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Posts tagged as “Breonna Taylor”

National Museum of African American History and Culture Offers Free “Talking About Race” Web Portal

Portal Helps People Explore Issues Of Race, Racism And Racial Identity

At the end of May, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture launched Talking About Race, a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture.

The online portal provides digital tools, online exercises, video instructions, scholarly articles and more than 100 multi-media resources tailored for educators, parents and caregivers—and individuals committed to racial equality.

A rash of racially charged incidents—from an altercation in Central Park to acts of police brutality resulting in the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks and the protests they provoked in cities around the country—prompted the Museum to move up the release date of Talking About Race. The portal is free and does not require registration or sign-up to use.

Since opening the museum, the number one question we are asked is how to talk about race, especially with children. We recognize how difficult it is to start that conversation. But in a nation still struggling with the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and white supremacy, we must have these tough conversations if we have any hope of turning the page and healing. This new portal is a step in that direction.

Spencer Crew, interim director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Research shows that many people feel they do not have the information needed to discuss race in a way that is candid, safe and respectful of other viewpoints and experiences.

“The portal offers a wealth of resources to inform and guide discussions—videos, role-playing exercises, targeted questions and more, said Crew.” “We hope that people will use this site to become more comfortable about engaging in honest dialogue and self-reflection.”

Protest Options: A List of Links to Petitions, Donations, Resources and Education

Protest is powerful – so much so, it is listed as a right in the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. But when marching is not an option, there are other ways to keep fighting for justice.

Good Black News offers sincere thanks to Jessie Davis and The Members of the UC San Diego Student Sustainability Collective (@sscucsd on Instagram & Facebook) for letting us share the relevant links and resources they have compiled:

SIGN PETITIONS

JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD: 

http://chng.it/Rtpbxv2CdK 

CHARGE THE MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICERS: 

https://www.change.org/p/change-org-the-minneapolis-police-officers-to-be-charged-for-murder-after-killing-innocent-black-man

JUSTICE FOR BREONNA TAYLOR: 

https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor/psf/promote_or_share?recruiter= (includes option to donate)

#JUSTICEFORBRE: 

https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforbre-breonna-taylor-officers-fired?source=coc_main_website (includes the option to film a 30 second video) 

FIGHT FOR BREONNA:

https://justiceforbreonna.org/

#RUNWITHMAUD:

 https://www.runwithmaud.com/ (includes option to call)

JUSTICE FOR AHMAUD ARBERY:

 https://www.change.org/p/liberty-county-distric-attorney-justice-for-ahmaud-arbery 

JUSTICE FOR TONY MCDADE: 

https://www.change.org/p/black-lives-matter-activists-justice-for-tony-mcdade

HANDS UP ACT PETITION:

https://www.change.org/p/us-senate-hands-up-act

FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE INTERNATIONALLY: 

Postal codes: 

90015 – Los Angeles, California

10001 – New York City, New York

75001 – Dallas, Texas

TEXT:

TEXT JUSTICE TO 668366

TEXT FLOYD TO 55156

TEXT RESIST TO 50409

TEXT ENOUGH TO 55156

DONATE

AFFECTED FAMILIES

GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL FUND: 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

DONATION TO AHMAUD ARBERY’S FAMILY:

 https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-run-with-maud

JUSTICE FOR BREONNA TAYLOR: 

https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor/psf/promote_or_share?recruiter= (petition includes option to donate)

BAIL FUNDS

LOUISVILLE COMMUNITY BAIL FUND

https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/louisville-community-bail-fund

NATIONAL BAIL FUND NETWORK:

bit.ly/localbailfunds (find any protesting city & contribute to their bail funds)

Cities to consider:

Atlanta, Georgia

Chicago, Illinois

Columbus, Ohio

Denver, Colorado

New York City, New York

Check the news for updates for MANY other cities where your donations can help.

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ANTI-RACISM IN POLICING
https://www.lawyeredu.org/justice-resources/

BLACK VISIONS COLLECTIVE, MINNESOTA: 

https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/ (includes option to donate)

RECLAIM THE BLOCK DONATION: 

https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2?fbclid=IwAR1mozFqHICrjSN7tPDAkjJAwnxdkw8VbVVI6xygTPscsvzC-lQfhEaey0U

BLM DONATION: 

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.

https://www.naacpldf.org/

CONTACT REPRESENTATIVES

CONTACT MINNEAPOLIS REPRESENTATIVES EMAILS: 

citizeninfo@hennepin.us 

police@minneapolismn.gov 

minneapolis311@minneapolismn.gov 

policereview@minneapolismn.gov

MINNEAPOLIS SENATORS: 

https://www.senate.mn/members/

HOUSE MEMBERS:

https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/list

CONTACT KENTUCKY REPRESENTATIVES:

