12+ Ways to Support Black Lives Matter Protestors
This weekend, Black Lives Matter protestors gathered around the world to fight police brutality, systemic racism, and the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. But as I scrolled through Twitter, tweeting, retweeting, and scrolling past horrific video after horrific video, I was reminded of an interview with Will Smith, where he said, “Racism isn’t getting worse. It’s getting filmed.” And that’s the truth.
From the murder of Emmett Till to the Tulsa Riots to the Civil Rights Movement to the countless murders of black men and women by police, America is no stranger to race-based violence and police brutality.
We at Read Poetry recognize that and commit to remaining a safe space to explore identity, providing a familiar but current look into the human experience. We are committed to amplifying the voices of our black creators and their stories and will not tolerate any racist actions taken against them. We stand with our black poets against racism, violence, and police brutality.
If you would like to join us in that charge, below are twelve resources for you to explore, read, and donate to.
Anti-Racism Resources Google Doc
“This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work. If you haven’t engaged in anti-racism work in the past, start now. Feel free to circulate this document on social media and with your friends, family, and colleagues.”
Black Lives Matter Resources
This resource from Black Lives Matter has links to organizations and funds you can donate to, including bailout funds for protestors and the funds for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery’s families.
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter’s website has educational resources, stories from activists, historical context, and more. If you’re looking to educate yourself on racism in America, this is the place to go.
Learn how to engage with anti-racism on social media
If you are not black and you’d like to use your platform to speak out against racism, check out the post above from @sassy_latte on Instagram for some tips.
Read books on anti-racism
If you have time to read some lengthier works, take the time to purchase some of the books from the list above.
Know your rights as a protestor
If you are protesting, click the link above to know your rights as a protestor so that the police do not take advantage of you more than they already will.
Donate to young people on the front lines
This Twitter thread is a great resource if you’d like to donate supplies or money to young people on the front lines of the protests.
Support black poets
Support black poets by sharing their work (and tagging them) on social media. Support black poets by purchasing their books and sharing them with your friends and family. Support black poets by clapping back at anyone commenting racist or hateful comments on their posts. Support black poets by listening to what they have to say and helping out in the ways they ask you to.
Amplify black voices properly
If you are not black, take a moment to look at the link above for how you can amplify black voices properly to ensure that you do not take anyone’s voice away.
Call your state and city representatives
Call the offices of your local representatives and encourage them to take action against race-based violence and police brutality. Urge them to call for police reform and to fund organizations that support black lives.
Follow relevant accounts on social media
Inundate your social feeds with educational materials so that you have no excuse to not be updated on current and past events. Here are a few suggestions, but there are so many more out there:
- The Okra Project
- Black Lives Matter
- Blvck Vrchives
- Black Women Radicals
- AFROPUNK
- NAACP
- No White Saviors
- Decolonize This Place
- The Guerrilla Feminist
- (F)EMPOWER
- Woulna Pierre
And if you want more resources…
If you’d like more resources specific to fighting police brutality, visit the link here.
And remember, black lives matter every day, not just when they’re trending.
