a quickish Geralt cos you guys asked for it <3
lockscreens: evermore - taylor swift
(Please reblog if you use)
Most of the “keep up the work after the protests have ended!”-type posts I’ve seen are mostly focused on like, reading Black authors and listening to Black voices and unlearning racism, and obviously all of that is absolutely vital - but no amount of individual self-reflection will be able to dismantle institutional systems of oppression. So I wanted to put together some resources for continuing to build a culture of noncompliance and resistance to the police and prison system even after things have calmed down
But first, be aware that the protests aren’t over. It’s June 29th and there are still events and actions being planned regularly across the nation, and they still need your participation and support. If you’re able, please keep your focus there; this list is for what can be done long-term outside of the protests
- Know your rights. Giving the police any more information than you absolutely have to will never and can never benefit you or anyone else - positive evidence given to the police is regularly thrown out in court, whereas negative evidence will be used against you. Know what to say and what you have the right to refuse. You don’t have to answer any questions without a lawyer present, you don’t have to give the police access to your house or car unless they have a current warrant signed by a judge. They will try to intimidate you - learn your rights and don’t let up, don’t ever cooperate with the police
- Don’t snitch. If you see someone breaking the law in a way that doesn’t hurt anybody, keep your mouth shut. If cops knock on your door asking you questions about your neighbors or anyone you know, don’t answer
- Don’t call the cops. If you can solve the problem in a different way, do it. Cops have on multiple occasions murdered the people they were called to help (or bystanders) without provocation. Don’t be complicit in that. Learn how to handle situations as a community or with the help of qualified experts
- When you see an interaction with the police happening, stop and observe. If necessary, film the interaction. Organize and work with groups such as Copwatch to observe the police and hold them accountable
- Use proper opsec, especially if you’re involved with anything that might make you a target for the cops. Downloading Signal is a great simple place to start
- Learn about jury nullification, and spread the word. When serving in a jury, you have the right to vote not guilty on a defendant that you believe did commit the crime but doesn’t deserve punishment for it. Don’t be complicit in unjust punishment
- Refuse to do work for the police or prison system. Workers keep the world running and the state relies on our compliance to keep our neighbors under their thumb. We can shut it down
- Continue to support bail funds, even for non-protesters. Cash bail is unjust, and people shouldn’t be in jail just because they can’t pay
- Continue to support legal defense funds as well, such as that of the National Lawyers Guild
- Write to prisoners, either by yourself or with groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross or Black And Pink, and organize/support books to prisons programs, commissary funds, reentry programs, and other forms of prisoner support
- Organize and support community-run crisis response organizations like the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon or the Birmingham Peacemakers in my hometown
Here are some other organizations to join that are doing good work in this area:
- Black Lives Matter is obviously a huge voice in racial justice right now. The list of “official” chapters on their website is very incomplete, though, so you may have better luck doing a web search for “[your area] black lives matter” (beware of fakes though)
- Showing Up for Racial Justice is another very active and widespread racial justice network
- Critical Resistance is a grassroots prison abolitionist organization founded by Angela Davis
- The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement is another active prison abolitionist organization
- The IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee works with prisoners to organize strikes, phone zaps, and other actions combating injustice in prisons
- Again, the Anarchist Black Cross does great work supporting political prisoners through letter-writing and more. The link I’ve been including is to an unofficial federation of ABC groups, though - there may be a group in your area that’s not part of that federation, so a web search for “[your area] black cross” may be better
- Black And Pink is a prison abolitionist organization focused on queer people and people living with HIV/AIDS
- Antifascism is of course an important aspect of racial justice and community safety. See @antifainternational‘s guide to getting connected to your local antifascists - though, again, beware of fakes (the “antifa checker” accounts on fedbook and twitter can help)
The police state and prison industrial complex rely on the complicity and cooperation of all of us to function and be effective. By building a culture of noncompliance and active resistance, we can drastically reduce the state’s ability to oppress communities of color. Don’t let the struggle be forgotten with the changing of the news cycle - keep up the struggle until all are free!
