Black Lives Matter: How you can support the movement from New Zealand
Monday, 8 June 2020
Since George Floyd’s death, protests have erupted across the world, including in New Zealand.
Racialised police brutality is not new, but recent events have brought the issue of racism into sharp focus worldwide.
There’s a flood of good intentions at the moment: unopened tabs and saved Instagram posts. This list aims to bring these resources together, with details of events, resources that place anti-black racism in a New Zealand context and places you can donate.
It draws on a lot of resources compiled by other people, so please follow them and share their work. This list is not exhaustive; please feel free to contact josephine.franks@stuff.co.nz if you have any suggestions or additions.
**READ MORE:
* How NZ can lead the way in dismantling systems of white supremacy
* Out of the ashes: how a week of protests changed America
* Time for protesters to contribute more than slogans
**
TO WATCH
In March, Stop Institutional Racism (STIRNZ) hosted Tiriti-based futures + Anti-racism 2020, a conference that was also broadcast as a series of webinars.
These webinars are available on itsYouTube channel; topics include institutional racism and anti-racism, decolonisation, building Tiriti-based futures and transforming our constitution. There’s also a useful page of resources on their website.
There are a wealth of documentaries and dramas about race and racism: here are 14 streaming in New Zealand on Netflix, Neon and Lightbox.
TO READ
Tātoutātou, a network of young Indigenous people working to support the kaupapa of decolonisation, have pulled together a list of resources around anti-black racism in Aotearoa, including interviews, reports and news articles.
Artist and writer Jane Mount has crowdsourced a list of anti-racism books. The full list is available on Ideal Bookshelf and someone has also gone to the effort of making it into a Google Spreadsheet.
Author of Me and White Supremacy, Layla F Saad, has also compiled an anti-racist reading list for The Guardian.
Verso Books is offering free ebooks on policing, including The End of Policing by Alex S Vitale and Police: A Field Guide by David Correia and Tyler Wall.
For parents, this Twitter thread has recommendations for children’s books that discuss race and racism.
For Kiwis looking to learn more about race and colonialism in our own backyard, Jess Mio has some recommendations of where to start.
The list includes Maori Sovereignty by Donna Awatere; Kia Mau: Resisting Colonial Fictions by Tina Ngata; Colonising myths - Maori realities: He rukuruku whakaaro by Ani Mikaere; Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Tuhiwai Smith; Struggle Without End by Ranginui Walker; The Meeting Place by Vincent O’Malley; The New Zealand Wars by Vincent O’Malley; Ngāpuhi Speaks: The Independent Report on the Ngapuhi Nui Tonu Claim and Processes of Pākehā Change in Response to the Treaty of Waitangi by Ingrid Huygens.
Uncommodified Blackness: The African Male Experience in Australia and New Zealand by Mandisi Majavu is a study of lived experience, offering insights into the racism experienced by men of African descent.
Justice & Race by Oliver Sutherland is the story of ACORD – the Auckland Committee on Racism And Discrimination. Talking to Stuff when the book was published in February, the Nelson author said he hoped the book would shine a light on the 'national shame' of child abuse and institutional racism during the 1960s and 1970s.
TAKING ACTION IN AOTEAROA
While the events on Monday were held in solidarity with the global Black Lives Matter movement, they also shone a light on the arming of police in New Zealand.
A controversial six-month pilot saw Armed Response Teams deployed in South Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury.
The trial was criticised for a lack of consultation before its launch, and over fears guns would be disproportionately used against individuals experiencing mental health crises, and Māori and Pasifika people.
The trial has now ended and police are collecting feedback. You can contact police on haveyoursay@police.govt.nz or (04) 474 9499, or contact your MP to share your thoughts. There’s more information at Arms Down NZ.
Other New Zealand organisations to check out: Organise Aotearoa; People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA); People At Risk Solutions (PARS), which provides support for released prisoners.
UPCOMING EVENTS
A second rally for Black Lives Matter is being planned to take place in Auckland on Sunday, June 14 at 1pm in Aotea Square.
