Inform Yourself

People are protesting not only in response to the pain of losing George Floyd, but to a broader systemic issue of racist state violence. Mapping Police Violence is a database of killings by police across the country. The Minneapolis Uprising in Context is an article about the context for urban rebellion as political violence. The Uses of Anger is an essay by Audre Lorde defending a response of rage.  

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“What Do You Need?”

Keep posting resources on your social media accounts, and sending them out over email. But also: if you’d like to act, to do more, ask first if anyone has any existing needs. 

 

When Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted this question on her Instagram story, she got responses like:

• “To be asked what I needed so I can finally realize I need to process all of this”

• “Free access to online therapy”

• “I need to say thank you to everyone protesting while I cannot”

• “For any fellow military members to remember our Oath is to the People. To protect Black lives”

• “For my peers to stand up with me. Their silence is deafening and I hate to see it”

 

Note: Do not perpetuate the trauma of Black death by continuing to share graphic videos and images online. 

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Sign Petitions

A list here (blacklivesmatter.carrd.co)

Color for Change #JusticeForFloyd

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Donate

• Black Visions Collective: learn here, donate here

• Reclaim the Block: learn & donate here

• Louisville Community Bail Fund (Justice for Breonna Taylor): learn & donate here

• Northstar Health Collective: learn here, donate here

• Black Lives Matter: learn & donate here

 

Call Your Congressional Representative

• Support local action roadmaps

• Sign on to Ayanna Pressley and others’ resolution condemning police brutality

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Start Conversations about Anti-Blackness with Family and Friends

• If needed, direct them to additional resources. Tell Me Who You Are lays out a roadmap for sharing
  stories about race with one another

• Especially if you are Black, remember that unpaid emotional labor is another reflection of injustice

 

Involve Educators, Health Officials, Policymakers, Local Business Owners, etc.

• Change doesn't stop with the police!

• CHOOSE's work is with our schools, and we're asking: What does anti-racism in our schools look like?

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Write & Reflect (whether it be in your private journal or as a public post)

• What happened this past week? How are you feeling? What are you thinking?

• How are people responding? Are people not responding enough in any particular ways?

• How does your own identity inform your response? How should you understand your positionality?

• What has the death of George Floyd and its aftermath taught you, if anything?

• What commitments will you make moving forward?

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Direct Action Near You 

• Search for trusted local grassroots organizing, especially those Black-led 

• Do not take or post photos or videos identifying individuals at the protest

• Keep your mask on; be cautious about ongoing COVID-19 spread 

• Digital security guide here

• Ask: anyone need supplies like first aid, food, and hand sanitizer? 

• Support one another!