by the BBC in ...

, retired South African Rugby player of Zimbabwean origin

Tendai Mtawarira Tendai Mtawarira (born 1 August 1985) is a Zimbabwean-South African retired professional rugby union player who last played for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby and previously for the South Africa national team and the in Super Rugby. He w ...

and

Thomas Mapfumo Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo (born July 3, 1945) is a musician nicknamed "The Lion of Zimbabwe" and "Mukanya" (the praise name of his clan in the Shona language) for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his mu ...

were some of the Zimbabweans who also expressed support. The protest movement had more than 700,000 tweets as of August 2020.

Organizers

Like the Black Lives Matter protest movement, the Zimbabwean Lives Matter protest movement does not have a central organizer as most of the activists have been protesting through their microblogging Twitter accounts. A repository of Zimbabwean Lives Matter materials has been created.

References

{{reflist Protests in Zimbabwe 2020 protests