In Solidarity with Black Lives
Gordon Parks, Untitled, New York, New York, 1963 © Gordon Parks Foundation
We are in a time of tremendous pain and righteous rage.
In a storm of fire and chaos, our cities are torn apart. A videotape has exposed one among countless outrageous wrongs that we’ve co-existed with for too long. Even the most willful can finally no longer look away.
We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who have put their lives on the line fighting these injustices. We support the families of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Laquan MacDonald, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Jamar Clark, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Stefon Clark, Botham Jean, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, George Floyd and the many, many other Black lives that have been taken.
Say their names. Again and again.
White people need to educate themselves/ourselves and their fellows about the real nature of racism — that none feels they are “racist,” but (we) all are.
Change doesn’t happen through passivity.
—Carey Lovelace and the 2020 Visions Team
Below are resources we are using to take action, to educate ourselves and our children, to support those whose lives have been sacrificed, and, in this time of distress, to find a new future for us all.
Direct Action via Donation:
Black Lives Matter
Bail Funds
Individual Memorial Funds
Community Resources:
Resources for Protestors
Self-education, Educating Others
Resources for Parents / Kids
Resources for Talking About Race, Racism, and Racialized Violence with Kids
Webinar: How Do I Make Sure I’m Not Raising the Next Amy Cooper – (NOTE: As of June 2, 2020, at 5:30 pm PT/8:30 pm ET)
Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup
Sign a Petition
We Are Inspired By:
James Baldwin, How Much Time Do You Want for Your “Progress?”
Toni Morrison’s interview on Jazz. (If you only have a few minutes, start min. 37:07 and end min. 40:24.)
Cornell West, via Democracy Now.
Dr. Martin Luther King, The Other America, 1967
“The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.”
― Scott Woods
We are taking these words and applying them to 2020Visions, building a new future by changing ourselves.
Carey Lovelace