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Twitter marks “Black Lives Matter” movement with special emoji

NEW YORK– The Black Lives Matter Twitter emoji is back after a spate of police-involved shootings of black men, which occurred earlier this week. The emoj...
Twitter marks “Black Lives Matter” movement with special emoji

NEW YORK– The Black Lives Matter Twitter emoji is back after a spate of police-involved shootings of black men, which occurred earlier this week.

The emoji, which features three clenched fists in varying shades of brown, was brought back on Friday.

The decision to feature the emoji at the end of the hashtag “#BlackLivesMatter” was announced by Blackbirds — an official account run by Twitter employees that aims to “celebrate and encourage diverse perspectives.”

Notable activists and celebrities were among the hundreds of voices that rang out on social media, using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.

NBA star LeBron James was outspoken about the police shootings.

Journalist and CNN contributor Sally Kohn also used the hashtag to share her views.

The emoji is a response to the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile — the two black men who were killed by police.

On Wednesday, Castile was fatally shot by an officer while in his car in Minnesota. Sterling died after being tackled and shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.

Both shootings were caught on video and posted to social media. Castile’s fiancée also recorded what happened after he was shot in a Facebook live video.

When the videos surfaced, they reignited concern and outrage about the violent treatment of black individuals by police.

Black Lives Matter protests took place all over the country. They were largely peaceful aside from a protest in Dallas, which erupted in violence on Thursday.

A sniper ambushed police, killing five officers and wounding seven and resulting in the highest casualty of law enforcement officials since September 11, 2001.

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