Black Lives Matter

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Our country is bleeding black.

Hundreds of years of oppression and racial injustice have, once again, been thrust into the spotlight. Innocent black lives lost—George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the list goes on. The suffering of our fellow black Americans is not something we can or should ignore. Our collective silence must end for good. The foundation of this house we call our democracy is built with bricks rotten to their core. Racist policies that’ve been tolerated, exacerbated, and amplified must be eradicated. In their place must stand true restitution, reconciliation, and equality.

As a photographer, I don’t pretend to photograph societal or cultural subjects. That said, I am deeply affected by the imagery I’ve seen as an onlooker. I am incalculably proud of my fellow photographers who are risking their lives to document these historic and important scenes so that our children and grandchildren remember what happened here. The core truth behind any photograph is the emotion it conveys. A photograph can transport or illicit a feeling onto one’s soul. This moment, here and now, we must all feel the heavy imprint of these images as a catalyst for generational change.

#BlackLivesMatter

Understanding how we arrived at our current state, and how you and your role factor into it, is a very personal exploration. To aid you in that journey, I’ve gathered a set of resources (conveyed as steps) for the various stages of understanding & action.

At the end of the day, it’s our job to better the world around us.
But before we reach the future, we must first face reality.

Step 1: Read, Listen, Watch

• How to Be Antiracist by Ibram Kendi 📖

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo 📖

• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander 📖

• Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad 📖

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates 📖

• “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer 📝

• The 1619 Project by The New York Times 📝

• The Intersectionality Wars by Vox 📝

• Black Professionalism by Shenequa Golding

• Seeing White by Scene On Radio 🎙️

• I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin 🎥

• 13th by Ava DuVernay 🎥

• When They See Us by Ava DuVernay 🎥

• The Myth of Race Debunked in 5 Minutes by Vox 🎥

Step 4: Buy Black

• National/E-Commerce

  • Equity at the Table Database

  • NYT’s Buying Black Guide

  • Reparations Club

  • We Buy Black

  • Black Owned Market

• NYC

  • Black-Owned Restaurants in NYC (+ more here)

  • Find B-O NYC Restaurants on the “Eat Okra” App

• Boston

  • Black-Owned Restaurants in Boston

  • Black-Owned Small Businesses in Boston

• SF

  • Black-Owned Restaurants in SF

Step 2: Donate

• Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) (Criminal & Racial Justice)

• George Floyd’s Memorial Fund (Remembering George)

• Protestor Bail Funds (City by City) (Bail Programs)

•  NAACP Legal Defense Fund (Legal Defense)

• Free Them All for Public Health (COVID-conscious)

• Campaign Zero’s Urgent Policy Solutions (Policy Change)

• Communities United for Police Reform (Police Reform)

• Black Lives Matter (Community Transformation)

• Bail Project (Combat Disparities in Bail System)

• Policing Equity (Data Science for Justice)

• Project Nia (Childhood Incaceration)

• Loveland Foundation (Focus on Black Women & Girls)

• Reclaim the Block (Community-led safety initiatives)

• National Bail Fund Network (Bail Programs)

Step 5: Amplify Your Knowledge

• Discuss with your family, friends, and partners

• Identify your spheres of influence and co-opt for the cause

• Incorporate “antiracism” (+ other words) into your vernacular

• Explore this additional curated guide from FirstMark

Step 3: Vote

• Find out who represents you in Congress + what they believe

• Identify key policies that need to change & who is responsible

  • Understand how we can reform our police system