Boosts and additional resources are very much appreciated!
virgato-deactivated20200730
can y’all take a minute to sign this petition to advocate for urgent covid-19 relief in canadian indigenous communities? 🤍
please. i’m half indigenous. these are my people. my people are dying because the canadian government doesn’t give a shit and hasn’t for 137 years.
“The most disrespected person in America is the Black Woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black Woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black Woman.”
-Malcolm X (1962)
(Originally found on insta from @ashleighchubbybunny)
[Multiple people have pointed out that the Sojourner Truth speech isn’t accurate. Interesting none of you bother recommending other resources to spread awareness of what it’s like to be a Black Woman while you are pulling attention away from the main point–Black Women need to be recognized. If you have such a problem with how accurate the speech is, just know I looked into it and apparently she approved the second version which also expresses how she’s feeling. Let’s move on or pm me and I can list some alternatives if it’s weighing on your mind.]
A friend of mine posted this and tagged my old instagram account, asking me to share it. I figured sharing it here where I actually have a following, would be far better.
Please remember that just because the government is giving into pressure and greed, that doesn’t mean that any of this is getting any better, in a lot of ways it’s getting worse. And even if you yourself aren’t being as heavily affected anymore, there are people and communities that are.
Stay safe Darling ones, and help others remain safe too.
Edit: Please reblog the versions with the links.
Hey guys my friend from college really needs help right now to save her cat. She was in a domestic abuse situation that left her without the funds to pay for this cancer treatment
please help if you can, her gofundme is here
If you look over the CDC website and the data they’ve compiled for US deaths and their listed causes you’ll notice a “weird” trend. Every-time a death certificate is issued, the cause of death must be listed or identified. Historically speaking, roughly 99% of death certificates clearly delineate a “cause” or reason for the death. The other 1% (roughly 500-600 deaths per week) is entered as a “mystery” death.
However, starting in 2020, the number of deaths in this “mystery” category has dramatically spiked.
A weird, “mystery” illness (that’s not being listed as Covid 19) is possibly killing up to 3000 Americans a week. And in many of the states that are pushing to reopen, this number seems to be skyrocketing.
Now if states like Florida, Texas, Georgia, etc. want us to believe that this massive uptick in unclassifiable deaths is somehow unrelated to Covid 19 - they still have to explain how hundreds of people mysteriously dying each week isn’t a public health crisis.
MISSING: 20 year old Tymere Little from Detroit, Michigan! He is deaf and can only communicate through sign language.
(not included in the article is his height which is around 5’8)
06/18/2020 Update: Though Little has a history of “voluntarily disappearing” he is still at high risk of coming into harm, due to being both black and deaf. A 2017, news report of one of his previous disappearance also reveals Little is “emotionally challanged”.
Assassin’s Creed + text posts 4: are-you-sick-of-these-yet edition
teens and weird adults like me of tumblr, i am asking a favor of you: please arm yourself with the knowledge of how the Internet Archive National Emergency Library lending system operated prior to its dissolution so you are not bamboozled by the weird barrage of bizarre lies being spread about it. for a group of people who claim to love reading, none of the people criticizing it apparently bothered to actually look into how the archive functioned and are now willing to destroy one of the most important and valuable resources available to everyone, everywhere.
i’m going to try to make my case here, and i have no doubt there will be gnashing of teeth from people arguing the letter of the law over the spirit of it but i will address that as well. the “damage” done to publishers was near nonexistent but in exchange the publishers who have filed the lawsuit are willing to destroy the archive under the crushing weight of monetary punishment.
the Internet Archive is literally an online library and is recognized as a library by the state of california. it is not a pirate site.
you cannot download the books on the internet archive website. the only book available for download are those in the public domain. all other books can be checked out the same as you would check out any other e-book at any other brick and mortar library. you can borrow the book for 14 days. the books are protected with DRM and copyright protection to prevent theft.
the books online are purchased or donated, and then scanned. you can only borrow as many books as there are physical copies available at the library. so if there is one copy of war and peace available as an e-book and i check it out, you will have to wait until i’m done with it to check it out yourself. this is slightly different than how regular libraries do it, but regular libraries are currently at war with publishers over e-books and how they fit into libraries.
