Support the Black Lives Matter Movement

The Movement Needs Your Support Now.

Silence becomes violence when we fail to support our marginalized communities in times of need. Over the last few weeks, we have seen calls to action across our nation and globally to reform our concept of policing. The long history of policing — and its roots in disregarding black lives and creating divides in the country — calls for reform.

For eight gut-wrenching minutes the world was able to see the nightmare every Black person goes through when they are pulled over by the police. To work towards healing this intergenerational fear and trauma, we must work to create a system that supports all people. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Charleena Lyles, Tony McDade, Manuel Ellis and countless others at the hands of police expose how our failure to create meaningful police reform continues to cost communities their lives.

Silence is no longer an option. Below is a list of actions you can take to help create change and make sure your voice is heard:

• Attend a local protest: If you decide to attend, please remember Covid-19 is still a threat and you need to take steps to ensure you limit the spread of disease, know your rights when protesting and defending yourself from police surveillance.
• Support our local bail fund: Seattle Freedom Fund, Northwest Community Bail Fund and Fair Fight Community Bail Fund. As we continue to protest to create change our allies on the front-line need help with cash bails. Locking up people before trial because they cannot afford to pay bail is a leading cause of mass incarceration in Washington state.  Any remaining funds will continue to be used for future bailout efforts as an ongoing community bail fund project.
• Support Manuel Ellis’ family: Manuel Ellis was a loving father, brother and community member. His family’s journey towards seeking truth and justice is far from over. You can support his family here.
• VOTE! Make sure you are registered and ready to support representatives that also want meaningful change.
• Washington Black Owned Businesses: Support POC and African American Business owners across Washington State
• Fill out the Census: Tell your friends, family and co-workers to fill out their census. The consequences of undercounting have long-term effects on how over a billion dollars in state funding will be allocated. While this process remains deeply flawed, it is still vital to participate in to make sure that our most marginalized communities COUNT.

Our current policing structure stems from a system that is fundamentally rooted in slavery.  From its inception, policing in America has been committed to violence against Black bodies. Now is the time to say no more. But we must not settle. The movement is stronger than it has ever been, and we must use this energy to create sweeping systematic change and not accept the status quo.

In Angela Davis’ book-Freedom Is a Constant Struggle she writes “But how is it possible to solve the massive problem of racist state violence by calling upon individual police officers to bear the burden of that history and to assume that by prosecuting them, by exacting our revenge on them, we would have somehow made progress in eradicating racism?” We must not allow the arrest of George Floyd’s killers to quell our thirst for change. Once a radical concept disinvesting from police departments and back into communities is now a possibility. We must act. We must be heard. We must not be complacent in the utter disregard for Black and Brown lives in our community.

COVID19, much like police violence, disproportionately targets Black and Brown communities at an alarming rate. While you may not be able to march and rally, you do not have to sit idly by and accept the status quo. Take the opportunities you have, whether that be with family, friends or strangers and create conversations about the actions you can take so that this moment in history can spark a long-lasting and meaningful change for our future.