Black Lives Matter. They matter today, on Juneteenth 2020, and they mattered on the first Juneteenth in 1865. Black lives have always mattered— what’s changed is the way that our nation sees them, protects them, values them. That’s why the work of creativity, radical imagination, and cultural organizing are so critical. We have the power to push that way of seeing toward equity, compassion and solidarity.
Below are some resources— not just interesting pieces, but things to leap into, steps to take today— to support Black lives in your community. Happy Juneteenth.
#SixNineteen: click here to find a march in your community and join the Movement for Black Lives. Be sure also to read through their guiding principles for staying safe while protesting.
#DefundThePolice: Have you wondered what a defunded police department would really mean for your community? Check out this primer from the Movement for Black Lives on what it might look like. And here’s a great New Republic piece that goes even more in-depth on the concept.
#8toAbolition: If you’re curious about concrete solutions to address the #DefundPolice debate, here’s a critical resource for radically reimagining a world that stretches toward abolition, not just reform.
Center Black Trans Lives: As protests and organizing push to reimagine how the country treats and protects Black lives, it’s critical that we center Black women, Black trans women in particular. Take a look at this piece to see just how urgent this is.
10 Rules to Fight for Black People’s Freedom: Read through this manifesto by #BlackLivesMatter founder Patrisse Cullors, and use it to have a conversation at your workplace, school, place of worship, community organization, or kitchen table.
BLK Paper: Incredible depictions of rage and hope by Black artists, photographers and graphic designers. Download the images, print them out, wheat paste them, stick them to light poles, share them with friends and inspire the neighborhood to join the movement.
City Budgets Belong to Us: Check out this resource and see how your city/town invests in policing. If it doesn’t sit right with you, join the debate to #DefundPolice, contact your local city officials and ask them the tough questions.
Call The Halls: Is this the first time you’ve reached out to elected officials? Check out this comprehensive guide on the most strategic ways to outreach your representatives.
Reparations Summer: A powerful, inaugural Juneteenth call for Reparations Summer—a large-scale campaign for organizing and moving resources to Black land stewards.
DIY Imaginings: The big-picture conversations we’re in right now require new ways of imagining our world. Whether we’re envisioning new forms of governance and public safety, or reparations and prison abolition, social imagination is a muscle that needs exercising. Use this free guide from the USDAC for tips on how to host an arts-based dialogues in your community that stretches imagination for the world that is possible and strengthens resolve to bring it into being.
Onwards!