As you may know, right now the conversation online has predominantly shifted to addressing the racism and oppression towards black people and POC in this country. I think it is obviously clear that it is time for change and a change of this magnitude requires work from EVERYONE.

As an African-American woman of color, I am definitely stuck between being grateful and being upset that it took so many lives lost for us to be seen, heard, and supported. But since we are here, let's do the necessary work to keep the support going EVEN AFTER the social "trend" of advocating for black lives and supporting black-businesses die. 

It is important to me that I hold space for these conversations on my platform. I feel a responsibility to serve my community first through the intentional facilitation of these very important conversations, and offering resources and actionable steps for anyone who wants to support protesters, communities, and police brutality victims. 

The recent events have left many of us at a loss for words. Most are feeling helpless in terms of what to do to support their local communities and how to be most impactful in such a crucial time as this. Right now, the best way to help is to support black-owned businesses, educate yourself, speak up, and donate to organizations combatting racial injustice.

Looking for ways to help but don't know where to start? I have compiled a list of resources and actionable steps for anyone looking to help make a difference in the world we are living in today. We owe it to ourselves, our ancestors, and to the little black children coming up after us.

SUPPORT

BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES:

• Black-owned Brooklyn

• Black-owned Dallas: Beauty, Fashion, and Wellness Brands

• Black-owned Dallas: Food and Drink Businesses

• Brandi's Foodie Dairy

• 22 Black-owned Online Bookstores

• Black-owned Businesses You Can Support Today

• How to support the black community in Dallas right now

**Bonus tip**: If you order from any of these companies and it was a positive experience for you, PLEASE leave a positive review via their website, Google, or Yelp. Post on your social and tag them like we do everything else. 

Donate

Black Lives Matter - The official #Blacklivesmatter Global Network who fights to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever. Here is a comprehensive list of petitions, resources, and more.

George Floyd Memorial Fund - is established to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist our family in the days to come as we continue to seek justice for George.  A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund.

Minnesota Freedom Fund - pays criminal bail and immigration bond for those who cannot afford to as we seek to end discriminatory, coercive, and oppressive jailing.

Reclaim The Block - began in 2018 and organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.

The Bail Project - A non-profit organization that post bail for people who can't afford it, reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence.

Campaign Zero - "Funds donated to Campaign Zero support the analysis of policing practices across the country, research to identify effective solutions to end police violence, technical assistance to organizers leading police accountability campaigns and the development of model legislation and advocacy to end police violence nationwide."

Color of Change - An organization that design campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward.

Black Visions Collective - Their vision: "We believe in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.

Resistance Funds - A comprehensive list of resistance funds across America.

Fight for Breonna - Sign the petition here and donate here.

Watch

• When They See Us (Netflix)

• The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper

• Dear White People (Netflix)

• Dear White People IGTV from Emmanuel Acho 

• 13th (Netflix)

• Fruitvale Station (On demand)

• Selma (On demand)

• I Am Not Your Negro (Amazon Prime Video)

READ

• Born a Crime, Trevor Noah

• Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

• Becoming, Michelle Obama

• How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X Kendi

• Me and White Supremacy, Layla F Saad

• Sulwe, Lupita Nyong'o (children's book)

• Why You Need to Stop Saying "All Lives Matter" by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle

• Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer L. Eberhardt

• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo

• An Essential Reading Guide For Fight Racism (BuzzFeed News)

• The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander

Mental Health

Sunshine Behavioral Health has created free to low-cost sources for mental health treatment in the black community. They have curated a guide to help remove the stigma associated with black Americans seeking mental health. Please see the link below for more details. 

• Mental Health Issues Facing the Black Community

I ask that you share this blog post with as many people as you can. This is not a time for excuses. It's a time for action and taking responsibility. Get educated and get active. You can click the image below to save & share this post to Pinterest as well.

This will be a living blog post as I will continue to update and add more resources to help see more justice and equality in this world. This is only the beginning.