I think most of us can agree that so far, 2020 has been a pretty shitty year. Whether or not the pandemic has had a direct effect on you or your families or friends, at the very least, it’s changed the worldwide conversation we’re all apart of. As an “influencer” (and boy, do I fucking hate that word), it’s been strange to navigate the online space when I only started on YouTube in order to learn and share my love for filmmaking - keeping the rest of my life private. And while I’ve been content to focus on just that for the last several years and keep the truly intimate details of my life and thoughts separate, it doesn’t feel right to stay silent anymore.
It’s easy to say that “2020 sucks” just because of the pandemic, but truthfully, the WORLD sucks at the moment - its issues are just being brought to the forefront of everyone’s daily lives now that we have the time to reflect on them.
It’s easy to repost an image advocating for Black Lives Matter or retweet about the murders of George Floyd or Breonna Taylor or Ahmaud Arbery now when everyone else is sharing it on Instagram, but racial injustice, police brutality, and economic disparity were already alive and well here in the U.S. and will continue to be present without further action.
It’s easy to think that the Black Lives Matter movement doesn’t concern you if you’re not Black, but it concerns everyone. Systemic racism applies to everyone, because we are all a part of the system.
What’s difficult is how to spark actual change - especially at a time when the state of the world is even more terrifyingly uncertain than usual. While there are ways and resources we can lend our support to (which I’ll link below), it’s clear to me now that apart from donating and signing petitions, true change starts with us as individuals. True change starts with us checking ourselves and recognizing our own privilege. True change starts by recognizing that oppression exists even if we haven’t experienced it firsthand. True change starts with speaking up when we know that something is wrong and breaking the silence.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
DONATE
Communities Against Police Brutality - Twin-Cities based organization created to deal with police brutality on an ongoing basis: operates a crisis hotline where people can report abuse; offers legal, medical, and psychological resource referrals; and engages in political action against police brutality.
Minnesota Freedom Fund - a community based non-profit that combats the harms of incarceration by paying criminal and immigration bail and bond for low-income individuals who cannot otherwise afford it.
Black Lives Matter - campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards Black lives.
Black Visions Collective - a black, trans, and queer-led social justice organization and legal fund based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
SIGN THE PETITION
National Action Against Police Brutality and Murder
If you have any suggestions on where to donate or sign, please feel free to let me know. Also, if you’re planning on participating in a local protest, please be safe and mindful that we are still in the midst of a pandemic.
LOCAL BUSINESSES ASKING FOR SUPPORT
(I’ve been a local of Long Beach, California for four years and several small businesses were destroyed following a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in my city. Just wanted to include some donation links in case you’re interested.)