Black. Lives. Matter.
It seems beyond frivolous to do a blog post about photography right now.
At the same time, I also want to mention that I usually try to make it a point to avoid politics online because I don’t think I have any more of a right to stand on a soapbox and air my opinions than the next person does. But what’s happening in the world right now isn’t about politics. It’s about standing up for human rights, taking a stand against systemic racism, and contributing meaningfully to help make the world a place where people of colour have access to equal opportunities and do not have to fear for their lives.
There’s a lot of information out there at the moment, and it can be overwhelming. So here’s a list of resources that I’ve found to be the most personally helpful in gaining a little insight into what minorities are going through, as well as resources that suggest actionable steps that can be taken right now:
Insight into what it’s like to exist as a person of colour right now:
At Lens Culture: “Stranger Fruit.” Photographs by Jon Henry. Follow Mr. Henry on Instagram @whoisdamaster.
At the New York Times: “2020 Is the Summer of the Road Trip. Unless You’re Black.”
At runnersworld.com: “Racing to Stay Alive.”
At the BBC: “George Floyd: The personal cost of filming police brutality.”
Organizations for education, to get involved with, and/or to donate to:
NAACP: “The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.”
Black Lives Matter “was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.”
The Anti-Police Terror Project “is a Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color.”
The Bail Project is “a nonprofit that provides free bail assistance, reunites families, and restores the presumption of innocence.”
The George Floyd Memorial Fund.
The Ahmaud Arbery Memorial Fund.
The Justice for Breonna Taylor Fund.
A great anti-racism resource for people who are white:
At Medium: Equality Includes You.
Watch Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary, 13th, for free online:
“Combining archival footage with testimony from activists and scholars, director Ava DuVernay's examination of the U.S. prison system looks at how the country's history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America.” Netflix has made this available for viewing on YouTube here.
To sum up…
I hope these links are helpful. I know things aren’t easy out there right now between the havoc this damned pandemic has wreaked, and the evisceration of industries and soaring unemployment that have taken place as a result.
But wherever you are right now, whatever your experience is (and as bad as things are right now), I believe that we all have the ability to contribute meaningfully to what comes next.
Much love,
Laura