How to Fight Racism Right Now

A rundown of recent murders of Black people by police:

• On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor was shot in her own home by police who entered the wrong house during a raid.
• On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died after cop Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes.
• On May 27, 2020, Regis Korchinski-Paquet died under suspicious circumstances after an encounter with the police, who claim the woman “fell” from the balcony of her 24th-floor apartment
• The same day, Florida police shot Tony McDade dead, claiming he had a handgun. A witness says officers shot McDade without a verbal warning or any attempt to deescalate the situation.

 

Government-funded racism is killing Black people and it has to stop.

Now is not the time to say, “There are good people on both sides,” or, “All lives matter.”

Black lives matter today, tomorrow, and every other day of the year.

I’ve been on Twitter a lot the last week, looking for ways to help.

If you’re as angry as I am and want to know how you can help, here’s a handy list:

• Donate to your local bail fund to help protesters who’ve been arrested. Find your local fund on one of these lists. (Sources: @rdellon, @bailfundnetwork)
  • If you’re not sure where to donate, this site will split your donation between 37 different funds. (Source: @runwithskizzers)
  • Seattleites can donate to the BLM Seattle Freedom Fund and/or the Northwest Community Bail Fund. (Sources: @ermahgerdgerby, @GNCordova)
• Donate to the families of George Floyd and Tony McDade to assist with funeral costs and to the family of Regis Korchinski-Paquet to fund an independent investigation into Regis’ death. (Sources: @NadineThornhill, @morganmpage)
• Donate to organizations like Black Lives Matter, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and North Star Health Collective. (Sources: @hvrnon, @seanmiura)
• Write letters to your local government using Resistbot. I’ve used this tool – it will walk you through the entire process and offer help when needed. Text 50409 to get started and be done in less than 2 minutes. (Source: @tpwkhollands)
• Sign petitions concerning the deaths of George, Breonna, Regis, and Tony. (Source: @tpwkhollands)
  • Petitions for George Floyd found here, here, here, and here.
  • Petitions for Breonna Taylor found here,
  • Petitions for Tony McDade found here,
  • PSA: DO NOT DONATE TO CHANGE.ORG. The money won’t go to the campaign. (Source: @stacysuh)
• Call out racism when you see it. This includes “jokes” and statements about “peace” that promote respectability politics. (Looking at you, Michael Gungor.)
• LISTEN TO BLACK VOICES. All of these steps and more were helpfully summarized by Twitter user @mireillecharper. (She included further reading and additional people to follow in the final tweet of the thread.)
  • ALSO read the following thread by Twitter user @thearmchaircom. (If you like her content, donate to her patreon and/or cash apps.)

 

To my fellow white people (especially white Christians): Get off your moderate asses. The time to help is now.

To everyone else: Stay safe. Stay strong. Godspeed.