From Dr. Melissa Barber:
People seek justice and support liberation in many different ways. All contributions are valid and valued.
Let’s celebrate the varied ways we can engage by using our voices, bodies, and imaginations as families and a community!
Below are some ideas and options for safe family friendly activities right in our own homes, blocks and neighborhood in direct response to ongoing profiling and harassment of people of color, and the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many more before them.
Choose what resonates and feels right for you! Feel free to share additional ideas and plans! We are stronger together!
Let’s stand up to extreme injustice and be a force for change with our families!
SIDEWALK CHALK ART:
Friday, June 5 8am-8pm
Create bold, expressive, artful messaging for everyone who walks by. What do you want them to know and do right now? What kind of change do you want to see in the world? We will gather participant’s addresses via text, and send out a list – pack up your chalk and go leave a note, some art or message for your neighbors!To participate:1. RSVP “Going” on FB event page2. Text “Chalk + (your address)” to 917-355-1983(“chalk 408 East 136th”)
More info on the Facebook Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/179890436756171/
TOY PROTEST:
If leaving the house for a gathering doesn’t work for your family, but you still want to participate in a protest with your family – Make mini-protest signs with tape and small pieces of paper. Grab your stuffed animals, action figures, and dolls and give them their own voice about what needs to change.
PROTEST POEM/ART/SONG:
Create art if it feels right, you may incorporate the following words that resonate with this moment (or simply use them for inspiration):
POWER * JUSTICE * UNITY * CIRCLE * LISTEN * STAND * HEAL * RESPECT
CANDLES:
Light a candle (or several) for the Black and Brown lives impacted and lost to the pandemic, to racism, and to White supremacist ideology.
SAY THEIR NAMES:
George Floyd, David McAtee, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed
Nina Pop, Charleena Lyles, Atatiana Jefferson, Clare Legato, Dominique Clayton, Botham Jean, Philando Castile, Walter Scott, Eric Reason, Natasha McKenna, Bettie Jones, Ezell Ford, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown
Each one of these people belonged to their own loved ones, their own families, their own communities. Design their names in chalk, in a notebook, on a T-shirt, with a paintbrush. Let the world know that their lives mattered.
DONATIONS:
SUPPORT BLACK BUSINESSES:
It would be wonderful to start a list of local black owned businesses that we could support! Let us know if you have any to add to the list!
Resources/Articles:
My Role in the Social Change Ecosystem
26 Ways to Help Besides Protesting
Talking to Kids about White Supremacy
Podcast – Talking Race with Young Children
Your Kids aren’t too Young to talk about Race – Blog with LOTS of Resources
Organizations:
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