On Tuesday, June 9, approximately one hundred people gathered at the Free Speech Wall in Charlottesville's downtown mall for a peaceful prayer vigil organized by Don Gathers and the Charlotttesville Clergy Collective. Below are pictures courtesy of Mike Kropf and Richard Lord. (Photo credit above: Eze Amos)

Credit for above photos: Mike Kropf

Credit for above photos: Richard Lord

Read our Statement on the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor

Last Week Tonight (June 7, 2020)- As nationwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are met with police brutality, John Oliver discusses how the histories of policing and white supremacy are intertwined, the roadblocks to fixing things, and some potential paths forward.

TAKE ACTION

The following links are taken from Claire Lampen’s article “How to Support the Struggle Against Police Brutality.”

​Direct aid for victims’ families:

• George Floyd’s family has started a GoFundMe to cover funeral and burial costs; counseling services; legal fees; and continued care for his children. There’s also a GoFundMe to provide for his 6-year-old daughter, Gianna Floyd, and a GoFundMe to support “peace and healing” for Darnella Frazier, the woman who filmed Floyd’s death.
• Another GoFundMe is raising money for Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, donations to which will similarly fund the family’s legal battle.
• There’s a GoFundMe for Breonna Taylor’s family, to help with legal fees and offer extra support.
• There’s a GoFundMe for David McAtee’s mother and family: McAtee was fatally shot just after midnight on June 1, after police officers and National Guard members fired into a crowd of people who were not taking part in the evening’s protests.

Bail funds: ActBlue has a page that will let you split your donation between 38 community bail funds, or if you’d like to focus your donation directly, here are some options.

• The Bail Project, a nonprofit that aims to mitigate incarceration rates through bail reform.
• The National Bail Fund Network also has a directory of community bail funds to which you can donate, along with a COVID-19 rapid response fund.
• Another list of bail funds is available here, and another list of bail funds by city.

Support for protesters:

• A Gas Mask Fund for black youth activists in Minneapolis is raising money to buy gas masks for demonstrators who’ve faced tear gas during protests.
• The Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund is raising money for physical resources, bail, and medical care for black, transgender protesters, which will be redistributed to black, trans-led organizations “in the event these funds don’t need to be used.”
• The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which supports racial justice through advocacy, litigation, and education.
• The Legal Rights Center is a non-profit law firm based in Minneapolis, offering legal defense, educational, and advocacy services.
• Black Visions Collective, a black, trans, and queer-led social justice organization and legal fund based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
• The Know Your Rights Camp, an organization founded by Colin Kaepernick that provides education and training in black and brown communities, set up a legal fund for Minneapolis protestors.
• Organizations working against mass-incarceration and police abuse:
• Communities United for Police Reform is an initiative to end discriminatory policing in New York, helping to educate people on their rights and document police abuse.
• Showing Up for Racial Justice works to educate white people about anti-racism and organizes actions to support the fight for racial justice and undermine white supremacy.
• Communities United Against Police Brutality, which operates a crisis hotline where people can report abuse; offers legal, medical, and psychological resource referrals; and engages in political action against police brutality.
• No New Jails NYC aims to keep the city from constructing new jails, and to instead divert funds that currently go toward the police and incarceration toward housing, ending homelessness, mental health, and other community support systems.

Tangible Ways to Support Black Lives

• Black Lives Matter
• Showing Up for Racial Justice
• CongregateCville
• NAACP
• Minnesota Freedom Fund to help protesters set bail and bond, etc.
• Support Black-owned restaurants in Charlottesville

 

• Online application for Absentee Voting in Virginia (for June 23 Primaries. June 16 deadline to request absentee ballot).

Ways to Engage Right Now – Each One Counts

Note: Below is an excerpt of an email from Collective Impact Forum.

If you’re wondering what steps to take, here are some things that can help.
Listen. Learn. Give. Center.

Listen:

Listen to communities of color. Understanding what Black, Brown, or Indigenous people need to thrive is crucial right now.
Please don’t assume.

• Ask. Ask them right now what they need from you.
• Listen. Listen to what your community members say.
• Trust. Trust what they say is what they need right now.

Learn:

If you are struggling with what is said above or what is going on right now in our world, a good step is to visit some resources to support your own learning. Everyone is learning at their own pace. Remember to not expect or task your Black colleagues and community members to teach you right now. They do not have the time or energy to lay things out again. If you are feeling challenged and wondering where to start, seek out resources like the ones listed below.

Books: These books are available in print, ebook, and audio.

• How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Resources:

• Anti-Racism Resources
• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

Follow: There are many excellent organizations leading the field on supporting racial equity. Here are just a few to follow that can support your learning.

• PolicyLink
• Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE)
• Equity in the Center
• Race Forward

Give:

It’s become a pandemic cliché to say “Now more than ever,” but it’s still true. Now, more than ever, giving is essential. Whether it’s giving money, time, or compassion.

• If you are an institutional funder: please give. Please don’t wait for the perfect time or strategy. Please give to organizations that are led by and for people of color. Give to organizations that are advocating and organizing against anti-Black racism. Fund movement-building infrastructure to advance racial justice
• If you are an individual donor and are able to give: even a small donation can support anti-racist work in your community right now
• Showing up to support local Black-run businesses and organizations is also a form of giving
• Donating time (even virtually as many of us still shelter in place) can also be helpful.

