An Ever-Growing List of BLM Resources
Hello everyone! Today, I’m doing something a little different. I’m sure you all know about the Black Lives Matter protests all over the country, asking for justice for George Floyd and countless other African American souls that were lost too soon by a corrupt system. I have friends that went down to the Columbus protests and saw firsthand how our police force instigated the riots and turned the peaceful protest into a violent one. I wanted to go down so badly, but I wasn’t able to.
Instead of going down to protest, I started looking for ways to help from home. I want to do my part for my people while still remembering that the Coronavirus is still running rampant through our country. I realized that a lot of my friends and family members have been doing the same as me, with a lot less luck. It was hard to find reliable links for donations and petitions, and for my White friends and family, it’s been difficult to find educational resources to help them learn exactly why everyone is protesting and what they can do to help the cause.
I decided to compile this list for everyone to come and educate themselves, find reliable donation/petition links, and for protesters to know exactly what to do if things get violent. Of course, I am not the be all end all for the BLM movement, as I am still learning as well! Utilize this list as best you can, and search out other people’s lists and educate yourselves just like I am! I’ll link the resources I’ve found helpful below, along with appropriate credits to the people who have helped me gather said resources.
Ways to Help
— I highly suggest going to the Black Lives Matter website for reliable links for donations, petitions, and other fantastic resources. Literally all of my other links that I’ve gathered throughout the weekend are on this site, so dive into their site to find almost everything you need to make a difference. Having all of this info in one place really makes it easy to make it happen!
— On Twitter, there are SO MANY LINKS to click and utilize for help. I retweeted Matthew A. Cherry and Ryan Magee’s tweets about how to help, and I’ve retweeted many more. Twitter so far has (surprisingly) been the most reliable source for me to find legit links. If you browse through Twitter to find reliable resources, please fact check everything! Although it has been the most reliable so far, there are always some bad links. Be thorough, have your wits about you, and you will find some diamonds.
— EDIT 6/1: My lovely GM, Tab, sent me a list of Black-owned businesses that I suggest to go to and support not only now, but from now on. The majority of these are food-related, so if you’re a foodie like me, why not support Black restaurants?
Educate Yourselves
There are SO MANY resources for educating yourselves about the struggles of Black people in America. I know that this list will never be finished, but these are the resources I’ve found and have been shown throughout the weekend. I’ll be adding on to this list as I find more legit sources.
— My GM also linked me to a mom blog that has a fantastic article about how to talk to your kids about race. Olugbemisola Ruhday-Perkovich’s article is very easy to read and very helpful for the parent who has no idea how to talk to their child about what is happening. There are also TONS of books in the article for you to educate yourselves as well. Teaching your kids about the world as early as possible has always been something I agree with. This is one of many articles about how to do just that!
— On Twitter, I found a great tweet on how to be Anti-Racist. @fia_dan got her information from goodgoodgood.co/instagram, and through there I found a New York Times article about books to read on the topic of anti-racism. This little rabbit hole I went down has a good amount of resources so please check all them links out!
— I’ve been retweeting everything I can find about how to educate and teach others about all of this, as well as what’s been going on as close to real-time as possible, so feel free to look through my Twitter as well.
— Here’s an essay my friend Meredith (@merryismeredith) linked me to about learning about White Privilege and how to confront and dismantle it within yourself. Peggy McIntosh’s essay compares White Privilege to Male Privilege and I think it’s a very good way to compare and contrast the two. She reflects on how White Privilege has helped her while hurting others, and I think it’s a very important read for everyone who haven’t grasped the reality of the privilege they were granted at birth.
— Once again, the Black Lives Matter site has a whole page about how to educate yourself. Go ahead and look through that too!
Stay Safe
— I say if you’re able to go to a protest, please do. It’s so helpful to sign petitions and donate to various entities, but showing up and standing up for what’s right is something that I will always support. Of course, a peaceful protest is recommended, but do what you must to make your voices heard! And if you are a White person and you want to protest as well, protect your Black brothers and sisters. Stay silent, let them speak, and protect them from any violence as best you can.
— Sarah McGonagall (@sarahmcgphoto), known on Twitter for her elaborate and amazing photo sets, has been posting a TON of helpful protest/riot info. I would highly suggest perusing her Twitter page not only for ways to stay safe and fight back, but to see her work when you need a break from all of this (it’s okay to take a break from everything, y’all).
— I found a great thread about knowing your protesting rights from @nxbrxth. Within the thread are other threads on how to stay safe during a protest, and what to do if you are approached by a police officer and/or arrested.
—The Black Lives Matter site has a much more elaborate list of info for protesters than I can ever compile on my own.
— Remember that there is a pandemic going on. If you are going to go protest, bring the right PPE as well as everything you’ll need to have normally (snacks, water, etc.). Above is a very helpful photo from Scott Hoying’s Twitter page (I’m not sure of the OG source, unfortunately) showing everything you should and shouldn’t bring to a protest (especially one that might turn violent). I personally suggest doubling up on masks and gloves (maybe a medical grade mask underneath a bandanna covering your face and multiple pairs of heat-proof gloves for removing gas canisters) and bringing hand sanitizer to share with others.
I KNOW there are way more resources out there than I have on this list, and I will be adding to this as I find more and more things to share with you all. In the meantime, please remember to stay safe.
From what I’ve seen, every single peaceful protest has turned violent because of police instigation or White Supremacists/Anarchists fucking things up for fun. Stay true to the cause, defend yourselves from any violence you may run into, and stay loud. We can’t afford to be silent anymore.
If you have any legit links that will help others educate, stay safe, or donate/petition, please DM me on Twitter or email me at marybgolubich@gmail.com. I want this list to be as helpful as possible, and right now I know it’s short, but it’s better than doing nothing.
Thank you to everyone who’s helped me make this list so far! If I haven’t properly credited you, please let me know so I can do so. Everyone of you has been immensely helpful, and I can’t thank you all enough for the help with this list.
Hopefully, I have helped you all start your journey to break the cycle of our ancestors and to fight for what’s right! Black Lives Matter isn’t an argument or an opinion, it’s a moral reality and a fact that shouldn’t be challenged any longer. Let’s work together to bring peace to our future.
