It's been over a month since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police, which sparked the numerous global protests fighting against radicalized police brutality. Thousands of people in the USA and Canada joined together to peacefully protest and stand in unity with the Black community.
In the weeks following, there have been more cases of police unjustly killing Black people rising in the media, like Breonna Taylor's death (and her killers STILL haven't been arrested), and Elijah McClain's tragic story.
The majority of the Internet posted black screens on Blackout Tuesday to allow Black creators to gain more recognition and awareness. However, the black screen posts, the Instagram stories and TikToks became trends instead of calls for action.
A majority of people posted a black screen with a hashtag and believed that was enough to demonstrate how "woke" they are.
It's not enough to actually create change.
The media has been slowly moving on from coverage of the protests and the countless posts from Black creators. The Black Lives Matter movement can't just have one month of dedication because the changes they demand haven't been implemented yet. And, it's been proven that the pressure from so many of us WILL get that change. Just look at the proposed CAREN Bill or the reopening of Breonna Taylor's case.
If you want to continue being an ally, here are four ways you can support the BLM movement.
Repost, share and link.
By reposting posts about protests, cases or news, you are spreading awareness from home! Sharing and linking petitions, sources of education and information is essential to inform others.
Sign petitions.
Petitions are one of the fastest ways to generate change on the Internet. By signing petitions, you become part of the change.
Highlight Black creators and voices.
Black creators and voices have the experiences and perspective of the movement!
Donate, call or email.
Donating to BLM movement groups (like the BLM group) can support their members and efforts -- and don't donate to change.org, as their donations don't go towards the actual cause! Calling/emailing government officials will bring the cause straight to those with the power to change the situation.
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