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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, school board, and/or local commission meeting and give public comment.
  • 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.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Take some time to reflect on these questions:

  • What books are in my house? What art is in my house? What messages do these send?
  • 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?
  • 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?
  • How am I acting in ways that are anti-oppressive rather than simply “not oppressive”?
  • 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

Podcasts to Listen to

Articles to Read

What’s happening now

On oppression