the national emergency library was temporary. it was slated to last from march 24th to june 30th. it was made specifically in response to the pandemic.
the only change to the current process of book lending was the suspension of wait-lists. this means that for 3 months, multiple people could check out the same book for 14 days. they were able to accomplish this by using the collections from the phillips academy andover, marygrove college, and trent university. the statement from the Internet Archive includes this information:
During the waitlist suspension, users will be able to borrow books from the National Emergency Library without joining a waitlist, ensuring that students will have access to assigned readings and library materials that the Internet Archive has digitized for the remainder of the US academic calendar, and that people who cannot physically access their local libraries because of closure or self-quarantine can continue to read and thrive during this time of crisis, keeping themselves and others safe.
… Public support for this emergency measure has come from over 100 individuals, libraries and universities across the world, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “Ubiquitous access to open digital content has long been an important goal for MIT and MIT Libraries. Learning and research depend on it,” said Chris Bourg, Director of MIT Libraries. “In a global pandemic, robust digital lending options are key to a library’s ability to care for staff and the community, by allowing all of us to work remotely and maintain the recommended social distancing.”
… A final note on calling this a “National Emergency” Library. We lend to the world, including these books. We chose that language deliberately because we are pegging the suspension of the waitlists to the duration of the US national emergency. Users all over the world have equal access to the books now available, regardless of their location.
ok, there are 2 things i want to address now:
the argument that by supporting this writers don’t make money: the fault for this does not and will never lay at the feet of librarians. after reading all of the above, i would find it very difficult to sincerely believe that an author’s royalty money was severely impacted by three months of 14 days library checkouts. we really cannot allow ourselves to start declaring libraries as our financial enemies because they allow the poor to access things they otherwise would not be able to access. institutions that make information freely available to the public need to be preserved at all costs (source: was librarian).
this is a fault in the publisher. the publisher is the one who profits the most from a book sale and the publisher is the one who is filing the lawsuit. the publishing industry is a group of leeches that cling to you as you slowly attempt to make a living.
a library does not hurt profits. a library is a public service.
even if you want to adhere to the letter of the law, i find it extremely difficult to condemn the actions of the internet archive. there was no financial reason for what they did, no malice and no ulterior motive. their national emergency library was a response to brick and mortar libraries being closed in the wake of a pandemic and shutting off a stream of information to people who needed it (especially students!). in response to catastrophe they stepped up and offered a solution. to condemn them under false pretenses (as many did, by calling it a pirate site and weirdly claiming you could download books an unlimited amount of times [?]) has been calamitous.
this was a huge post lol. if you really read this thank you. i hope it made sense. my motive for writing this is not bc i think writers should be poor and should work for free so don’t get it twisted (i draw a dumbass webcomic so i Get It). i just really like libraries and am really upset at the smear job this one got.
kendallroy-deactivated20210425
25 Black-owned bookstores you can support right now
while i don’t claim to be a “book blogger” by any account (more of a cranky publishing-person blogger most days), i know a lot of people have followed me through my book posts, so i’m taking advantage of that captive audience to boost these bookstores. shop them through their own websites and if you’re local, look into curbside pickup to minimize shipping costs and overhead. okay that’s all thanks bye stay safe.
- the lit bar (a personal favorite and the bronx’s one remaining bookstore)
- hariett’s bookshop
- semicolon bookstore
- mahogany books
- uncle bobbie’s
- loyalty bookstore
- dare books
- listening tree books
- underground books
- multicultural bookstore
- pyramid books
- black dot bookstore
- brain lair books
- medu bookstore
- wild fig books and coffee
- frugal bookstore
- olive tree books
- detroit book city
- cafe con libros
- revolution books
- sisters uptown bookstore
- source booksellers
- hakim’s bookstore
- sankofa books and cafe
- turning page bookshop
Updated list of MN organizations that need funding after this week
A lot of the lists on tumblr have been circulating all week and some of the organizations have taken in as much as they can use with the size/scope of their mission. I signed up to the excellent Reclaim the Block who are maintaining a live list of organizations in need that are serving the community most impacted by the uprising.
Updated June 2, 2020
- **Al Maa'uun - Al Maa'uun is a nonprofit with deep roots in North Minneapolis, serving thousands of households each year with food and critical supplies.
