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Jun 4, 20206 min read

How To Be A Better Ally For the Black Community & Support Black Lives Matter


 
 

I cannot begin to express how angry and upset I am. I am angry that innocent black people are murdered in cold blood everyday. I am angry that a police officer held his knee onto George Floyd‘s neck for 8 minutes straight. I am angry that people still continue to ignore the injustices in this country. I am angry that some still refuse to recognize their privilege. I am angry that people refuse to fight along side with their other brothers and sisters because at the end of the day, we are all human, and we all bleed the same blood.


Do not turn your head away at these injustices. Please do not live in blissful ignorance while black people are fighting for their lives.


It is our time to fight together. It is our time to stand with our black brothers and sisters because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.


It is time to call out our broken justice system. This system has failed minorities, especially black people, time and time again. This is beyond outrageous, upsetting, and heinous.


As an Asian-American and as a minority, I recognize the privileges I have. I recognize that when I am pulled over by the police, I do not fear for my life. I recognize that I am not followed around in stores in suspicion of stealing. I recognize that I can go out for a run without being gunned down. I recognize that I am not brutally murdered in cold blood for my skin color. That is privilege. Also, once again, as an Asian-American and as a minority, I have experienced racism, and I can empathize to a certain extent with other black people when it comes to racism. I refuse to stand silent. I refuse to let black peoples be killed for their skin color.


I will risk anything and everything until black people are given the rights they should‘ve always had from the start.


I will not tell black folks how to feel, protest, and mourn. That is not my place, and that will never be my place. I will shut up and listen.


Being privileged does not equal being racist. Although, racism and privilege do come hand in hand when you blatantly and ignorantly ignore that privilege. Racism and privilege equal one another when you use that privilege against other minorities for your own sick advantage. That is privilege, and that is dangerous.


I am here and writing this post in order to speak up not speak over black people. I write this post in order to provide information on how to support Black Lives Matter. When speaking about these issues and injustices, please be mindful. Make sure to bring light and attention to these issues. Make sure to speak up and use your privilege. Make sure to have that uncomfortable talk with family and friends. Make sure to not speak over black people because this is their time to talk about the injustices they have faced and continuously fought against for over hundreds of years.


All lives do not matter until black lives matter.


If you refuse to see the problem at hand, the problem of continuous and merciless killing of innocent black people every day, then you are apart of the problem.


If you are arguing for everything else except the problem at hand, you are apart of the problem.


If you are not speaking up, you are apart of the problem.


It is time for change. Let us change the structural system that protects racists in order for them to start being afraid to be openly racist. Change is now. Silence is betrayal.


If what I have said so far made you uncomfortable, please check your privilege.

 
 

1.Petitions to Sign



It takes less than a minutes to sign a petition.


 

2. Organizations to Donate to



 

3. Organizations to Follow



 

4. Call, Text, and Email



Don‘t know what to say when calling? These websites will help you and walk you through it: www.justiceforbigfloyd.com/make-calls


  • Text JUSTICE to 668366

  • Text ENOUGH to 55165

  • Text FLOYD to 55156

  • Call Governor Tim Walz: (612)-201-3400

  • Call Major Jacob Frey: (612)-673-2100

  • Call Mike Freeman: (612)-348-3550

  • Call Police Chief Arendondo: (612)-673-3550

  • Call Minneapolis PD: (612)-673-3000

  • MPD of International Affairs: (612)-673-3074

  • Call Minneapolis Dept. of Civil Rights: (612)-348-3550

  • Call Sheriff Dave Hutch: (612)-348-3744

  • Call Louisville Major and demand justice for Breonna Taylor: (502)-574-2003

  • Email City of Minneapolis PD: police@minneapolismn.gov

  • Email Office of Police Conduct Review: policereview@minneapolismn.gov

  • Email Minneapolis 311: minneapolis311@minneapolismn.gov

 

5. Resources to Read



Educate yourself. Knowledge is power.


 

6. TV Shows & Movies to Watch



  • 13th (Netflix)

  • American Son (Netflix)

  • See You Yesterday (Netflix)

  • When They See Us (Netflix)

  • Dear White People (Netflix)

  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu)

  • The Hate U Give (Hulu)

  • Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)

  • Black Power Mixtape

  • Clemency

  • Fruitvale Station

  • I Am Not Your Negro

  • Just Mercy

  • Selma

  • Green Book

  • Hidden Figures

  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

 

7. Podcasts to Listen to



  • 1619- New York Times

  • About Race

  • Seeing White

  • Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

  • Code Switch

  • Diversity Gap

  • Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw

  • Pod for the Cause

  • Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)

  • The Combahee River Collective Statement

  • All My Relations

  • Lynching in America

  • Justice in America (The Appeal)

  • Beyond Prisons

  • Ear Hustle

  • Radical Imagination (Angela Glover Blackwell)

 

8. Questions to Ask Yourself



  • What can you do to support POC in your community?

  • Who taught you about race and culture?

  • When were you taught about race and culture?

  • What are you committed to doing outside of social media to end racial discrimination and systemic oppression ?

  • Do you owe anyone an apology?

  • What could you teach others?

  • Have you ever been confronted for racist behavior? If so, how did you react?

  • In what ways have you ignored this in the past?

  • Why is it important for everyone to work towards ending this injustice?

  • Why is “All Lives Matter” an irrelevant argument?

  • How can you use anti-racist behavior to change and progress classroom culture?

  • Why is it important to call our your own family and friends for their racist behavior?

  • How can you be actively anti-racist instead of simply “not racist”?

  • How can you use anti-racist knowledge to change and progress conversations with family, friends, colleague, and peers?

  • How can you use your privilege in order to help others?

 

9. Action Items



  • Register to vote.

  • Check in on your black friends, family, partners, and colleagues.

  • Educate yourself and others on what it means to be anti-racist.

  • Screenshot, share, and repost resources to educate those around you.

  • Don’t center the narrative around you. Identify privilege and condemn it.

  • Stop promoting organizations that promote hate and do the bare minimum.

  • Be an active ally and advocate after the outrage ends.

  • If you are able to, continue to donate in order to fund and support the causes you care about.

  • Call out others and hold them responsible and accountable for their racist actions and ideologies.

 

This list can also be seen in several instagram posts! Check out our other blog post, “Black Owned Businesses You NEED to Check Out”! This week at Melange, we’ve decided to use our platform in order to speak out and support the Black community. Share these posts to your family, friends, and followers and educate others on how to use their voice and become a better ally.

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