don't throw it away

[Boyega]: I want to thank every single one of you for coming out. This is very important—this is very vital. Black lives have always mattered! We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless, and now is the time. I ain’t waiting! I ain’t waiting! I have been born in this country, I’m 28 years old, born and raised in London, I’ve grown tired—every black person understands and realizes the first time you are reminded that you are black. You remember, every black person in here remembers, when another person reminded you that you are black. So none of you out there, all those protestors on the other side protesting against what we want to do, protesting against what we want to try and achieve, [?] you, because this is so vital.

[Other voices, to crowd]: Sit down! Sit down!

[Boyega]: Sit down, guys, we have to sit down. If you could sit down, if you can sit down. Now I need you guys to understand, I need you to understand now how painful this shit is! I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that your race means nothing! And that isn’t the case anymore. That is never the case anymore. We are going to try today—we are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd.

[Crowd cheers]

[Boyega]: We are a physical representation of our support for Sandra Bland! We are a physical representation of our support for Trayvon Martin! We are a physical representation of our support for Stephen Lawrence! For Mark Duggan! It is very, very important that we keep control of this moment and we make this as peaceful as possible. We make this as peaceful and as organized as possible. Because you know what, guys, they want us to mess up. They want us to be disorganized. But not today! Not today!

[Other voices]: Not today!

[Boyega]: Not today! And now this message is specifically for black men. Black men, we—[Boyega cuts off, crying and bending over from emotion]

[Crowd]: Speak! Speak!

[Other voices]: You can do this, you’ve got this.

[Boyega]: Black men, black men, we need to take care of our black women. We need to take care of them! They are our hearts! They are our hearts, they are our future, we cannot demonize our own. We are the pillars of the family. Imagine this, a nation that is set up with individual families that are thriving, that are healthy, that communicate, that raise their children in love, have a better rate of becoming better human beings, and that’s what we need to create. Black men, it starts with you, and it’s done, man—we can’t be trash no more. We have to be better.

You don’t understand, I’m speaking to you from the heart. Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this. But fuck that--[words bleeped out]. This, today, is about innocent people who were halfway through their process. We don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved; we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved. But today we’re going to make sure that that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones. I’m sure you lot came today, you left your kids, and when you see your kids there aimlessly playing, they don’t understand what’s going on. Today is the day that we remind them that we are dedicated, and this is a lifelong dedication. Guys, we don’t leave here and stop, you know. We don’t leave here and stop. This is longevity. Some of you are artists, some of you are bankers, some of you are lawyers, some of you own shops, stores. You are important. Your individual power, your individual right, is very, very important. We can all join together to make this a better world. We can all join together to make this special. We can all join together!

donate to black minds matter uk who are currently crowdfunding to offer free therapy sessions with black practitioners to as many black individuals + families as possible atm - donate here + their website with more info on is here 

donate to uk black lives matter here

donate to this fund in memory of belly mujinga, a railway worker who was spat at whilst at work + later died of coronavirus. the money is going towards supporting her family, including her 11 year old daughter

donate to uk black pride here 

donate to this crowdfund which is raising money to support black-owned publishers committed to inclusive publishing - the crowdfund ends in 8 days (10th june)

WRITE TO YOUR MP! u can use this website as an easy way to find your local mp + send them a message - remember to include your address so they know you’re one of their constituents. a couple of things you could include in your message to them:

demand the immediate suspension of uk sales of teargas, riot shields + rubber bullets to the US - see this article for more info about this

for those of us who want to help but don’t have the funds, please click on these videos. DO NOT skip the ads, all ad revenue will be donated to multiple funds.