See “Listen” above. If your communities are asking for something to be given, if you can, please give.

Give compassion.

“Now more than ever” is the time to spread your compassion and empathy. So many are feeling pain, exhaustion, fear, and grief. Your compassion and love can be a real gift.

Center:

It’s very necessary to center the stories and experiences of Black lives and other people of color, and what they are going through. Center their narratives and what they are experiencing. Use those experiences as a light to guide your actions.

Be wary of “easy” narratives that pin blame on communities of color. Like using a stereotype to quickly code someone, narratives are also tools to quickly divide and understand.

Parse your media intake - who is being centered? Whose experiences are “the protagonist”? At this time of heightened racial violence and inequity, if the story “protagonist” is not Black or Brown, use that as an indicator to reassess that media source and what narrative they are trying to give you.

Our own media literacy (including social media) is a key learning area right now. Following media outlets and sources that are authored by and for Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities is a crucial step to improve one's own media literacy, especially if you want to unlearn harmful narratives that you may be unknowingly carrying with you.

#BlackLivesMatter

For people of color in the Collective Impact Forum community, we see you. We see your pain and grief. We see the injustices you have and are experiencing. You do not deserve to feel this way. No one should. This burden should not be yours. It should not be anyone’s.

For our Forum community - Let us all do what we can to overcome anti-blackness and racism in our systems and communities.

Listen. Learn. Give. Center. And Support each other.

Robert Albright, Director, Collective Impact Forum
Sheri Brady, Associate Director, Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions
Jennifer Splansky Juster, Executive Director, Collective Impact Forum
Tracy Timmons-Gray, Associate Director, Collective Impact Forum


LEARN - Articles

• A reading list to understand police brutality in America - Vox.com
• The anger behind the protests, explained in 4 charts - Vox.com
• 'A riot is the language of the unheard,' Martin Luther King Jr. explained 53 years ago - TheWeek.com
• George Floyd video adds to trauma: 'When is the last time you saw a white person killed online?' - USAToday.com

TAKE ACTION
 
SupportCville.com
SupportCville.com has the most comprehensive list of support (financial, supplies, housing, food, etc.) in our community.

Below are a few organizations where you can donate to support our community:

• Charlottesville Area Community Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund 
• Give to a specific local organization established at the Community Foundation.
• SupportCville.com has more organizations you can donate to. 
• Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR) Cville
• The Monacan Nation
• SURJ is promoting a stimulus check donation drive to help especially those who are undocumented, incarcerated, do not have social security numbers, or home addresses . Click here for more information and to pledge. Here’s a report on how SURJ Charlottesville has contributed to Covid-19 Mutual Aid. 
• #50forFood - Cville Community Cares is partnering with Sin Barreras to raise $50,000 for immediate distribution to Charlottesville-area residents who are experiencing food insecurity. Commit your stimulus check for this aid by donating at https://congregatecville.com/. 

LEARN

“Shepherding Through a Pandemic” Informational Session on COVID-19 for Faith Leaders

On May 27, Dr. Jeanita Richardson (Professor of Public Health Sciences at UVa's School of Medicine) gave a presentation on “Shepherding Through a Pandemic,” focusing on what faith leaders need to know about the COVID-19 pandemic and how to prepare for the reopening of their congregations.

Below you will find supporting information from the presentation.

• Zoom link to the Video of the Presentation. Password: 4M.@2nyl
• Slide Deck of the Presentation
• Rough Notes of the Presentation
• “We’re Going to be OK” - Tips and advice book for children

PDF Handouts mentioned by Dr. Richardson

• Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility - CDC
• COVID-19 Symptoms
• COVID-19 “Staying Alive” Poster
• COVID-19 Info Flyer
• How to Protect Yourself and Others
• Stop the Spread of Germs
• Virginia Forward - Phase One for Religious Services

Links:

• Center for Disease Control’s COVID-19 webpage
• Center for Disease Control’s COVID-19 print resources (offered in different languages)
• Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 webpage (includes statistics shown during presentation)
• Thomas Jefferson Health District’s COVID-19 data portal (stats broken down by race, ethnicity, gender, age, etc.)
• Virginia’s PHASE ONE Guidelines webpage
• Thomas Jefferson Health District’s COVID-19 Data Portal

ARTICLES: COVID-19 and Race

• PolicyLink.org recently published an article advocating for a “Common-Sense, Street-Smart Recovery” to build an inclusive economy and equitable nation that works for all. It includes these principles: 1. Center Racial Equity, 2. Put People First, 3. Invest in Community Infrastructure, 4. Build an Equitable Economy, and 5. Protect and Expand Community Voice and Power. Read the article here. 
• Black Americans dying of Covid-19 at three times the rate of white people - TheGuardian.com
• COVID-19 Killing African Americans at Shocking Rates - MedPageToday.com
• What Do Coronavirus Racial Disparities Look Like State By State? - NPR.org
• Why “essential” workers are treated as disposable - Vox.com
• How the coronavirus exposed health disparities in communities of color - WashingtonPost.com
• Racism, Not Genetics, Explains Why Black Americans Are Dying Of COVID-19 - ScientificAmerican.com