Whether you’ve been in the streets or indoors, I’m wishing you all safety and energy after an intense weekend. While we progressively organize around specific goals for justice, I want to share some materials to fuel your fight. Black friends, these stories and ideas are probably not new to you, and I hope you’re able to care for yourselves today. For everyone else: use these tools to help bolster your support (and please send me any others that you’ve found useful).
This happens to be the 99th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre, which you can read about in Kimberly Fain’s article on JStor. In the early 1900s, Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood was one of the country’s most prosperous black communities, known unofficially as Black Wall Street. Established as a black haven in 1906, Greenwood’s land was owned by black residents who supported each other’s stores, cafes, banks, and other businesses. In 1921, white Oklahomans seized an opportunity to tear down that beacon of black prosperity: in response to an uninvestigated allegation that a black man raped a white woman, white mobs burned down 35 city blocks, killing 300 people and leaving 9,000 homeless. In the conflict, the police helped the white effort and arrested black citizens with no due process. Though the court ultimately suggested reparations for Greenwood, they never came. Instead, the Tulsa newspaper suggested that the Klan could “restore law and order” to the area— an order in which white hegemony was no longer threatened by black success. Share this link with anyone who finds it easier to condemn history than the present.
I’ve been spending a lot of time talking with friends about the effort to educate white friends and relatives about inequality. I think homework is a solid starting point. Some reading to pass along:
-For people who tell you peaceful protest is the answer: Share this instagram post from Yolanda Renteria, a therapist specializing in trauma, about why rioting is valid. Also, Astead W. Herndon in the NYT on why telling people to vote is not enough.
-For people who think racism is just about hate: Resurface the New York Times’ Pulitzer-winning 1619 Project as a workbook to explain the foundations of racial inequality in America. You can even buy a reprint for $5 — and don’t forget the free podcast.
-For people who are tone-deaf on instagram: Pass along Mireille Harper’s post on how to be a non-optical ally.
-For people who can’t protest in person but want to help: Pull from Ryan Rose Aceae’s twitter thread on how to support protests from indoors.
Black Lives Matter is always taking donations. (You can also get involved with your local chapter.)
The Black Visions Collective Movement and Legal Fund is helping to lead protests and defund the police in Minnesota.
Northstar Health Collective is providing healthcare and other resources to Twin Cities protesters.
Here is a growing doc of local bail funds. Brooklyn says they’re overfunded right now, so pick another city that could use more help.
Unicorn Riot is a journalism nonprofit dedicated to reporting on civil disobedience and police brutality.
Campaign Zero and National Police Accountability Project are working on police reform.