Resources: Community Safety, In the Streets and at Home

Youth continue to lead! Student activists like you have been organizing, participating, and leading actions across the country to demand justice, safety, and inclusion of ALL Black lives! You are calling on institutions, organizations, family members, elected officials, educators, school administration and your peers to dismantle and eradicate anti-Blackness from your spaces. You are calling to evict police on campuses, to make sure that Black students who are disproportionately targeted and punished by school SROs, racially profiled and punished in a way that reflects the state are able to attend school safely. 

AND we know this continues to take work! Each person has a role in the movement. The resources listed below are a collection of ways to take part. The resources span from self-care for Black folks to those who are looking to be in solidarity with and center the needs and voices of Black people in the community. These resources have a short encouragement from students on the National Student Council who align with each section of work.

As you navigate this resource and are taking action we ask you to hold the memory and spirits of folks who have been murdered by systemic violence, Oluwatoyin Salau, Dominique Fells, Riah Milton, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, and Ahmaud Arbery. Honor their lives, advocate for change, and don’t forget to listen to when your body is asking you to take care of yourself. 

Self-care for Black folks:

It is important to take time to remind ourselves that while Black lives matter, but Black mental health also matters. Caring for yourself can be a form of activism, so don't be afraid to do so! - Ayana Boyd (she/her)

• The Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective is a collective of healers focused on the Black communities’ well-being. 
• The Okra Project is providing funding for mental health needs for Black Queer folks at The Nina Pop and Tony McDade Recovery Fund
• Griffin Wynne with Bustle wrote an article listing out “32 Black-Led Queer and Trans Organizations that you can look into”. 
• Rachel Miller wrote an article called “Self-Care Tips for Black People Who Are Struggling With This Very Painful Week” with Vice.
• Reignxshine who focuses on Black women health and wellness put together Self-care tips for Black people feeling overwhelmed by the media
• Jesse Sparks, wrote a list of “7 virtual health resources that support Black people right now.” 
• Liberate: By Us, For Us- Is an app that houses a collective of Black and brown meditation leaders who share exercises for the community to focus on grounding.

Safety in the streets:

Safety, security, and the wellbeing of myself and my community was at the forefront of my intentions during protesting. Making sure that folks know how to keep each other safe is an essential part of sparking change. -Reggie Eaton (they/them, he/him)

• Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martins’s murderer. Their mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities. Black Lives Matter - Healing In Action is a resource to prepare the community to embed healing in taking direct action in declaring Black freedom. 
• Amnesty International is a global movement to end abuses of human rights. They have a resource around Safety During A Protest
• ACLU works to fight for the nation’s rights embedded in the U.S Constitution. They have a resource that helps you  Know Your Rights While Protesting Police Brutality
• BUFU is a New York City project-based collective interested in building solidarity and experimental models of organizing. They created a: Revolution and Us Zine to support folks who are newer to protesting. 
• Advocates for Youth, works alongside thousands of young people here in the U.S. and around the globe as they fight for sexual health, rights, and justice put together a Youth Advocates Toolkit that you can use as you are organizing.  
• Harriets Apothocary which is a healing village led by Black Cis Women, Queer & Trans healers, artists, activists & ancestors, centering the genius of Black, Indigenous & POC folk. put out a series of protest tips:
• Pre-protest Self-Care Tips
• Self-Care Tips During Protest
• Post Protest Self Care Tips

Support from sidelines for everyone:

Not everyone is able to protest, whether it’s since our country is still heavily experiencing the effects of covid, or have other reasons to keep themselves or their loved ones safe. However, protesting isn't the only form of action you can take, and you can still make a difference from the sidelines.. - Eric Samelo (he/him)

• Look through the Social Change Ecosystem- Deepa Iyer and do the worksheet that goes along with it. 
• #8toAbolition was a response to the 8 Can’t-Wait campaign as a list of demands to shape city based-campaigns. 
• Movement for Black Lives was created in 2014 to be a space for Black organizations across the country to debate and discuss current political conditions and create strategy: the 2016 Policy Platforms were developed as a call for change post- Ferguson Black liberation movement. 
• INCITE! is a network of radical feminists of color organizing to end state violence and violence in our homes and communities. They put together a Stop Law Enforcement Violence Toolkit
• Disability Justice leaders in the movement put together 26 ways to be in the struggle beyond the streets. 
• The Root which is focused on African-American content put together A Timeline of Events That Led to the 2020 'Fed Up'-rising- Read through and share the history of Black Lives Matter work throughout the United States. 
• Check out GLSEN’s research, webinars, and resources at GLSEN- How to Support Black LGBTQ Students

Resources for non-Black folks of color and white folks: 

Solidarity is continuing to educate ourselves and take action on the issues that are often erased in school. The hate that fuels systemic racism and the violence against the Black community is the byproduct of the ignorance that has been carefully cultivated and groomed in our society. As non-black people, we have to actively seek out information to educate ourselves so we can recognize and take action to affirm the simple fact that Black Lives Matter. - Darid Prom (they/them)

• Radio Cana Negra, is a podcast that works to talk, share, laugh, heal, and learn about resources related to Black people from Latin America. They put together resources to talk about Black Lives Matter En Espanol 
• Letters for Black Lives is a set of crowdsourced, multilingual, and culturally-aware resources aimed at creating a space for open and honest conversations about racial justice, police violence, and anti-Blackness in our families and communities.
• 13th is a documentary developed by Ava DuVernay to address an in-depth look at the prison system in the United States. Host a watch party and discuss action steps that you can take. 
• CodeSwitch is a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in our lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting. Listen to an episode of CodeSwitch and host a conversation about it. 
• The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from the New York Times Magazine aimed to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center of the national narrative. 

Resources for white folks: 

As white people, we need to be working every day to dismantle anti-Blackness within ourselves and our communities. Educating ourselves and others by actively seeking out information. Black voices and Black experiences are vital and need our active support. - Oliver Pittman (they/them, he/him)

• Read through Peggy McIntosh’s Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack and list out the privileges you can utilize in support of Queer and Trans Black Lives. 
• Check out this lesson plan put out by PBS on Understanding White Supremacy and host a lesson with other white folks. 

 For questions or comments, please email us at students@glsen.org.