BLACK LIVES MATTER: WAYS TO HELP FUEL OUR COMMUNITY
Time and time again, in the Black community, we find ourselves being subjected to pain, anguish and violence. In this new decade, history continues to repeat itself and WE-ARE-TIRED! We are tired of the constant fear that’s been placed on our shoulders and we are tired of the colour of our skin being our cause of death. A black square or a repost is just not enough - silence and being a non-racist is no longer enough. Performative activism is becoming more apparent as the days go by - we are seeing more of a desire for inclusion and social media validation than we are seeing these posts/reposts/black squares for real change and justice!
As we black out our screens and let the world know enough is enough, the We Are Soul team have put together a list of ways on how you can avoid performative activism and continue to support and grow our community.
SAY THEIR NAMES
BELLY MUJINGA
Last week, it was announced that the Police were closing Belly Mujinga’s case despite alleged CCTV and eyewitnesses who claimed, a man spat on the rail worker and announced he was infected by COVID-19.
What we can do for her and her family:
Sign the Petition and share to friends and family.
Donate to her GoFundMe and share it with friends and family.
Attend the protest that will be occurring tomorrow (3rd June 2020) at Hyde Park. The peaceful protest will begin at 1pm and her friends and family will be attending.
Follow this step by step on how you can contact your local MPs and Government to re-open the case
GEORGE FLOYD
After George Floyd’s death, it was announced that his murderer was to only be charged for 3rd-degree murder when we all know he should - without a doubt - be charged for 1st-degree murder. Since Thursday night, Minneapolis, Atlanta and L.A (just to name a few) have faced ongoing riots and police brutality continues to be rampant across American soil.
What can we do:
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Support the movement that continuously gives our global community a voice. What we can do:
Sign their petition to #DefundThePolice and answer to their crimes
Donate to the movement and help fund the amazing work they continue to do for those across the pond
Walk in solidarity with our brother and sister tomorrow (3rd June 2020) at Hyde Park
GRENFELL
Since the haunting night of 2017, the residents of Grenfell continue to be failed by this government as they’re yet to get the justice they deserve.
What can we do:
Donate to the cause that continues to fight for the residents of Grenfell
Directly contact the Justice4Grenfell team if you wish to support them contact and wish to get involved.
DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO? LOOK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Image sourced from Twitter
HERE IS A LIST OF ORGANISATIONS WHO ARE DOING INCREDIBLE WORK FOR OUR COMMUNITY:
Since its emergence in 2001, the 100 Black Men of London is a free community Mentoring Programme for 10-16-year-olds. Their programmes consist of specifications on ‘life-skills’. They include:
Me I Can Be Programme (MICB): The focus here explores topics such as Black history and self-identity, providing information on drugs and its misuse, as well as health and wellness.
Young Leadership Academy: developing the skills from the MICB programme, YLA helps provide those involved with skills on leaderships which can be applied to every situation.
They go on to provide an additional programme which helps them get into “graduate status” as the mentees are given the opportunity to use everything that they’ve been taught and give back those lessons to younger kids within the community. 2. TRIBE An organisation by Black Women and for Black Women. TRiBE is a Community Mentoring Programme which provides Black Women with the necessary skills to help manage the daily aggressions they experience. They help Black women to “curate, take up and navigate professional and personal spaces, whatever that may look like”.
Why are Black women the focal point?
Black Women are proportionally the biggest group of graduates in the UK but remain the most un and underemployed
1 of 3 Black Women are currently living in poverty
The gender pay for white women is 13.9%. For Black African women in the UK, this gap increases to 19.6%
3. THE REACH OUT PROJECTS
This organisation works along with secondary schools, to help support students who are at high risk of exclusion. They provide mentoring programmes with highly-skilled mentors who provide one-to-one sessions for students throughout the academic year. They also provide group-mentoring on Saturdays where they explore self-care, self-expression, anger management and conflict resolution. The purpose is to provide these young people with tools and understanding which encourage self-confidence within their own judgement and good decision making.
4. FORWARD
An African women-led organisation that helps put an end on violence against girls and women. From FGM, child marriages and domestic/ sexual violence, the women of FORWARD wish to stop the violence these women face. Supporting female leaders of tomorrow, for the last 30 years, Forward UK help to bring communities together and help develop skills and knowledge. They pride themselves on giving these young girls and women, nurturing tools which help them recognise their inner strength and self-awareness.
5. BLACK THRIVE
The organisation that confronts mental health within the biggest Black community in London, Lambeth. Their purpose is to “address the barriers which lead to poorer outcomes across a range of social factors, such as education, employment, housing, and so on, all of which may negatively impact one’s health and wellbeing”.
6. THE BLACK TICKET PROJECT
“An Awarding initiative creating cultural access points for Black People.” The Black Ticket Project provides Black youths access to the world of theatre in London. By giving them access to free or discounted tickets, the Black Ticket Project gives young people the opportunity to expand their artistic experience.
7. KWANDA
“A modern collection pot for Black communities.”
Kwanda is an organisation that is self funded which helps to provide a system which helps to empower Black communities, here in the UK. Through monthly pledges (starting from £1), it grants people the chance for voting rights with how the money is spent as well as an “equal voice amongst villagers.” In less than 4 months they have successfully made £15.64K for the opportunity.
With your contribution you can help projects like:
Funding
Grants and Investments
Disaster Relief
Tech parks
8. THE AMOS BURSARY
An organisation that help men from Afro-Caribbean descent to be provided with opportunities that help the excel and flourish within their gifted talents and education. By recruiting high quality students and mentors and providing peer and professional mentoring to help these individuals be the men of tomorrow.
9. KEY4LIFE
Their mission is to reduce youths reoffending and returning to prison, through rehabilitation programmes in these prisons and those who are considered to be a high risk. The cost of putting on person through the Key4Life programme is £5,000 versus the annual fee of £37,000 per prisoner in England and Wales. Only 14% of those who have been through the Key4Life Programme, have reoffended compared to the 64% who haven’t, within their first year of release.
10. BLACK EDUCATION MATTERS (BEM)
Their aim to inspire and empower young people within the Black community, through workshops, conferences and mentorships. They’ve just recently released monthly newsletters which consists jobs within all industries, opportunities and events.
OTHER RESOURCES:
A free e-book on how we can end policing for what it stands for today.
OUR BLM STATEMENT
