If you are looking for some guidance on how you can help or work towards ending systematic anti-black oppression and violence and join the movement precipitated by the recent killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota by police officer Derek Chauvin as three fellow officers looked on an assisted, here are some petitions to sign, groups to support, learn from and donate to and resources to help educate you and get you caught up to speak on how to work towards racial justice curated by Artforum.com to get you started:
DONATE TO:
Bail Funds
National Organizations
American Civil Liberties Union
Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative
Local Organizations
Black Visions Collective Movement and Legal Fund (Minnesota)
Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en La Lucha (Minnesota)
Communities United Against Police Brutality (Minnesota)
DeDe McClure Memorial Community Fund (California)
Fianza Fund (Texas)
Free the 350 (Wisconsin)
Kansas City Community Bail Fund
815 Mutual Aid Network (Illinois)
NC Community Bail Fund of Durham
Neighbors for Common Good (Nebraska)
NorCal Resist (California)
The Northwest Community Bail Fund (Washington)
Orange County Bail Fund (California)
Peoples City Council Freedom Fund (Los Angeles)
The Portland Freedom Fund (Oregon)
Reclaim the Block (Minnesota)
Tucson Second Chance Community Bail Fund
Minnesota-based organizations including the Minnesota Freedom Fund and the Northstar Health Collective have received a flood of donations in the days following Floyd’s death and are currently pointing people to other organizations.
A list of regional bail and bond funds that you can donate to can also be found on the National Bail Fund Network’s website, and the nonprofit organization ActBlue has set up a webpage where you can split a donation among forty different community bail funds.
You can also donate to the George Floyd Memorial Fund, which was established to “cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist [the Floyd] family in the days to come as [they] continue to seek justice for George.”
And here are some smaller Minnesotan organizations asking for donations.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Karen Bass (D-CA), and Barbara Lee (D-CA), have introduced a resolution to condemn police brutality, racial profiling, and the excessive use of force.
If you are a US citizen:
Call your members of Congress to ask them to support the resolution. Find your representative here.
If you are a resident of Minnesota:
After adding your name to Defund the MPD—a petition put out by the abolitionist organization Black Visions Collective that calls for Minneapolis City Council to defund the police and reimagine community safety networks—demand racial justice by urging Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Minneapolis District Attorney Mike Freeman to hold the officers responsible for Floyd’s death accountable and to chart a path toward decarceration.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan
130 State Capitol
75 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Telephone Numbers:
Telephone: 651-201-3400
Toll Free: 800-657-3717
Minnesota Relay: 800-627-3529
Contact via internal portal here.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey
350 South 5th Street, Room 331
Minneapolis, MN 55415
T: 612-673-2100
Contact via internal portal here.
Minneapolis District Attorney Mike Freeman
Hennepin County Attorney
C-2000 Government Center
300 South Sixth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55487
T: 612-348-5550
E: [email protected]
More resources—including tips for protestors, legal counsel, and a guide to allyship—can be found here.