Louisville Police Dept Twitter: @lmpdky Instagram: @lmpd.ky

Louisville Mayor Twitter: @louisvillemayor Instagram: @mayorgregfisher

Kentucky Governor Twitter: @govandybeshear

Instagram: @govandybeshear

DOCUMENTARIES/FILMS/SHOWS/PODCASTS 

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2016) 

Director: Raoul Peck

Brief synopsis: “ The film explores the history of racism in the United States through James Baldwin’s reminiscences of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcom X, and  Martin Luther King Jr. as well as his personal observations of American History ” 

Let the Fire Burn (2013) 

Director: Jason Osder

Brief synopsis:  “A film about the events leading up to and surrounding a 1985 stand-off between the black liberation group MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department.” 

When They See Us (2019) 

Director: Ava Duvernay

Brief synopsis: “It is based on events of the 1989 Central Park Jogger cae and explores the lives and families of the five male suspects who were falsely accused then prosecuted on charges related to the rape and assault of a woman in Central Park, New York City.” 

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015) 

Director: Stanley Nelson Jr. 

Brief synopsis: “The first feature-length documentary to explore the Black Panther Party, its significance to the broader American culture, its cultural and political awakening for black people, and the painful lessons wrought when a movement derails.” 

Ferguson: A report from occupied territory (2015) 

Director: Orlando de Guzman

Brief synopsis: “This film goes to the frontlines of the national dialogue regarding racial profiling and police brutality; a dialogue triggered by the killing of Michael Brown in August of 2014and offers invaluable insights from Ferguson residents for whom the burdens of discrimination and injustice are a daily fact of life.”

Do Not Resist (2016)  

Director: Craig Atkinson 

Brief synopsis: “Filmed over two years in 11 states, this film examines the increasingly disturbing realities of the rapid militarization of police forces in the United States.” 

13th (2016) 

Director: Ava Duvernay

Brief synopsis: “The film explores the “intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States” it is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime.”

Black Power Mixtape

Director: Göran Olsson

Brief synopsis: “A documentary film that examines the evolution of the Black Power movement in American society from 1967 to 1975 as viewed through Swedish journalists and filmmakers.” 

What Matters

Podcast organized by BlackLivesMatter

https://blacklivesmatter.com/whatmatters/

Brief Synopsis: “What Matters combines documentary narrative with interviews to illuminate specific, timely issues, aiming to create safe dialogue to promote freedom, justice, and collective liberation.

What Matters is a salve and a safe place where we can connect, learn, think freely, and transform the world. New and upcoming episodes include interviews with Rep. Karen Bass, BLM South Bend, Donna Brazile, Dr. Cedric Dark, Jane Fonda, and Marc Lamont Hill.”

READING

The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X

Martin and Malcolm by James Baldwin 

Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis

Assata Shakur’s Autobiography 

The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House by Audre Lorde 

No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear By Toni Morrison 

Why I Won’t Vote by W. E. B. DuBois

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Political Prisoners, Prisons, and Black Liberation by Angela Davis 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

Tedx Speaker Dena Crowder Offers 6-Minute Guide on Transforming Trauma (WATCH)

Ahmaud Arbery.

Breonna Taylor.

George Floyd.

Three people we have recently witnessed dying violently, people who died solely because as African Americans, their lives are not valued in this country.

Tragically, this horror is not new. Arbery, Taylor and Floyd are now part of a sickeningly long chain of Black people in the United States to lose their lives to systemic racism, brutality and hate.

A recent article in USA Today titled “George Floyd Video Adds to Trauma: ‘When Is The Last Time You Saw a White Person Killed Online?'” addresses what those who have been experiencing it already know: African Americans are suffering greatly from constantly watching these acts of racial violence play out month after month year after year.

To quote:

“African Americans face harmful mental health effects every time high-profile incidents of racism and police brutality go viral, especially when little changes in the aftermath.”

Combined with a global pandemic, healthcare disparities and a financial crisis, African Americans are currently coping with exponential levels of trauma that will likely not dissipate any time soon.

So what can we do to protect ourselves as we bear these trying times, especially when community and family gatherings are so severely limited?

Last week, in honor of Mental Health Awareness MonthTedx speaker, performance coach and GBN’s “This Way Forward” contributor Dena Crowder offered a three-minute video as an aide for mental health and wellness.

Today, Dena offers a six-minute “Power Shot” with guiding words and an exercise to help release and transform trauma into energy to fuel us forward. Watch:

(Dena Crowder: DenaCrowder.com; IG: dena.crowder)

Dena Crowder (photo courtesy Dena Crowder)