Ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement from home

Mykel Hilliard, Editor-in-Chief

The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers have seen people take to the streets nationwide to march in support of the Black Lives Matter movement to fight police brutality. While many have marched, some have opted to stay home out of the fear of contracting COVID-19. If you are among those people here are five ways to help support the black community and Black Lives Matter movement from home.

Donate

One way to take action is by donating to the various charities and services that support the movement and Black people. Protesters and organizers across the country have been arrested for demonstrations so donating money to bail funds could be useful. The National Bail Fund has a list of bail funds categorized by state. You can also lend support to groups that help Black LQBTQ+ protesters such as the Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund or The LGBTQ+ Freedom Fund.

If you are not able to donate you can watch monetized Youtube videos by creators who have vowed to donate 100 percent of their YouTube ad revenue to Black lives matter organizations. Be sure the ad-block on your device is disabled and you do not select the skip the advertisements option attached to the video or your stream will not count for YouTube’s monetization algorithm.

Sign petitions and contact representatives
Signing online petitions and contacting local and state representatives is a perfect way to make sure your voice is heard and it only takes minutes. Over the last few weeks, a link of petitions in support of the movement has been floating around. The link includes petitions to defund police organizations, get justice for police brutality victims and pass anti-police violence acts. It can also be helpful to directly contact representatives on all government levels and voice your opinion. Here is an online resource that helps you locate your local, state and federal representatives.

Use social media
It is hard to deny the impact that social media has on keeping us informed. By taking to social media, you can help spread awareness by posting about local protests in your area, defunding initiatives, donating funds and more. When you are spreading information be careful and fact check your sources to make sure they are accurate and reliable. Aside from using your social media channels to spread awareness you can also support and follow black creatives. If you have a niche interest such as fashion, literature, gaming, etc., you could explore the web and find black creators in that niche to support their endeavors.

Support Black businesses
A good way to invest in the Black community is to show support to the businesses run and owned by Black people. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is home to Black-owned businesses, and lending your support to these businesses could help build wealth within the Black community. According to CBS 11, several Black-owned businesses were vandalized during the first round of protests in Dallas, so spending money at their business would be beneficial in helping them rebuild. Black Biz DFW has curated a list of Black-run businesses separated into categories such as arts & entertainment, hair care, retail and more.

Have conversations

Participating in conversations with people around you can make a difference in how society views the Black Lives Matter movement. If you want to be more knowledgeable about topics that relate to the movement you can refer to Time magazine’s list of books and movies to watch. This Google Doc created by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein is also filled with anti-racist resources such as articles, podcasts and videos. Conversations about race and police brutality can be hard to have, especially if you are privileged or not a part of a minority group affected by police brutality. Educating someone could help them understand the movement better and may turn their disdain or ignorance on the topics into support. If you have been fearful of having the conversation in the past, now is the perfect time because the situation is relevant as protests across the U.S. continue to happen.