The country may be at alert level one by next Sunday, which would mean protestors can gather without being in breach of rules on gatherings.
However, organisers are taking precautions around social distancing. See the Facebook event for more details.
If you know of other anti-racism events happening in your area – whether they’re protests, lectures or conferences – please contact josephine.franks@stuff.co.nz so they can be added to the list.
HOW TO DONATE TO BLM WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY
Zoe Amara, a young black YouTuber, has set a way for you to donate to Black Lives Matter through ad revenue, wherever in the world you live. Just play the video she’s created and 100 per cent of the advertising revenue will go to bail funds.
Make sure you disable any ad blockers, have your volume turned up (plug in headphones if you want to have it in the background), watch to the end and don’t skip the ads.
HOW TO DONATE IF YOU DO HAVE MONEY
If you’re in a position to donate cash, bail funds, fundraising pages for the families of those killed and black community groups are some places to consider.
More than 10,000 people have been arrested since the killing of George Floyd, according to the Associated Press tally.
A number of organisations are fundraising to post bail for arrested protesters, but check their website for updates before you donate; some are redirecting funds after being inundated.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund, for example, has raised about $20 million and is now encouraging people to donate to George Floyd’s family and other organisations, including Black Visions Collective, a black, trans and queer-led organisation “dedicated to Black liberation and to collective liberation”.
It has also pointed to medical group North Star Health Collective, which is also redirecting funds. You can find a full list on their website but they include Pimento Relief Fund, which is providing black businesses with insurance relief after white supremacists set them on fire during the protests, and Unicorn Riot, a non-profit media organisation live-streaming the protests.
Reclaim the Block is also promoted by the Minnesota Freedom fund and is asking people instead to donate to Minneapolis groups. They are keeping a Google Doc updated; starred organisations indicate which have been added in the past 24 hours, so may not have received as much support yet.
Donating to a bail fund means your money will be recycled; bail money is returned when a case is closed, and The Bail Project estimates it’s able to use every dollar donated at least twice per year.
A full list of bail funds for protesters across the US can be found on the Bail Fund website. The list was compiled with the National Bail Fund Network to ensure the validity of the funds.
Comedian Zubi Ahmed has also created a spreadsheet of bail funds and mutual aid funds, as well as details of known spam accounts to look out for.
The Black Trans Protesters Emergency Fund has been created to support black trans protesters with resources, medical care and bail. You can donate via PayPal using the email btfacollective@gmail.com.
If you’re not sure where to give your money, you can use ActBlue to split your donation between more than 60 community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organisers.
You can also donate directly to the Black Lives Matter movement.
If you’d like to support the families of those killed, two GoFundMe pages have been set up in George Floyd’s memory, by his brother and sister.
Justice for Breonna Taylor has been set up for the family of the 26-year-old healthcare worker fatally shot by police in her Louisville apartment in March.
A fundraiser has also been created to raise money for the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot by a white father and son while he was out jogging in February.
You could donate to cover funeral costs for David McAtee, who was shot during protests on June 1.
There have been reports of fake fundraising pages, so watch out for scams.
OTHER LISTS OF RESOURCES
Autumn Gupta and Bryanna Wallace have developed Justice in June. Choose how much time you have each day – 10, 25, or 45 minutes – and follow their reading, watching and listening suggestions each day. The extensive resource is also a great source of further links and content.
It draws on 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack.
Anti-racism resources for white people is a public Google Doc with loads of recommendations: books, podcasts, TV shows, organisations to follow and more. It was compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein.
It's Nice That has collated a brilliant set of resources, including books to read, petitions to sign and people to follow.
On Instagram, check out Mireille Cassandra Harper’s 10 steps to non-optical allyship; How to be actively anti-racist from GoodGoodGoodCo; Das Penman’s George Floyd: How can I help from the UK?, UK-centric but relevant to Kiwis; 6 ways to activate beyond social media from Jezz Chung; How to talk to your family about racism from Jenerous.