Black Lives Matter Nominated For 2021 Nobel Peace Prize
The Black Lives Matter organization has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Norwegian parliament member Petter Eide announced Friday (Jan. 29) that he nominated the organization to underscore the link between the fight for racial justice and peace, USA Today reports.
"To carry forward a movement of racial justice and to spread that to other countries is very, very important,” Eide told the news outlet in an interview Saturday. “Black Lives Matter is the strongest force today doing this, not only in the U.S. but also in Europe and in Asia.”
He added that it shouldn’t be unusual to link the fight for racial justice with peace.
Eide further explained his Black Lives Matter nomination and shared the importance of awarding the organization.
"Awarding the peace prize to Black Lives Matter, as the strongest global force against racial injustice, will send a powerful message that peace is founded on equality, solidarity and human rights, and that all countries must respect those basic principles," Eide concluded in his written nomination, according to The Guardian.
Black Lives Matter responded to the nomination on Twitter shortly after the announcement.
“We hold the largest social movement in global history,” the organization tweeted Jan. 29. “Today, we have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. People are waking up to our global call: for racial justice and an end to economic injustice, environmental racism, and white supremacy. We're only getting started.”
Nominations will be accepted through Monday (Feb. 1) and The Norweigan Nobel Committee will select a winner in October. An award ceremony is currently scheduled for Dec. 10, PEOPLE writes.
