There are multiple ways to be an activist. It does not have to be a large public gesture. In private, trusting conversations with someone very different from you, you can create the space for revolutionary change. Connecting with each other on every scale contributes to a stronger global fight against injustice.
While hiring SROs is often a well-intentioned means of protecting students and staff, police are punitive — not preventative.
This week’s Extra! Extra! brings you more news of antiblack violence paired with updates on what activists are up to in the US and a look at antiblack and anti-indigenous violence around the world. This was a big week for the US Supreme Court so we’ll bring you up to speed on what’s happened there. And, of course, your COVID-19 update plus a general survey of the state of things worldwide to close out.
On a day commemorating Black freedom, we, particularly non-Black people, must recommit to freedom for Black trans people.
Just as the Emancipation Proclamation meant nothing to the people who its message hadn’t yet spread to, Juneteenth reminds us that it takes work and time for the joy of liberation to reach everyone.
I know that collective care is the future because it has made my past and present possible. We must acknowledge that mutual aid is not original—or optional—for chronically dispossessed people and therefore, always already political.
This isn’t just exhausting. This is intergenerational trauma, oppression, and maybe even genocide. This violence is specifically targeted against black and brown women, gender non-conforming folks, and especially trans women of color.
In one of the most major trans civil rights legal cases of our time and a huge milestone for legal precedent when it comes to LGBT employees generally, the Supreme Court has ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace, does apply to sexual orientation and trans status.
This incredible showing of support and care across generations makes us hopeful for what the future of the New York queer community will look like moving forward.
Overwhelmed by the news? So are we, but here’s our effort at highlighting some important stories and discussions. This week’s Extra! Extra! continues to look at police brutality, the protests and what’s been accomplished in their wake, as well as a brief update on the pandemic.
As annoying as it is, probably, to hear it, you really have to lead with love. It’s not our responsibility to love people who hate us or wish us ill, but if those people are your friends or family, it is yours. If you genuinely care about your family and want them to be and do better, let that ground your conversation.
Real commitment to Black lives requires us to consider why we’re fighting and for whom. It’s time we ask ourselves: if our liberation weren’t intertwined, if your well-being weren’t tied to that of Black people, would you still defend Black life?
Protecting our children from hard conversations about race is actively aiding and abetting white supremacy. We can’t afford to stay complicit.
In today’s link roundup: Minneapolis will dismantle its police department, Trump truly could just refuse to leave office, justice for Breonna Taylor, #8toAbolition, more on what defunding the police means, an interview with the “I yield my time” guy and more from the thousands of really important stories in the world today.
We cold-called and emailed hundreds of places, heart in mouth, praying for someone to be generous. And people came through, offering gloves, masks, and more.
This week’s Extra! Extra! looks at police instigating even more violence at protests about police violence, can we defund the police altogether, Iyanna Dior, and the meaning of voting when America is inherently built on anti-Blackness.
Legacies intersect in this Pride month to remind us that defunding the police system is both a historically Black and historically queer demand, and that disruption and direct action can get that demand met.
The state and police as agents of it often surveil communities of color and immigrant communities as a tactic of control, reminding people they’re being watched so they stay in line; white people have the power to surveil police to the same effect.
![Support Black Community [illustration of a bag of money] Boost Mutual Aid Funds](https://www.autostraddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/feature-mutualaidfunds.png?fit=640%2C320)
This post is a living document. If you are looking to donate to vetted groups or individuals currently providing community care, we encourage you to use this list as a resource. And if you are looking for any variety of care – food, shelter, COVID-19 testing, or other organizing efforts – we hope these options will be a good starting place for you to find what you need.
“Nobody may come to help us in time; we are all we’ve got. We need to organize, quickly, online, and geographically.”