This document includes initial things to do in your groups and your community, but is just a start. We’ll have more resources coming out in upcoming weeks and you can see at the end a list of suggested reading.
This document includes initial things to do in your groups and your community, but is just a start. We’ll have more resources coming out in upcoming weeks and you can see at the end a list of suggested reading.
The first place to start is within ourselves and within our groups. This is a moment for us to support groups that have been doing racial justice work and center those who are most impacted.
Take a look at our How to Be Inclusive Introduction for a broad look and see the conclusion of this document for further suggested reading. It’s also important to not let this paralyze you and cause inaction, but be cognizant of the support you’re giving to other groups and the space your group is occupying.
There are hundreds of confederate monuments still standing across the country. These statues are nothing more than a symbol of hate and our nation’s deep history of white supremacy. Though some of these monuments were dedicated after the Civil War, the majority went up in the early 1900s, during the Jim Crow Era, and in the 1950s and 1960s, during the modern Civil Rights Movement. It is well beyond time that these symbols of oppression and white supremacy come down.
We’ll have more information coming soon on the effort to take them all down.
Across the country, there are organizations and leaders that advocate for the rights of, and provide support for, historically marginalized communities on the local, state, and national level. If you’re seeking to engage a community regarding issues that directly affect them, you should start by reaching out to organizations and leaders that have organized themselves to create positive change for their community, or that have an established track record serving them, and who therefore may have the trust of that community. If you find these organizations and engage with them thoughtfully and respectfully, new partnership and membership opportunities can emerge.
Building these relationships takes time and respect. You can see additional guidance on how to develop these relationships in our How to Build Inclusive Partnerships Guide.
During this fight against white supremacy, it’s critical that we’re centering the voices that are most impacted and respecting the groups that have been leading and on the forefront of this work for years. Don’t lean on these groups or look to them to do the work, but follow their lead. Developing these relationships is a long term process, but in the short term, here are a few things to consider in your outreach:
Anti-Oppression Resources & Exercises
Anti-racist resources
Understanding White privilege