The leaders of Black Lives Matter say their group's "mandate has not changed" since Donald Trump was elected president, according to a statement issued Tuesday.
"What is true today -- and has been true since the seizure of this land -- is that when black people and women build power, white people become resentful," reads the statement, issued to
Mic. "Last week, that resentment manifested itself in the election of a white supremacist to the highest office in American government."
Earlier in the campaign, the Black Lives Matter founders issued a
statement calling Trump among the world's worst fascists. The group implored people, and especially white people, to "forcefully reject the hatred." Trump
accused the group of inciting violence against police officers, calling them a "threat."
Black Lives Matter took an early and hard
stance to not endorse a candidate for president, instead focusing on their work outside of the political system to "organize and end all state-sanctioned violence until all Black Lives Matter." DeRay Mckesson, a visible member of the movement, put his support behind Hillary Clinton, but it wasn't without
controversy. And though others eventually were "with her," they recognized it was less about voting for Clinton and more about voting against Trump.
The movement did, however, become a part of the political discourse early on. Protests of candidate forums and town halls helped bring issues of police brutality and state violence to center stage. And for the first time in this election, a major candidate discussed implicit bias against African-Americans.
And when Black Alliance for Just Immigration leader Tia Oso famously
interrupted a candidate forum with Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley in 2015, many criticized the action, but it ultimately helped get these issues front and center.
