Black Lives Matter: Support These Protests

“It’s not Black People vs. White People. Black People are fighting for their rights to BREATHE and LIVE day after day without the fear they could be the next. Put yourself in their shoes: it’s not whites and blacks, it has to be people AGAINST racism. It’s JUSTICE, it’s EQUALITY, RIGHTS that Black people deserve as they’re humans like all the other people and have nothing less than them.” — zacharylevis

Protest if you can, break curfew if you can, and remember to take footage, keep your cellphone in airplane mode, be Houdini, and take safety precautions. Know your rights. More useful info here.

Donate if you can. And if you can’t, share resources, educate, and signal boost. There are a lot of people working on this. Information is constantly changing, and links are dying left and right, but these seemed really helpful.

Education

BLM funds/petitions/actionables

Resources and Tools Re: Racism

Important Article From NYT

Bail Funds You Can Donate To (not exhaustive)

“Bail funds are critical in plague times. Arrested protesters – like everyone else in lockup, temporary or permanent – are not going to get PPE, soap, wipes, basic sanitation. Locking people up right now is a real quick way to incapacitate them.” —  llondonboy

note: washington dc and new jersey have cashless bail systems.

1. bail fund google doc(also includes lawyers for protestors)
2. national bail fund network (directory of community bail funds)
3. community bail funds masterpost by @keplercryptids
4. resistance funds (google sheets; lists bail funds around the country)
5. nationwide bail funds (split a donation to the bail funds listed on the linked page with a single transaction)
6. atlanta bail fund
7. brooklyn bail fund
8. colorado freedom fund
9. columbus freedom fund
10. houston chapter of black lives matter
11. liberty fund (nyc based; focuses services on people from low-income communities)
12. los angeles freedom fund
13. louisville community fund
14. massachusetts bail fund
15. minnesota freedom fund (as of may 30, 2020, they are encouraging people to donate elsewhere since they have raised enough money; as of may 29, 2020, they do not have a venmo, as some fraudulent accounts have been claiming, source)
16. philadelphia bail out fund
17. richmond bail fund

MORE PLACES TO DONATE

note: more links are listed in the masterposts below.

1. northstar health collective (healthcare and medical aid for people on the front lines)
2. reclaim the block (aims to redistribute police funding to help the minneapolis community)
3. twin cities dsa (provides fresh groceries and hot meals to people in minneapolis)

Supply Your Local Protesters

1. water bottles (dehydration and heatstroke are not things people should have to deal with alongside bastard cops. if the police in your area are particularly violent or known to use tear gas, get the ones with the sports cap/suction-thing/etc so people can use them as emergency eye-flushes.)
2. snacks (make sure to take into account that people have allergies of all sorts. foods will have a little label that says “may contain” and then list any potential allergens. write the allergens on the ziploc (or any container you use) in permanent marker, or better yet, write the snacks included in the pack.)
3. masks (don’t forget there’s still a pandemic going on. also it will aid in deterring facial recognition when the police try to track down protestors,  also part two, if the cops use tear gas, wearing a mask (with the combination of a scarf or bandana) will lessen the adverse effects. lessen, not stop.)
4. bandanas, scarves, etc. and goggles (ski goggles, swimming goggles, etc.) (see above for explanation on the scarves. same goes for the goggles. anti–tear gas and anti–facial recognition.)
5. clean shirts (for people who are heavily gassed. also helps deter recognition through clothing.)
6. wound care supplies (band-aids, packets of neosporin packets or a similar antibiotic, alcohol wipes, etc.; if you can, decant bactine into those little travel bottles.)
7. a sharpie or another type of marker (for writing bail numbers or emergency contacts on arms, hands, etc. it’s not enough to have your city’s bail fund number stored on your phone; the police won’t give it to you to look it up. give people a marker so they can write it down, preferably not washable so it isn’t easily removed.)”

From greekgods

Try not to be on the wrong side of history by staying silent or offering suggestions that we be more peaceful and gentle while waging war on racism and fascism in our country. No one ever fought a successful revolution by offering polite suggestions.