Black Lives STILL Matter
Welcome back, friends! I am here today to bring you another Black Lives Matter centered post because even though some of the protests have stopped, we shouldn’t stop talking about them. As white people we have to keep working to learn, grow, and be better allies as we move through the protests and as things change. I wanted to talk a little bit about some of the things happening since a lot of the protests and also provide some more links to mental health resources, businesses, and business help for Black run businesses. As always, ALWAYS defer to the POC when it comes to these things. I can explain what is happening and say I hate it but the ones in charge are Black people and POC. They know what they need. I also will always miss some links because there is no way to have access to all of them, so any helpful links you have please add them in the comments below.
I was originally going to post this on Wednesday but had to double-check a bunch of things (as I always do) and wanted to add in a little about Juneteenth which is today! Today marks the day in which Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to tell slaves that the war had ended and they were legally allowed to be free. As many people know (and if you don’t, google it) the end to slavery was not so simple. There was still slavery and issues with black people being able to get jobs and own a home. But today is a day in the Black community where they celebrate the end of slavery and the beginning of things starting to slightly get better for POC. I have linked a history of Juneteenth here for you all to read and get a better understanding than I have been able to provide for you. I have also linked a petition for you to sign in order to make Juneteenth a federal holiday because it isn’t as of yet. Many people haven’t even heard of it. Please sign and if you can donate, please do. In this country, nothing speaks louder than money. So put your money where your beliefs are!
Let’s start with Breonna Taylor. I would assume that everyone right now has heard about the case of Breonna Taylor, but in case you have missed out for some reason, here is a brief overview: Breonna was home when cops broke into her home and shot her 8 times. They had the wrong address and therefore were in her home wrongfully. She was asleep when they started searching for a suspect they assumed lived there (he lived ten miles away) because that man was being charged with drug crimes. This suspect was already in custody when Breonna was being murdered. This is another in a long line of Black people who have been murdered by the cops for no reason. This past week the police report explaining the incident in her home and it disturbingly noted how they fired 8 shots, but the person in question was not injured. It was poorly filled out and blatantly lying since how can one be shot 8 times and not be injured? Louisville, Kentucky (where Breonna lived) has passed a law that has banned “no-knock” warrants but has not arrested the police officers who broke into her home illegally, by mistake, and then murdered her while she was asleep. Their names are Brett Hankison, Jonathan Mattingly, and Myles Cosgrove. These are the three men who murdered her and they should be tried and convicted. Being a cop with a badge and a gun does not give a person license to kill whomever they please, which is exactly what happened here. If you wish to read one of the many full articles on Breonna’s case, click here. And here I have linked the largest petition for Breonna to get these cops arrested for her murder.
Next, we need to move into the Lynchings. They are not being called that in the press of course since this is 2020 and racism is supposedly gone. This is a lie but in the press, the various cases (yes more than one) are being spoken about as suicides since they were found hanging from trees. The two that occurred happened in Victorville, California, and then Palmdale, California. They were both black men found hanging from trees, which the police assumed has to be suicide but many people in the Black community have explained how false this is, including the families of the dead men. Why would Black men want to kill themselves in such a degrading manner that was used for hundreds of years (and to this day) to punish Black people for crimes that white people made up? The cases are still under investigation and things have not been decided upon yet. Right now this just means that Black people are dying at a faster rate than police brutality can keep up with. I have left links to a few stories about the Lynchings here, here and here. Feel free to peruse these to get some more information on what is going on in the Black community to make sure that what you are saying and your opinions are fully formed with Black people in mind. There need to be as many voices as possible standing up for Black lives always, but especially now and from here on out.
Do not forget the Black transgender women. Two Black trans women were killed last week. Their names are Riah Milton age 25 and Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells age 27. There is not a lot of details out about their deaths yet but they are not being taken very seriously when it comes to the police at this time. Since they are trans women, on top of being Black women, they automatically mean less to the public due to systemic racism and homophobia. Again this all sounds like my opinion but I have linked a few articles for you to read here, here and here. It is Pride Month, and while all the celebrations associated with Pride have been canceled due to Covid-19 but it still counts and for this to happen right in the middle of it is horrible. Along with the things, the “president” (yes I mean the quote marks, he is not a leader) has done to take medical rights away from trans people during Pride month, there is no end we should try to reach to make sure we are always taking care of vulnerable communities.
Below I have linked some mental health resources for the Black community that is of little or no cost at all for people who are struggling with everything right now to get help. Do not be afraid to take care of yourself. We can’t keep fighting the good fight if we are too mentally destroyed to do so.
Mental Health Resources:
Black Lives Matter Resources
An article on how systemic racism makes the pandemic worse for POC
Virtual therapists
An article on generational trauma
This is a great resource for finding therapists in your area you can afford with your insurance or if you don’t have any.
Please add any additional things you feel important in the comments below. I am a white woman so I am doing my best to help and learn and grow but there have been some important links I missed. Please feel free to drop anything helpful in the comments.
Madey
Cover art found here