@and_rew_and_you | Protestors silently laying face down with their arms behind their backs for 9 minutes in memory of George Floyd | Burnside Bridge, Portland, Oregon | 6/2/20
I have consolidated some of the great resources and opportunities that I’ve seen shared via social media over the last few days.
Progress has definitely been made over the last few weeks, but there’s still so much more to be done… let’s do what we can.
Here is a list of resources that I’ve commonly seen are great reference points. I’m no expert, but this is my attempt at credible consolidation.
Here are some impactful videos from Social Media:
“Dear White People” by @themanacho (9 mins) + all the rest of his “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” videos
“Systematic Racism Explained” via @violadavis, by @actdottv & @juveeproductions (4 ½ mins)
“George Floyd, the Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper” via @thedailyshow, by @trevornnoah (18 mins)
How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo & Michael Eric Dyson
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Just Mercy
Film based on civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s work on death row in Alabama
FREE TO WATCH (Month of June) on Apple TV, YT, Google, Amazon, etc.
Let It Fall
A documentary looking at racial tensions in Los Angeles and the 1992 riots over LAPD officers’ brutal assault on Rodney King
When They See Us
A Netflix miniseries from Ava DuVernay about the Central Park Five
13th
A Netflix documentary exposing racial inequality within the criminal justice system.
I Am Not Your Negro
A documentary envisioning the book James Baldwin was never able to finish
Trailer Here
Selma
A film that chronicles the marches of the Civil Rights Movement
FREE to Rent/Buy on Amazon right now
“How to Make This Moment the Turning Point for Real Change,” by Barack Obama via Medium
“Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop,” by Officer A. Cab via Medium offers a first-hand story of what happened to this officer when tried to fix things from the inside
“When I was 15,” a thread of Tweets by @KristaVernoff highlighting her White privilege and the policing system that let her off easy growing up
“The Death of George Floyd, In Context,” by Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker
“Of Course There Are Protests. The State Is Failing Black People,” by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for the New York Times
“This Is How Loved Ones Want Us To Remember George Floyd,” by Alisha Ebrahimji for CNN
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning The 1619 Project is as important as ever. Take some time to read (or re-read) the entire thing, particularly this essay by Nikole Hannah-Jones
It is also available to listen via 5 podcast episodes
“America’s Protests Won’t Stop Until Police Brutality Does,” by The NY Times Editorial Board for the New York Times is an opinion piece about how this country has failed to provide one of the most fundamental protections in the Constitution: the right to life.
Organizations
The Conscious Kid - Website, IG: @theconsciouskid, TW: @consciouskidlib
ACLU - Website, IG: @aclu_nationwide, TW: @ACLU
Black Lives Matter - Website, IG: @blklivesmatter, TW: @blklivesmatter
Campaign Zero - Website, IG: @campaignzero
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) - Website, IG: @naacp, TW: @NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund - Website, IG: @naacp_ldf, TW: @NAACP_LDF
Color of Change - Website, IG: @colorofchange, TW: @ColorOfChange
People
Ibram X. Kendi, the author of How To Be An Antiracist and Director of the Antiracism Center
Rachel Cargle, a writer and lecturer who explores the intersection between race and womanhood
Nikkolas Smith, the artist behind portraits of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and others
Charlene Carruthers, founder of the Black Youth Project 100
If you feel safe to demonstrate/protest in your area, awesome. Please just be safe and wear a mask.
For those interested in Portland, I’d recommend following @rosecityjustice.
This is a great opportunity to support local Black-owned businesses. There’s a ton of different directories —
In Portland:
Here is a Directory of Portland Black-Owned Eateries
In North America (+ more):
Here is an article that lists hundreds of Black-owned businesses across the continent, in addition to select few that are in Europe (although we know there are thousands more).
* Please remember to check with your employer for any donation matching opportunities and make those 💸s stretch further. *
NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND
Support in order to advance LDF’s efforts to protect voting rights, reform our criminal justice system, achieve education equity, and ensure economic justice for all.
The ACLU is a network of national and state affiliate offices filing cases in both state and federal courts - defending, preserving, and advancing the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee every person in this country.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Support of the movement and ongoing fight to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever.
CAMPAIGN ZERO
The comprehensive platform of research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in America.
BAIL FUNDS
National
COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Community Bail & Bond Funds
National Bail Fund Network Directory (bit.ly/localbailfunds)
Local
List of Bail Funds for Protestors across the Country
There is also this Crowd-Sourced Google Doc of Cities
Support the Families of Those Killed
George Floyd
Amaud Arbery
Breonna Taylor
This certainly isn’t exhaustive, as there are far too many more.
Writing a personal email to your relevant lawmakers makes it much harder for their filters to vet out as a duplicate, therefore the receiving party is much more likely to actually have to read what you have to say. However, if you don’t have time much time there is also a templated email below.
1)
Local and Personal
Email your local city and state representatives to demand the change you want to see whether that’s demilitarizing the police, reallocating budgets, justice for past wrong-doings, or anything else.
Message recipients: Your state senator and representative.
2)
Breonna Taylor
This is a templated email. (Est. Time: <1 min)
All you need to do is add your [NAME] and [CITY/STATE] where instructed.
Est. Time: 1 min
1)
Civil rights group Color of Change launched a petition asking that all the officers involved in Floyd’s death are brought to justice.
2)
The “Justice for George Floyd” petition on Change.org already has 14 million supporters.
3)
The “Justice for Breonna Taylor” petition on Change.org has 2.5 million supporters. Join in.
Last but certainly not least…
Make sure you’re registered to vote! Use this link to go to Vote.gov…
You’re welcome to share the URL of this page if you’d like, but I just want to be clear that I’m by no-means an expert.
This is the best all-around document I’ve seen. It’s an Activism & Allyship Guide prepared by the Black@ Airbnb Employee Resource Group. I’m not sure if I need rights to share this, but it was too good not to:
REMEMBER:
some are posting on social media
some are protesting in the streets
some are donating silently
some are educating themselves
some are having tough conversations with friends & family
a revolution has many lanes — be kind to yourself and to others who are traveling in the same direction
just keep your foot on the gas