Here we are again.
The recent murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department was the latest in a long, long list of Black lives that have been forcefully taken due to police brutality and racism in the United States.
Lest we forget Breonna Taylor — a woman who was shot eight times and killed in her own home by police who were miles away from the suspects they were looking for. Or Ahmaud Arbery, who went for a run and was shot dead by a white father-son duo.
These people lost their lives within a span of four months through a system that has forever villainized Black skin, and then deemed the deaths as collateral damage. But what’s haunting and triggering about these recent attacks is the obsession with smothering Black lives amidst a pandemic. The global mandate of 2020 has been clear: stay home and limit your social interactions. And yet, Black people are still actively hunted, blatantly disregarded as unworthy, and murdered with no justice — all for committing the crime of being Black.
Racial biases have proven to be fatal, time and time again, taking no breaks even during a global crisis. George Floyd’s murder was the result of an alleged fraud that took place during a time where COVID-19 has decimated the economy and has disproportionately affected the Black community. And this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Protests erupted in Minneapolis and spread like wildfire throughout the rest of the United States — the fury and mourning of lost and oppressed Black lives overflowing like gasoline and the ensuing flames catching internationally.
As allies around the globe heard our screams, they joined in our cries, protesting alongside us in a heartwarming display of solidarity while memorializing the lost and oppressed members of their communities as well. Black lives matter not just in the States, but all over the world.
Vancouver,
London,
Rio de Janeiro.
People of all races, places, and spaces have taken action to uplift and amplify Black voices and our lived experiences all over the world – ensuring that George Floyd’s death, and the many who came before him, was not in vain. As this movement gains traction around the world, it’s clear we must hang on tight and demand systemic change for ourselves, our communities, and the generations to come.
Flip through our gallery of leading examples of allyship from around the world.
If you would like to get involved in different ways, skip to the end for a list of vetted resources.
[Jump Ahead: Action Items for Allies]
Vancouver
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Montreal
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London
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Belfast
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Stockholm
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Amsterdam
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Berlin
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Idlib Province, Syria
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Palestine
Accra, Ghana
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ACTION ITEMS FOR ALLIES
- Vote.
- Visit your state’s government page and familiarize yourself with local laws and elected officials.
- Click this link to find out when preliminary elections are being held in your state!
- Read.
- Campaign Zero has created a comprehensive document of policy solutions to correct issues like broken windows policing, for profit policing, and racial profiling.
- Books about Black lives.
- Petition.
- Sign this petition by Color of Change to end police violence against Black people.
- Donate effectively and locally.
- The National Bail Fund Network created a directory to bail funds by state.
- Nonprofit tech org ActBlue gives you the option to split your donation through different bail funds.
- Be safe.
- Use this tool to scrub metadata and blur other identifying features of protestors from photos you may be uploading online. This will help for those who are aiming to remain anonymous.
- Follow Black movements for direction.
Photo Credit: @camillacherry
