The fight for racial justice has been an ongoing battle for African Americans for centuries, a battle that is currently championed by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, the latest civil rights movement in a long fight for Black equality and social justice. To understand the historical contexts and backdrop for the fight for Black lives, this article begins with a historical timeline depicting important events in the fight for racial justice, followed by a discussion of the BLM movement and the role racial capitalism plays in the subjugation of Black Americans. Intersectionality is presented as a guiding framework for illuminating the complexities of Black lives within a capitalist system.