Race is understood to be a social construct, and yet it is a real element of our lives with real effects. In this article I argue that it is important when discussing socially constructed concepts to understand who is doing the constructing, and how socially constructed concepts get transmitted and thus have the real effects on our lives that they do. I suggest that thinking about these two things helps us to understand what the Black Lives Matter movement tries to do, as well as what it would mean for the Black Lives Matter movement to be successful.