By Paul Sherman
These are surely trying times we live in, as patterns of police brutality and systemic racism are being exposed and called out at perhaps the widest levels yet. In Malden, where some BSC households already live and where we will all be living soon, over 1,000 people turned out for the recent Black Lives Matter Malden march for justice.
But maybe we should always act as if we are in trying times—by getting involved and being informed. Our members have been thinking a lot about how to help and how to learn, so that meaningful change might come out of this moment, whether it’s reform in criminal justice, wealth inequality or just the way we treat each other.
Facing up to the history of police brutality, systemic racism, biases and other problems ailing us is a big step in the process of reforming them. Whether or not you feel you have a solid grasp on the issues being brought up by the protests, I’m Not Dying With You Tonight author Kimberly Jones’s powerful words in this six-minute video should be heard and not ignored.
Supporting the African American community and beefing up our history knowledge are things we all can do now, but they are also things we don’t have to do just now. They are ways of living. The links below represent nothing more than the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Give/Get Involved
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
Justice for George Floyd Petition
Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition
NAACP Mystic Valley Area Branch
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
Communities United Against Police Brutality
National Police Accountability Project (NPAP)
More Ideas to Support the Black Community in Boston from Boston Magazine
Put Your Shopping $ to Work
125 Black-Owned Businesses to Support Right Now 2020 | The Strategist
60+ Black-owned restaurants to support in the Greater Boston area
Black-Owned Businesses To Shop Online From
Educate Thyself, Educate Others
In addition to the articles and videos below, there are a myriad of probing histories of African American struggle against violent repression and of the construction of race (the accompanying photo above shows just a few).
Elizabeth Hinton’s article, The Minneapolis Uprising in Context
The New York Times’ The 1619 Project
James Baldwin on The Dick Cavett Show clip
Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article, The Case for Reparations
Jeanne Theoharis’ article, “We Saved the City”: Black Struggles for Educational Equality in Boston, 1960-1976
The first episode of Eyes on the Prize, the definitive civil rights movement documentary
More reading suggestions from St. Louis’ Left Bank Books
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