Ways You Can Support Black Lives Matter - Love, Renee Hannah

Ways You Can Support Black Lives Matter

June 3, 2020

I’ve been struggling with what to say for the past few days. I am afraid of misspeaking, and the easiest thing to do would be to stay silent. To turn a blind eye – and that is a luxury I can afford because I am white. I am privileged.

I want to be an ally. I want to be an advocate for people of color. And it starts with using my voice. I know I am not racist, but I also know that I have not been as actively anti-racist as I could possibly be. I have sat silent when friends, colleagues, family members and strangers have said or shared something racist, because uncomfortable conversations are so hard. I know I have not been the best advocate, but I am committing to changing that. I sincerely hope you will, too.

I can’t pretend to know or understand what people of color constantly endure in their day to day lives. I have never looked suspicious for jogging down the street. I have never felt unsafe going to church. I have never been afraid to ask a cop a question. But I can educate myself. I can listen, and I can learn, and I can teach others. I pray we learn from this.

It’s not enough to simply say you’re anti-racist anymore. It’s not enough to share a black square on social media with the hashtag #blackouttuesday. It’s not enough to support black lives and businesses until it’s no longer “trending.”

Stop the oppression. Black lives matter.

Know Their Names

I have privilege as a white person because I can do all of these things without thinking twice:

I can go birding – Christian Cooper

I can go jogging – Amaud Arbery

I can relax in the comfort of my own home – Bothem Sean, Atatiana Jefferson

I can ask for help after a car crash – Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride

I can have a cellphone – Stephon Clark

I can leave a party to get to safety – Jordan Edwards

I can play loud music – Jordan Davis

I can sell CDs – Alton Sterling

I can sleep – Aiyana Jones

I can walk from the corner store – Mike Brown

I can play cops and robbers – Tamir Rice

I can go to church – Charleston 9

I can walk home with Skittles – Trayvon Martin

I can hold a hair brush leaving my own bachelor party – Sean Bell

I can party on New Years – Oscar Grant

I can get a normal traffic ticket – Sandra Bland

I can lawfully carry a weapon – Philandro Castile

I can break down on a public road with car issues – Corey Jones

I can shop at Walmart -John Crawford

I can have a disabled vehicle – Terrence Crutcher

I can read a book in my own car – Keith Scott

I can be a 10 year old walking with my grandfather – Clifford Glover

I can decorate for a party – Claude Reese

I can ask a cop a question – Randy Evans

I can cash a check in peace – Yvonne Smallwood

I can take out my wallet – Amaudo Diallo

I can run – Walter Scott

I can breathe – Eric Garner

I can live – Freddie Gray

I can be arrested without the fear of murder – George Floyd

Please take a moment to consider a Black person’s experience today.

If you want to help, here are numerous ways you can help support this incredible movement:

Also check out:

Equal Justice Initiative

They provide legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. They challenge racial injustice and help end mass incarceration. (@eji_org)

Human Rights Watch

Their mission is to expose abuses, secure justice, uphold human dignity, and advance the cause of equal rights for all.

Dolores Huerta Foundation

They organize at the grassroots level by engaging and developing natural leaders for community organizing, civic engagement, and policy advocacy.

Homeboy Industries

They are the largest and most successful program in the world for gang intervention, rehab, and reentry into society.

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