Lucid Monday

Black Lives Matter : How You Can Help

Aashna Anand -

The recent events in the United States have shed light on the fact that African Americans are and for hundreds of years have been subjected to systemic racism, discrimination, and violence. Racism is built into every level of American society, from policing and education to employment, healthcare, and criminal justice. The recent murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer is one of many such attacks against African Americans that has taken place in the United States over recent years. The murder of George Floyd has sparked global action and protests that are aiming to generate change that is long overdue. The main goals of these movements are to end inexcusable police brutality against black people, abolish racism, ultimately hoping to restructure the power systems and cultural structure in the United States.

With overwhelming support from the international community, the present moment becomes all the more important. It is imperative that proactive citizens contribute their time, effort, and energy into this cause to have a tangible impact. At Lucid Monday we strongly believe that with collective and effective action, we can bring about the long overdue change that is necessary in our world.

America’s history has been characterized by the inequality, injustice, and racism that minorities, particularly African Americans have been subjected to. Throughout this history white Americans have repressed and attempted to remove the beautiful diversity of African culture that Black Americans find pride in.

In addition to protesting, there are many ways one can make a significant contribution. Individuals worldwide who can’t protest, but still feel the duty to help can take a few actions to contribute broadly to these movements. One of the most imperative and fundamental actions a contemporary global citizen can do; educate yourself and others around you. Get to the roots of the problem; people of other races and especially privileged white people can never understand the struggles black people have to face everyday, however education is the first step towards becoming more socially aware and living in a way that suppresses racism.

Reading material is enlisted here and social media accounts you can follow for information here.

We also urge you to sign the dozens of online petitions created and dedicated to the murder of George Floyd as well as other relevant causes.. You can find a list of ongoing petitions here.

If you are able to make monetary donations to individuals and organizations working day and night for this cause, we urge you to please do so.

  • Donate to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund here.
  • Donate to the George Floyd Memorial Fund here.
  • Donate to Campaign Zero here.
  • Donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund here.
  • Donate to the Peoples City Council Freedom Fund here.
  • Donate to Black Lives Matter here.
  • Donate to Say Her Name here.
  • Donate to I Run With Maud here.
  • Donate to the National Bail Fund Network here.

There’s also a live updates document of resources for accountability and action being compiled by Carlisa Johnson. You can keep track of events and updated resources through this link.

Lucid Monday stands in solidarity with the black community and will continue to contribute to a better tomorrow. Times like these calls for action beyond social media activism and we hope you’re in this with us.