- Black Immigrant Collective - The Black Immigrant Collective amplifies and makes visible the voices of Black immigrants in Minnesota
- **Black Women Speak - Gathering Black Women in Minnesota to share our experiences in order to heal, find joy and move toward liberation on our own terms!
- Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha - CTUL is a worker-led organization where workers organize, educate and empower each other to fight for a voice in their workplaces and in their communities.
- **Division of Indian Work - Division of Indian Work’s mission is to support and strengthen urban American Indian people through culturally-based education, traditional healing approaches, and leadership development. We provide many services to the community but the most relevant one right now is our food shelf.
- Du Nord Riot Recovery Fund - Du Nord Craft Spirits is a Black-owned distillery with a building that was damaged. They’ve “received a tidal wave of love and support from across the nation and many have asked how they can help… Therefore, Du Nord is establishing this fund to support black and brown companies affected by the riots.”
- Femme Empowerment Project- Venmo @femmeempowermentproject. Skill shares and discussions led by and for QTIIBPOC femmes in the twin cities. Creating space for cultural resiliency, healing and ancestral wisdom. Currently organizing supplies and medic trainings.
- Isuroon - Isuroon is a grassroots nonprofit organization working to promote the well-being and empowerment of Somali women in Minnesota and beyond.
- **Joyce Preschool - emergency fund for families who had to evacuate their homes near Lake Street last week, and who are now coming back to a devastated neighborhood with no grocery stores within walking distance.
- **Latino Community on Lake Street - fundraiser for Latinx owned businesses on Lake Street.
- Little Earth Residents Association - Food and safety needs for residents of Little Earth of United Tribes.
- Migizi Communications - MIGIZI Communications advances a message of success, well-being and justice for the American Indian community. Support them rebuilding after fire.
- Minnesota Healing Justice Network - We provide a supportive professional community and mutual aid network for wellness and healing justice practitioners who also identify as IBPOC (indigenous, black, or people of color).
- Northside business support - support businesses on Minneapolis’s Northside that have been impacted by recent demonstrations.
- Pimento Relief Fund - We’re partnering with Pimento to provide black business without insurance relief after white supremacists set them on fire during the protests.
- Powwow Grounds - send via paypal to angelswann2021@gmail.c - Native-run cafe, currently providing meals to elders, protectors and community, purchasing medical supplies, fire supplies, cooking supplies. It may seem weird to donate to an individual, rather than an org, but Coffee Grounds is legit and operating a food shelf out of their coffee shop.
- **PPNA - Renters Support Fund - operated by the Minneapolis Renters’ Coalition, a group of residents, community organizations, and neighborhood organizations committed to supporting renters in our community.
- Southside Harm Reduction- Southside Harm Reduction Services works within a harm reduction framework to promote the human rights to health, safety, autonomy, and agency among people who use substances.
- Spiral Collective - A volunteer full-spectrum reproductive options and support group comprised of doulas, birth-workers, and passionate reproductive justice advocates. based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, occupied Dakhóta territories.
- **TC Care Collective - South-Minneapolis based rad worker-owned childcare co-op working to provide easy access childcare by and for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and queer organizers and families.
- **West Broadway Business and Area Coalition - WBC in partnership with Northside Funders Group will direct all donations to support Northside businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 and the recent uprising.
- Women for Political Change - Holistically investing in the leadership and political power of young women and trans & non-binary individuals throughout Minnesota.
- Unicorn Riot - A decentralized media organization that has been live-streaming uprisings
odddior-deactivated20200814
i know there’s a lot going on but ICE are now one step closer to literally creating gas chambers. they are spraying a chemical called HDQ neutral roughly 100 times a day, every 15 minutes at the adelanto detention center (one of the biggest in the country). people are getting rashes, headaches, their insides are bleeding, etc. the guards are wearing gloves and masks but the detainees have NOTHING. and here’s a quick reminder - america inspired the nazis to create gas chambers when they gassed latino people during the 1917 bath riots.
here’s a petition to sign. it’s close to it’s goal. if there’s anything else we can do to help i’ll update this post.