海角大神

Walmart agreed to pull a Black Lives Matter shirt emblazoned with the word 鈥淏ulletproof鈥� from its website, in a move that highlights the challenge facing retailers on social justice issues 鈥� as well as efforts by communities and police to promote unity while acknowledging criticism.

The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police organization in the country, had originally asked Walmart to pull two shirts from its website: the 鈥淏ulletproof鈥� shirt, which reads 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� in smaller font on a second line; and a shirt that reads simply 鈥淏lack Lives Matter.鈥� Both shirts are sold on Walmart鈥檚 website by a third-party vendor, Connecticut-based Old Glory Merchandise. In a letter on Tuesday, Fraternal Order of Police president Chuck Canterbury told Walmart CEO C. Douglas McMillon that the shirts were 鈥渙ffensive鈥� and "profiting from racial division."

For the Fraternal Order of Police, the T-shirt encourages community division and even violence, and it detracts from efforts to sow cooperation between police and the communities they serve, Mr. Canterbury argued. But others suggest that Black Lives Matter is a peaceful movement that, by calling attention to a history of differential treatment, has an important role to play in forging unity going forward.聽

鈥淭hose who use the phrase do not advocate violence,鈥� writes Shawn Alexander, a professor of African and African-American studies at the University of Kansas, in an email to 海角大神. Efforts to paint Black Lives Matter as violent or divisive, he adds, seek to 鈥渃over up the troublesome truth of America鈥檚 racist past and how that history continues to live and [affect] us today.鈥�

The Black Lives Matter movement emerged after the death of teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012. Since then, it has been working to advocate for black Americans: In August, the movement released a six-part platform aimed at addressing historical grievances.聽

According to Professor Alexander, the phrase 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� 鈥� and the movement associated with it 鈥� highlight 鈥渢he irrefutable fact that historically black lives have not mattered, or have not been valued in the same manner as white lives.鈥�

But Black Lives Matter has drawn criticism from law enforcement officials, who may see it as an affront to their daily efforts to protect their communities.

After police union members said they felt Walmart was selling anti-police clothing, the Fraternal Order of Police decided to ask the company to remove those items from their website, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Washington Post reported.

鈥淐ommercializing our differences will not help our local police and communities to build greater trust and respect for one another,鈥� Canterbury wrote in Tuesday鈥檚 letter, posted on the Washington Post's website.

For Walmart, the solution has been a compromise of sorts. The company decided to pull the 鈥淏ulletproof鈥� shirt, while allowing vendors to continue selling Black Lives Matter shirts. Also available from third-party vendors on Walmart鈥檚 website are shirts for Blue Lives Matter, an organization that 鈥渟eeks to honor and recognize the actions of law enforcement鈥� and encourage public support for law enforcement, as well as All Lives Matter.

Across the country, Black Lives Matter activists and local police forces have been finding ways to share their experiences and improve their understanding of others鈥� perspectives.聽

After a peaceful march in Wichita, Kansas in July, local activists met with Police Chief Gordon Ramsay and decided to cancel their next march in favor of a free community cookout. One officer, Lt. Travis Rakestraw, sat with three men, including Hispanic student Ivan Ray. The way Ray聽looked at police violence聽through the lens of other social issues聽was illuminating, Lt. Rakestraw said, according to the Associated Press.

In August, National Night Out brought together neighbors and police officers. With the air of a traditional community get-together, the event was intended to forge unity between citizens and law enforcement.

鈥淲ith the climate in the past two years, it鈥檚 extremely important that we celebrate National Night Out to show the unity among each other,鈥� Washington, D.C. assistant police chief Diane聽Groomes told the Monitor鈥檚 Nicole Orttung.

鈥淭he only way to get beyond the divisions is to become honest with the history,鈥� says Alexander.聽

Not everyone agrees that Black Lives Matter is doing that: Carol Swain, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, told CNN's Michael Smerconish that the organization is 鈥渘ot really addressing the real problems affecting African-Americans.鈥�

But others say the movement鈥檚 efforts have already made a difference.聽

"Black Lives Matter has done more to move the needle on reforms in the criminal justice system than elected officials and community leaders all over this country,鈥� countered civil rights attorney Areva Martin on the same CNN program.