Resources in the Fight for Racial Justice

“Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “The Other America”

Bail Funds for Protestors

During a pandemic is an especially dangerous time to be in jail. With protests happening all over the United States, racial justice activists are in danger of arrest and imprisonment. Contribute to a local or national bail fund to help bail out protestors and reduce the further spread of COVID-19.
ActBlue offers an easy way to split a donation among 70+ different bail funds—or pick and choose which funds you want to support. (Consider leaving ActBlue a tip, too!)
Or consider giving to the The Bail Project™ National Revolving Bail Fund, a “critical tool to prevent incarceration and combat racial and economic disparities in the bail system.” Donate here.

Young People Fighting for Racial Justice

10 Young Racial Justice Activists You Should Know: DoSomething has profiled young activists who are leading youths in combatting racial profiling and gun violence while advocating for free speech and intersectionality in activist movements. Learn more about these awesome young people here.
DoSomething.org is a youth-led movement for good. Their campaigns include COVID-19 advocacy, gun violence, voter registration, feminine hygiene products for homeless people, and more. Find out how DoSomething is responding to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
Dream Defenders is a Florida-based youth movement founded in 2012 after the murder of Trayvon Martin. Their mission statement is laid out in a series of Freedom Papers that include Freedom from Poverty, Freedom from Prisons and Police, and A Free, Flourishing Democracy.
Teen Vogue has shared an op-ed from Zyahna Bryant offering insight into how people (young and old) can take anti-racist action. Read it here: Beyond the Hashtag: How to Take Anti-Racist Action in Your Life. And more from Teen Vogue on racial justice.
Young Invincibles, a group “committed to expanding economic opportunity for young adults ages 18 to 34,” has shared Black Lives Matter: Resources and Ways You Can Get Involved.

Nonprofits Fighting for Racial Justice

The following organizations are 501(c)(3)s, and eligible donations are tax deductible.
Charity Navigator has a curated list of 3- and 4-star charities that “defend civil rights, protect legal rights, and promote tolerance and understanding among racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.”
The Center for Policing Equality uses science and data-driven interventions to transform police departments nationwide to fight bias and build more fair and just systems. Learn more here.
The Coalition on Human Needs is “an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies which address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations.” Learn more here.
The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights organizes with “Black, Brown, and low-income people to shift resources away from prisons and punishment, and towards opportunities that make our communities safe, healthy, and strong.” Learn more here.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM.org) has a mission “to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe” by making meaningful change in prison sentencing reform.
Greenlining is an Oakland-based organization that advances “economic opportunity and empowerment for people of color through advocacy, community and coalition building, research and leadership development.” Find out more here.
The Marshall Project is a “nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system.” Support their efforts here.
Movement For Black Lives (m4bl.org) is fiscally sponsored by the Alliance for Global Justice and was created as a space for Black organizations to “develop shared assessments of what political interventions [a]re necessary in order to achieve key policy, cultural and political wins.”
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP.org) works “to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.” Take action with their #WeAreDoneDying campaign.
The National Police Accountability Project was created by the National Lawyers Guild “as a non-profit to protect the human and civil rights of individuals in their encounters with law enforcement and detention facility personnel.” They offer training, education, and resources for legal workers, and law students.
The Sentencing Project was founded in 1986 and “works for a fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.” Get the facts here.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLCenter.org) is “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.” Read their statement SPLC Responds to Recent Killings of Black People.

