Act Against Injustice Now 

The senseless murders of Black Americans call us, as a Holy Cross community, to action. Our Catholic values call us to respond to the unjust murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd as well as countless others. We know that our community is traumatized, angry, and compelled to action. As members of the Holy Cross community, we are called to be social justice advocates. We are called to act. We cannot sit by and watch injustice without action. With this end in mind, the Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion (SJEI) team has curated these resources.

We look forward to conversing and collaborating. We must engage in honest conversations about oppression and act to amplify the voices that have been marginalized.
 

Actions to Take Now

These are helpful things you can do now:

• Ensure you are registered to vote if you are 18.  If you are 16 you can pre-register to vote.  You can register or pre-register here. Attend a city council meeting (many are being hosted virtually right now). 
• Educate those around you. Interrupt, question, discuss, and challenge people who make statements that are racist and oppressive. Join Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ).
• Center the narrative around the issues and the voices of those who are impacted.
• Do one or more items from this list of 75 things to do for racial justice.
• Look at the companies and organizations you support with your consumer dollars. Do they have a statement about equity? Do they back that statement up with action? Consider supporting these Black-owned restaurants and Black-owned businesses in the Bay Area.
• Donate to organizations (there are some listed below, but there are many others) that fight for racial justice. Local organizations include the Anti-Police Terror Project, Black Women Lead, and BYP100.
• Sign a petition, like Justice for Breonna Taylor, Justice for George Floyd, and Justice for Ahmaud Arbery.
• Leave a message for the Louisville mayor (502-574-2003) and demand justice for Breonna Taylor. Text JUSTICE to 66-8336. Text ENOUGH to 55-165. Text FLOYD to 55-156.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Take some time to reflect on these questions:

• What are my initial reactions to media stories about systemic racism and oppression?
• What language do I use when describing current events like the murder of Black civilians by police?
• What books are in my house? What art is in my house? What messages do these send?
• How am I actively supporting members of my community who are Black?
• How can I amplify black voices?  How can I read, listen to, promote and support Black individuals?
• What are my local politicians’ and police department’s policies to end police brutality?
• How am I acting in ways that are anti-racist rather than simply “not racist”?
• How am I resisting complicity and actively fighting against white supremacy?
• How will I use anti-racist knowledge to change the conversations I have with others?
• What do I need to learn more about?

Organizations to Learn From

We can all continue to learn from each other and others. Here are good places to start:

Videos to Watch

• Understanding white supremacy (and how to defeat it) (3 min long)
• Systemic racism explained (4 min long)
• Black parents explain how to deal with the police (6 min long)
• Color blind or color brave? (14 min long)
• The racial wealth gap (16 min long)
• How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time (17 min long)
• The urgency of intersectionality (19 min long)
• American Son (Netflix; 1 hr, 30 min long) - Not Rated
• 13th (Netflix; 1 hr, 40 min long) - Not Rated
• If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu; 2 hr long) - R-rated - Parent permission required
• BlacKkKlansman (Hulu; 2 hr, 16 min long) - R-rated - Parent permission required

Podcasts to Listen to

Articles to Read

What’s happening now

• The American nightmare, Ibram X. Kendi 
• Ahmaud Arbery and the local legacy of lynching, Jennifer Rae Taylor and Kayla Vinson
• How to be an effective advocate, Emily Stewart

On oppression

• Black armor, David Yi
• The greatest white privilege is life itself, Ibram X. Kendi
• Incarceration is not an equal opportunity punishment, Peter Wagner