Engage, Educate, Donate, and Support: Ways You Can Help

If you, like many of us, are looking for ways to help amid the protests against repeated police brutality and racial injustice, we’ve compiled several avenues through which to support Black communities and organizations, and to further educate on the pervasive problem of White supremacy. It’s not enough to be not racist. We have to do the active, ongoing work of being anti-racist.

Engage

Protests are happening in every state, and in many communities, large and small. A lot of organization for peaceful protesting and vigils is happening online via social media or through local nonprofits and community activist collectives. Odds are something is happening in your area.

There’s also a pandemic going on, and in-person engagement may not be an option for everyone. Additional opportunities for protest, support, and engagement may be found by searching sites such as the Indivisible database of events. Some of their events are virtual educational opportunities, ideal for those who can’t safely protest in person.

But wherever you are, you can help hold officials accountable by calling relevant offices on the local, state, and federal level and sending email, letters, or postcards. For folks in the US, here come resources:

• USA.gov will help you identify your federal, state, and local representatives and elected officials
• Open States: Find Your Legislator – enter your address, and it will tell you not only who your state reps are, but when you click their name, it shares what legislation they’ve sponsored or co-sponsored.
• Common Cause can also identify federal, state, and local elected officials when you enter your address.

Not sure what to say?

Hang on, because this link is incredible. If you haven’t seen this before, get your bookmarking click ready:

• 5 Calls: set your location, and then identify the issue that you want to call about. They’ll identify who you should call, and they’ll help you with a script. Top three on the list right now:
  • Support the House Resolution to Condemn Police Brutality
  • Demand Reform on the Police Use of Force
  • Stop the Militarization of Local Police

Educate

The process of educating ourselves is ongoing. There is always more work to do. In addition to reading widely and inclusively in the fiction we choose, nonfiction is an excellent resource as well. We’ve compiled a list of books that address many facets of systemic racism: how individuals benefit from White privilege, how to have uncomfortable and difficult discussions with ourselves and family members, and the painful reality of Black existence amid systemic and institutional racism.

Though the link above takes you to our Bookshop page, where we get an affiliate commission, you can also use that link to shop at Black-owned independent bookstores where they also receive a portion of your purchase price. Bookshop compiled a handy list and shared links in a Twitter thread.

JSTOR has shared a syllabus for free readings on institutional racism.

Active allyship extends beyond Tweeting or posting a black square on social media.

For people who actively want to be support and be an ally right now, I have written a thread. pic.twitter.com/kTvDgXXO5L

— Mireille Cassandra Harper (@mireillecharper) May 29, 2020

This Medium article has a great list of additional resources and social media accounts to follow.

Important note: Do not turn to Black friends for education. It is not on them to give you the answers and do your work for you.

Donate

Act Blue currently allows people to split donations between multiple bail funds and aid organizations.

Campaign Zero – Founded by activists from Black Lives Matter to leverage data to push for specific policy proposals and legislative change to address police violence.

Black Visions Collective – A Black-led, queer- and trans-centering organization focused on local activism in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota.

If you aren’t in a position to make a financial donation, you can watch this YouTube video highlighting Black creators and artists. All revenue from AdSense will be donated. All you have to do is play the video and don’t skip ads.

Support

Buy from Black-owned businesses and creators.

As mentioned above, Bookshop compiled a list of Black-owned independent bookstores.

During #blackouttuesday we'd like to highlight some Black-owned independent bookstores.

Please support them all the time, and especially now.

— Bookshop (@Bookshop_Org) June 2, 2020

In the Bay Area? Claudia shared with us a list of Black-owned restaurants to support. 

ETA: This post will be updated a bunch of times, I’m sure. Susan shared internally this link to BlackLivesMatter.Carrd.Co that includes a user-compiled Google map of protests, options for petitions, text or phone calls, and donations, plus resources for activists.

What about you? What resources do you want to share and recommend?