Political and Community Groups Fighting for Racial Justice

The ACLU Racial Justice Program is a branch of the American Civil Liberties Union that “aims to preserve and extend constitutionally guaranteed rights to people who have historically been denied their rights on the basis of race.” Find out more here.
Black Futures Lab (blackfutureslab.org) “works with Black people to transform our communities, building Black political power and changing the way that power operates—locally, statewide, and nationally.”
Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 after Trayvon Martin’s murderer was acquitted. 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.” Their current campaigns include #DefundThePolice and their COVID-19 crisis response.
Campaign Zero is an organization calling on lawmakers to adopt data-driven policy solutions that hold police accountable through community oversight, demilitarization, body cams, community representation, and more. Read their reports on existing police policies in the U.S.
The Civil Rights Project at UCLA has shared a list of more than 30 advocacy and civil rights organizations based in the United States.
Color of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization with 1.7 million members. From their website: “Color of Change leads campaigns that build real power for Black communities. We challenge injustice, hold corporate and political leaders accountable, commission game-changing research on systems of inequality, and advance solutions for racial justice that can transform our world.”
Mapping Police Violence aims to provide “the most comprehensive accounting of people killed by police since 2013” in order to know the true scale of police violence against our communities. Read the reports here.
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is “a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving people, including people living with HIV/AIDS.”
Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) is a “national network of groups and individuals working to undermine white supremacy and to work toward racial justice.” Read more about their call to action #Justice4AhmaudArbery.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has a robust search feature of organizations working the field of racial justice and advocacy in their Racial Equity Resource Guide.

Racial Justice Groups Based in Minnesota

Black Visions Collective was established in Minnesota in 2017 to put “into practice the lessons learned from organizations before us in order to shape a political home for Black people across Minnesota.” Follow their work on Facebook and Instagram.
Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB.org) is a Twin-Cities based organization formed in 2000 after the shooting death of Charles “Abuka” Sanders by Minneapolis police. They have a 24-hour hotline and a police complaint lookup form. Learn more here.
Justice For Big Floyd was established by The Action PAC after George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis. Find out more and take action at justiceforbigfloyd.com.
Reclaim the Block is a Minneapolis-based organization working to “move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.” Utilize their Digital Toolkit here.

How White Allies Can Help

Buy Black. Here is a list of websites, apps, and directories to Support Black-Owned Businesses in the United States.
Educate Yourself. Buzzfeed reporter Arianna Rebolini has shared An Essential Reading Guide For Fighting Racism, a list of 28 books by historians, lawyers, professors, advocates, and essayists on the history—and present—of racism in America.
Don’t make it worse for activists of color. From the paper, Racism, whiteness, and burnout in antiracism movements: How white racial justice activists elevate burnout in racial justice activists of color in the United States: “Although white racial justice activists tend to philosophically embrace a critical consciousness regarding their whiteness and racial positionalities, many struggle to apply that consciousness in antiracist practice. As a result, they risk undermining movement initiatives and impeding movement progress.”
Learn to talk about race. The National Museum of African American History & Culture offers guidance for people of all colors to learn to talk about race as educators, caregivers, and people committed to equality.
Be more than an Ally⁠—be an Accomplice. WhiteAccomplices.org is a guide for helping white people transform from Actor to Ally to Accomplice through self-education, electoral politics, confronting violence/harassment, advocacy, and more.

MORE GUIDELINES FOR WHITE ALLIES:

For Our White Friends Desiring to be Allies: Sojourners (sojo.net) writer Courtney Ariel shares six ways white people can be better allies in the fight for racial justice.
Standing Indivisible Against White Supremacy: Indivisible, the grassroots progressive advocacy group shares a guide for fighting white supremacy within yourself, your Indivisible group, and your community.
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice: Medium writer Corinne Shutack compiled 75 ways white people can work towards racial justice, included recommended readings and organizations and businesses that should be supported—or avoided.
Guidelines for Being Strong White Allies: RacialEqualityTools.org shares white ally guidelines adapted from Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Social Justice by Paul Kivel.
The Anti-Racist Starter Pack: Brea Baker shares 40 TV Series, Documentaries, Movies, TED Talks, and Books to Add to Your List to “ground your activism and ensure you’re offering this movement more than lip service.”
Anti-Racism Resources: A Google document linking to parenting resources, articles, videos, books, podcasts, and more.