thats why i closed my eyes

Original post by @lily.someson on Instagram

Continue to amplify black voices on your social-media. Even if you have committed yourself to the Instagram blackout this week, continue to share #blm posts and spread helpful information when you can. This includes sharing petitions, GoFundMes, and educational resources.

Support black owned businesses over large corporations. This includes phasing out corporations like Amazon in support for black owned book stores, grocery stores, restaurants, Etsy sellers, and cosmetic brands.

Check in on your black friends, family, and community members. The black members of your community are experiencing an immense collective trauma right now. Check in and ask them what they need

Educate your racist and misinformed family members or friends. You may be met with backlash for speaking out for what is right. As a non-black person and ally, it is your responsibility to educate the people around you and have those hard conversations.

We’re fighting for George and so much more. It’s important to read black theory and understand the systematic oppression that black people face. We not only fight for George Floyd, but for all black lives -including black femme lives, black queer/trans lives, black homeless lives, and black incarcerated lives.

Donate to bail-funds, GoFundMes, and directly to protestors. Allocate your resources directly to those who need it. Some bail for protestors is posted at over $100,000 - all the more reason to support these bail-funds as much as you can.

Dedicate time for grocery runs and give to food donation centers. Remember that many of the places hit hardest by violence are already in food deserts. This leaves these communities without the food resources they need to survive.

Pay attention to those who have stayed silent. If there are people in your life who have not spoken out about racism, hold them accountable. Ask them why. This system of oppression continues because of white supremacy and the wilful ignorance of the people around us. We will not allow it to continue.

Resources

Bail-funds by state: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory

Petitions:

Justice for George Floyd: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for- george-floyd

Justice for Breonna Taylor: https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor?use_react=false

Petition to hold police accountable for the deaths of civilians: https://tinyurl.com/ybcsana2

Other resources:

How to stay safe while protesting: https://tinyurl.com/y8chg452

Essential black books and literature: https://tinyurl.com/tx76wzz

i didn’t know them personally, but i did meet them once. they worked at the veterinary clinic in capitol hill that i take my cat to. i live alone, which has been hard and lonely during quarantine. my cat got sick earlier this spring—not horribly, but i was alone and it threw into sharp relief how much i was relying on her for companionship—and i took her to that clinic in the middle of a weird time when everyone was in masks and nobody was allowed to come into the clinic with their pets. it was yet another weird, unsettling moment in a series of weird, unsettling moments brought on by the pandemic

summer was one of the people who took care of her. our conversations were pretty much all business, but i’ve had so few face to face interactions over the past few months, and i remember that summer was one of the ones who was really kind to me. they made me feel reassured in a surreal situation, and they helped my little buddy get better. summer taylor was someone whose job was taking care of others, and they died fighting for others. their brief impact on my life was something good, and i can’t imagine the loss their loved ones are feeling right now. i just wanted to share what little i know about them because they deserve to be remembered

huntington beach, covid-19 protest

if you can’t donate, please boost:

+ jacob’s top surgery

+ maya’s transition fund

+ black trans artist getting top surgery

+ shane’s top surgery

+ clarabelle’s gender affirmation fund

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+ merci’s medical transition

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+ help li raise funds for top surgery

+ help a homeless black woman escape violence

+ help a black trans artist with her gender confirmation

40 Photos That Give A Window Into Black Life In Chicago In The ‘70s

Here's a link to a gfm set up for him! It's from a local news article.

Who knows about Sally Hemings?

She was Thomas Jefferson's slave.

Called his "mistress," but how can you be a mistress when you were a slave, a child, and could not consent? Had absolutely no choice?

She bore him 6, perhaps as many as 8 children. He kept her locked in a basement room.

The room was recently unearthed, and DNA evidence has proven the lineage of Sally's children.

She was beteeen 12 and 14 years old when he started raping her, and Jefferson was in his forties. He freed the children that he had with her, but not Sally. Her daughter had to free her mother after Jefferson passed away.

This is not taught in schools. This side of history. We are supposed to consider the founding fathers as great men, fighting for justice and freedom, guided by God... when they are evil men. Selfish men who did nothing, save that it was for their own aggrandisement, personal benefit, and financial gain.

I would also like to add that Sally was Jefferson's dead wife's half sister. Sally's mother was raped by her owner, who was Martha (wife of Thomas) Jefferson's father.

These people left a legacy.