Here’s a list of useful links and resources that will help black and brown people progress emotionally, educationally, financially and hopefully put an end to the organised racism and oppression that unfortunately currently still exists. Please share this with everyone you know especially white people. For as long as it’s our burden it will be yours too.
Donate
Black Minds Matter – “Our mission is to support making mental health topics relevant and accessible for all black people in the U.K. We’ve put together this organisation, to enable as many black people, to get specialised help. We aim to fulfil this by connecting black individuals and families with professional mental health services across the U.K.” Donate here.
Black Table Arts – “Gathering black communities through the arts towards better black futures.” Donate here.
Black Lives Matter “was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.” Donate here.
Color Of Change – “helps you do something real about injustice. We design campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward. Until justice is real.” Donate here.
Black Mamas Matter Alliance – “is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance. We center Black mamas to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice.” Donate here.
Bag designer Natasha Fernandes Anjo and founder of accessories brand It’s Ropper has organised a raffle of prizes created by fashion, art and textiles designers to raise money to support black communities. There are 3 prize bundles to win and entry is only £2 a ticket. You can enter as many times as you like. See the prizes here and enter the raffle here. The raffle ends on Thursday 23rd June so hurry. If you’re reading this after the deadline you can still financially support the cause.
Black Owned Businesses
Liha Beauty, “Our products are, like us, a mix of natural African roots and a quintessentially British attitude”.
Black Girl Knit Club, “represent a community of Black Women & Girls who love to learn new hand skills and celebrate each other based in East London, UK.”
By Ola, printed textiles and accessories brand.
Maya Nije, hand made niche perfume.
A list of black owned book shops in the U.K
Who What Wear U.K has also compiled a list of black fashion businesses. Read and support here.
Petitions
Aurora James designer and founder of footwear and accessories brand Brother Vellies has organised the 15% Pledge; calling on major retailers to pledge 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Help them get to 1 million signatures and buy black. Sign the petition here.
Hold the British Museum accountable for having stolen so many African artefacts in their museum. Sign the petition here.
UAL African Caribbean Society’s president is “calling for an end to the systemic racism and discrimination at UAL. Black and minority ethnic students are around 21.5% less likely to achieve a 1st or a 2:1 in comparison to their white counterparts. While 47% of students come from “BAME” Backgrounds, 81% of the staff are white. Black students have reported being discriminated against and under-represented, many have been marked down for undertaking projects based on their cultural heritage. Sign the petition here.
English teacher Jessica Tacon has organised a petition to add more BAME representation into the AQA English Literature GCSE. Sign the petition here. You can further support the cause by following it on Instagram.
On a similar note Radhika Patel has organised a petition for the Department of Education to add more BAME representation in school subjects. Sign the petition here.
I was passed this Twitter thread of petitions of black and brown people murdered and violently harmed due to racism. The list is long and is very emotional and tragic. Brace yourself and take a look at the petitions here.
Food for Thought
Model and founder of Gurls Talk Adwoa Aboah had a very insightful conversation with Janaya Khan Future about white fragility and white privilege on IGTV. Watch and listen here.
Black and Asian-American feminist solidarities reading list.
Cultivate Black Joy – with everything going on and more people paying attention to what’s going the constant reminder of oppression is heavy for black and brown people. Erica Chidi has written a piece on Vogue for finding well-being and black joy when the world is on fire, light a candle and read here.
Photo credit Slashed by Tia