- stream the video

- DO NOT skip the ads

- disable ad blocker

please follow these:

1. don’t watch on repeat

2. don’t watch it in a playlist

3. don’t fast forward or skip

4. don’t skip the advertisements

5. don’t pause the video

6. watch with at least 480p and half the volume

7. after watching this, watch 3 to 5 any other videos then search this video (don’t click it from your watch history) and watch it again

8. don’t clear watch and search history

9. comment and like this video

GOFUNDMES FOR VICTIMS FAMILIES George Floyd’s Family Fund Justice for Regis Korchinski Paquet (if you know any more gofundme’s for victims please link them i’m having trouble finding more)

in case y’all didn’t see, the Minnesota Freedom Fund is actually good on donations after that massive fundraise yesterday and is directing people to donate to other causes, including Black Visions Collective, Reclaim The Block, and Northstar Health Collective.

it wasn’t george floyd’s protesters who started reacting violently; it was the cops.

the protest was peaceful until the cops showed up in riot gear, and started using water cannons, followed up by tear gas and rubber bullets. i got videos from friends who were there, of people screaming and running away from the cops shooting the water cannons, rubber bullets and throwing tear gas at them. they were even shooting at the protesters dragging people away to get medical attention.

speaking of medical attention, dispatch refused to provide any medical attention to the protesters. people literally had to drive their bleeding friends to the hospital because they refused to send ambulances.

cops are using non-lethal weapons in a lethal way. they shot rubber bullets into people’s heads and injured them. there’s dozens of photos of protesters with bleeding head wounds from the rubber bullets.

multiple people used police scanners and heard that there were undercover cops pretending to be violent protesters who were throwing rocks and whatnot at the police, with dozens of eyewitness accounts confirming that information.

the person who instigated all the chaos last night (it was a fire at an autozone) with the looting and burning buildings is highly suspected to be an undercover cop pretending to be a protester, because the video of him keeps getting taken down. protesters tried to stop him but couldn’t because he had a hammer and they were scared for their safety.

the cops jammed cell phone towers and cut live streams to interrupt broadcasts and to prevent people from seeing what was really going on and who actually started the violence.

the cops lied about protesters being armed and about throwing rocks and are literally trying to continue the violence happening and yet no one is holding them accountable for that.

and during all this, the cop that murdered george floyd still hasn’t been arrested. he has had more than ten complaints filed against him and was involved in three other civilian shootings in the past. and yet he’s still out free along with his three other buddies involved, probably sitting on his couch while all this chaos is happening.

Be mindful of the content you’re putting on your social media accounts. Stop retweeting/reposting violent images and videos of black people dying. Know that content like this, even with trigger warnings included, can be very emotionally disturbing/distressing and yes, even traumatic, for black people navigating the internet right now.

Report any images and videos you see where protestors’ faces are visible/unblurred, particularly in content surrounding the lootings. Don’t retweet or repost these images and videos. This can be a death sentence. 

DONATE, PARTICULARLY TO MINNESOTA-BASED BLACK YOUTH MOVEMENTS / MUTUAL AID FUNDS WHO ARE DOING WORK ON THE GROUND. FOLLOW/BOOST IF YOU CAN’T.

• The Minnesota Freedom Fund, a mutual aid group fighting back against the unjust MN bail system, is taking donations. (Twitter)

• The Black Visions Collective, a Minnesota-based freedom fighter organization creating campaigns for justice, is taking donations. (Twitter)

• Reclaim the Block, a coalition to demand that Minneapolis divest from policing, is taking donations. (Twitter)

• Crowdfunding for black trans people in need thread. 

this is specifically a call to action for fellow white people. if you’re white and you’re in any way able to, donate.

George Floyd’s memorial fund

Minnesota Freedom Fund: “We value a society that values its people, their freedom and recognizes their contribution to the greater good. A society that does not condition pretrial freedom on class or identity, that has ended mass incarceration, and that invests in restorative and transformative justice.”

Black Visions Collective, an org that strives to “shape a political home for Black people across Minnesota. We aim to center our work in healing and transformative justice principles, intentionally develop our organizations core DNA to ensure sustainability, and develop Minnesota’s emerging Black leadership to lead powerful campaigns.”

Reclaim the Block, which “organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety. We believe health, safety and resiliency exist without police of any kind. We organize around policies that strengthen community-led safety initiatives and reduce reliance on police departments.”

Black Visions Collective MN: read | donate

Pick a link, click the link, and donate.

One fighter with a sharp stick and nothing left to lose can take the day.

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

SCOTT MCCALL