Say it with us: #BlackLivesMatter.
We will not be silent. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and in the fight against institutionalized, systemic racism in our country. The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others are devastating but not new – and we need lasting change. We must do better.
Like us, we know many are still figuring out the next steps. But we do know that simply “not being racist” is not enough. We must be actively anti-racist and show that through our actions – and that does not stop after today, tomorrow, or this week. It is work that never stops.
There are many ways to be part of the fight. On our end to start, we will be donating to Color of Change and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). We have also put together a list below of other organizations you can donate to, as well as resources for education. This is by no means an exhaustive list – we encourage you to take a look to get started and see where you, too, can take decisive action as a first step.
This is just the beginning. We are committed to listening, learning, and educating ourselves so that we can do better. We must do better. We will do better.
Organizations to Donate to
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Black Lives Matter (find your local chapter here)
- Black Visions Collective: A Black, Trans, and Queer-led Minnesota-based group working to hold Minnesota elected officials accountable.
- Campaign Zero: A police reform group working on policy solutions informed by data and human rights principles.
- Color of Change: A non-profit civil rights advocacy organization fighting racial injustice.
- George Floyd’s family fund
- Minnesota Freedom Fund: An organization that bails incarcerated people out of jail to help protestors arrested by police. (NOTE: they have received an outpouring of support and are encouraging donors to give to George Floyd’s family as well as other local organizations)
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF): A leading U.S. civil rights organization and law firm seeking racial justice.
- The Bail Project: A non-profit organization combating mass incarceration by disrupting the money bail system.
- Unicorn Riot: A non-profit media organization of artists and journalists
Additional Resources & Content to Consume
- Anti-Racism Resources (compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein – a far more comprehensive list we strongly encourage you to check out)
- 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship by Mireille Charper
- 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Injustice by Corinne Shutack
- The Coronavirus was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying by Adam Serwer (The Atlantic)
- Creating Change Conference: Black Feminism and the Movement for Black Lives (Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers)
- The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper
- Transform Allyship into Action: A Toolkit for Non-Black People by Social Justice in Medicine Coalition at USC
- Ways You Can Help via Black Lives Matter
Books to Read
- The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Dark Days by James Baldwin
- Diversify: How to Challenge Inequality and Why We Should by June Sarpong
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- They Can’t Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
- Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lord