Six Ways to Support Black Lives Matter

Although your social media feed is no longer filled with news of protests happening nationwide, Black Lives still and always will matter. There is more justice that needs to happen: Breonna Taylor’s killers are still loose, Vanessa Guillen’s murder is being covered up by the army, and there have been many lynchings ruled as a “suicide”.

If we don’t take action now...then when will we rise and make sure our voices are being heard? When will we take a stand against police injustice and racism?

So even if you may not be physically protesting anymore, you can still implement change wherever you are. Below is a list of some ways you can take action:

1. Educate Yourself - The first step is to educate yourself. You cannot create change if you don’t understand what it is you are fighting against.

   1. Check out the Black Lives Matter website so you can understand what the movement is about. Often, there is a common misconception that Black Lives Matter is undermining all lives when that is not true.

   2. Watch shows and movies that portray an accurate reality of what African Americans go through daily.

      1. Shows: Dear White People, When They See Us, Little Fires Everywhere, How To Get Away with Murder, All American, Insecure, The Wire, A Different World, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Watchmen, Black-ish, etc

      2. Movies: See You Yesterday, Boyz N The Hood, Straight Outta Compton, The Color Purple, Malcolm X, The Hate U Give, Freedom Writers, Fruitvale Station, Just Mercy, Birth of a Nation, 13th, Detroit, etc

   3. Have an important discussion with your peers and family - ask them about their personal experiences.

2. Reach out to representatives

   1. Do some research and reach out to representatives. It could be your local one or a different city where the injustice occurred.

3. Sign Petitions

   1. There are many petitions about reopening cases, arresting officers involved in police brutality, and releasing wrongfully imprisoned people. You can become a participant in change with one signature. If you sign petitions using Change, it saves your information so that the next time you want to sign one, it’s there already and takes one click.

4. Work with local organizations (NAACP, BLM)

   1. Become a member or reach out to your local chapters of the NAACP and BLM to see how you can be of help. The following link takes you to other organizations that support BLM: https://blacklivesmatter.com/partners/

5. Support Black-Owned Businesses (Creatives, Authors, Entrepreneurs, etc)

   1. Use your economic power and support a black-owned business. You can Google search black-owned businesses in your local area and a list will pop up. For example, search "Black-Owned Businesses in Tampa"

6. Raise Awareness on Social Media

   1. Use your social media to educate others about everything that’s happening within the Black community. Share petitions, contact information, and any other important information to encourage others to take a step against injustice.

To be clear… Black Lives Matter is a movement, not something to hop on for the “moment” because it’s trending. If you plan on being a part of the fight, please know that it is not a temporary hobby but is something you choose to take part in because Black Lives truly do matter every single day.