The title speaks for itself. For all of you protesting right now, I hope you are staying safe and my heart goes out to you and to the family of George Floyd and all the others who have been victims of racism and police brutality.
It has taken me a while to post about Black Lives Matter Protest and the reason is simple. I am uneducated about the subject and what I have been doing since the protest started was reading and educating myself on what is happening right now and how we can contribute to the movement. Educating myself on the matter is not enough to contribute to the movement and the protest when I have you guys. This platform I have here is a small platform but it’s still public and every contribution to the movement counts.
I am giving my platform to anyone who wants to speak up about racism in the form of poetry, your own experience with racism and police brutality or to write about the protest if you are protesting or observing them. You can reach out to me on poetrybar1@gmail.com. Since there are many e-mails for Poetry Bar submissions and I always publish your works chronologically, please put #BLM as the subject of your e-mail and I will publish it with priority, possibly on the same day when you send it in. Also, write down in the comments ways that people can contribute to BLM, if I forgot or missed any in this post.
I am just going to try to share here as much useful information I can on how you can help and support BLM which include:
- Petitions
- Donations
- Educating yourself
- Petitions you can sign (just click on the name):
Justice for Ahmaud Arbery! I Run with Maud!
2. You can find many ways to donate money in the following article: Where to Donate For Black Lives Matter
If you do not have money to donate, you can donate without donating by watching ads on YT. For some of you this sounds weird but it is possible. There are videos made that last for about an hour and all you need to do is play the video and DO NOT SKIP THE ADS and TURN OFF YOUR AD BLOCKER. Also, if you see a YT blogger telling you that they will donate everything to BLM, don’t skip the ads on their videos either.
Some of the videos you can watch to donate money without donating money are:
how to financially help BLM with NO MONEY/leaving your house (Invest in the future for FREE)
UK BASED | DONATE FOR FREE TO BLACK LIVES MATTER FOR FREE | STREAM VIDEO TO DONATE!🖤
There are many others and even playlists done to support the movement. Put the videos on and just let them stream, do not skip the ads and make sure to watch about 3-5 videos in between and then go back to the videos which donate ad revenue to BLM.
3. EDUCATION
I am going to start with some videos I believe are worth watching and below you can find links to useful resources, lists of documentaries, series and books you can watch/read to educate yourself about BLM. This might not sound like a contribution to some, but it is important because ignorance will continue to spread hate. Watch, learn, listen, read and support.
YT videos:
We Cannot Stay Silent About George Floyd | Patriot Act Digital Exclusive | Netflix
George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper | The Daily Social Distancing Show
Follow the news and also, many late night and daily show hosts are covering the news on their YT channels so you can follow them as well.
Educate Yourself with Documentaries / Film
Netflix & Prime Shows to Watch, to Educate Yourself on Black Oppression
UNDERSTAND THE BROKEN POLICING SYSTEM:
Police Accountability: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) (this video is from 2016 and it’s still relevant)
The Broken Policing System | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix
With the deranged shit coming out of Trumps mouth (now more than ever), more and more people are mentioning America and authoritarianism in the same sentence. Trump has to go. If you do not understand the concept of authoritarianism, watch this: Authoritarianism: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). All I can say is this: Trump has to go.
One of the key weapons in the fight against systematic racism and the protests has been a camera and social media. Document everything, film everything, livestream it, share it on social media for the world to see. We have seen in the last few months that this connection the world has through the internet can go a long way so we have to use every single channel we have at our disposal to support BLM.
I will update this post regularly and, as I said before, write down in the comments ways people can help and contribute to BLM.
I love you all <3
Great job posting on this topic. Awareness is so important.
Thank you. This may drive me to write a poem. It has been known to happen.