Hey friends,
A lot has happened (and continues to happen) in the last week, from worldwide protests about police brutality in the wake of the racist murder of George Floyd (many of which turned violent at the hands of the very police who were being protested), to President Trump forcibly removing said protestors so that he could hamfistedly manhandle a Bible in front of a church that didn’t know he was coming. We talked about this in the post we wrote on Monday, but I’d like to re-up (and add) some opportunities for you to help support the Black Lives Matter movement, and support the Black community. This list is far from exhaustive, so please feel free to chime in with other suggestions in the comments. (As a reminder, if you comment with a link, you’ll get automatically put into moderation — this helps us cut down on spam — but I will get you out!)
Black Lives Matter is a great place to start, both as a place to donate your money, and as a resource to learn and get involved; you can donate directly to them, or you also give to your local chapter, which is what I did. (Here is the LA chapter link, for example.)
The Anti-Police Terror Project “is a Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color.”
Act Blue has set up a nationwide bail fund that allows you to split your donation to a number of community bail fund organizations. This is important all the time, but considering that we are still in a pandemic, it’s imperative to get people out of police custody, where they cannot social distance, as quickly as possible.
Related, The Bail Project is “a nonprofit that provides free bail assistance, reunites families, and restores the presumption of innocence.”
Reclaim the Block is a group that “organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.”
Black Visions Collective “has been putting into practice the lessons learned from organizations before us in order to shape a political home for Black people across Minnesota.”
Vroman’s, my local indie bookstore, compiled a great list of organizations, and I do not think they will mind that I am cutting and pasting a section of their list (I’ve removed those I’ve previously shared and some hyper-local ones, although please share your own hyper-local organizations in the comments if you want):
“George Floyd Memorial Fund
This fund is established to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist the George Floyd family in the days to come as they continue to seek justice for George. A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund.National Bail Fund Network
The National Bail Fund Network is made up of over sixty community bail and bond funds across the country. They regularly update this listing of community bail funds that are freeing people by paying bail/bond and are also fighting to abolish the money bail system and pretrial detention.Trans Justice Funding Project
The Trans Justice Funding Project is a community-led funding initiative founded in 2012 to support grassroots, trans justice groups run by and for trans people.National Black Disability Coalition
NBDC is the nation’s organization for all Black disabled people. Founded in 1990, in response to the need for Black disabled people to organize around mutual concerns, NBDC is dedicated to examining and improving; community leadership, family inclusion, entrepreneurship, civil rights, service delivery systems, education and information and Black disabled identity and culture through the lenses of ableism and racism.Campaign Zero
Funds donated to Campaign Zero support the analysis of policing practices across the country, research to identify effective solutions to end police violence, technical assistance to organizers leading police accountability campaigns and the development of model legislation and advocacy to end police violence nationwide.Know Your Rights Camp
Their mission is to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders. Right now they are allocating funds to help Black and Brown communities in the wake of COVID-19 and to help provide legal aid to those arrested in BLM protests.We Need Diverse Books
We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a grassroots organization of children’s book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.House of GG
Founded and led by Trans and gender nonconforming people and our allies, the Houser of GG creates safe and transformative spaces where members of their community can heal—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—from the trauma arising from generations of transphobia, racism, sexism, poverty, ableism and violence, and nurture them into tomorrow’s leaders. They currently primarily focus on supporting and nurturing the leadership of Transgender women of color living in the U.S. South.Ahmaud Arbery Fund
This fundraiser was designed to assist Ahmaud’s mother; Ms. Wanda Cooper-Jones and her immediate family with financial support during this extreme difficult time and in their struggle for justice for the murder of Ahmaud Marquez Arbery.NAACP
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.”
Additionally, today is Breonna Taylor’s birthday. On March 13th, Louisville cops burst into her apartment while she and her boyfriend were sleeping and shot and killed her; the police were in the wrong house, had a highly questionable warrant and the suspect they were looking for was already in police custody. None of the cops involved have been arrested or charged with anything. Writer Cate Young has started the #BirthdayForBreonna campaign this week, and I invite you to check it out. (You can read more about it here at PopSugar, as well.)
Soraya McDonald is one of the greatest writers we have right now. At The Undefeated: Why we can’t stop thinking about George Floyd’s neck
Stacey Abrams, at the New York Times: I Know Voting Feels Inadequate Right Now. Just Hear Me Out. (I feel like Stacey Abrams would want me to make sure that you are registered to vote, and I also want to add that her organization Fair Fight, which advocates for free and fair elections, is awesome.)
As a white person, I found this piece at Vox about being a good ally — which you may have seen by now — really good, and substantive in a way that other similar pieces have not been. (My friend Morgan called it “cogent,” and I agree.)
At Discourse: Discourses With: Two Street Medics on the Front Lines
At the Washington Post: ‘This can’t be happening’: An oral history of 48 surreal, violent, biblical minutes in Washington
At Food & Wine: Black Communities Have Always Used Food as Protest
At Buzzfeed, Anne Helen Peterson reports Why The Small Protests In Small Towns Across America Matter
At Glamour: 8 Journalists on Reporting While Black, With the Weight of History on Their Shoulders
At Lit Hub: You can order today from these black-owned independent bookstores.
At Vulture, Lauren Michele Jackson wonders, What Is an Anti-Racist Reading List For?
At Elle: 90+ Black Creators, Influencers, and Tastemakers to Follow Right Now. (I’ve found so many great Black-owned small businesses on Instagram this week; for example, I now have a LOT of good pottery coming my way.)
This is cool, at Tribeca News — it’s from last year, but it was re-upped recently: A Guide to Essential, Underrated, and Flat-Out Extraordinary Films by Black Women Directors. (The film they’re using for the main art on the page, Daughters of the Dust, by Julie Dash, is SO beautiful.)
