Collective Action and Giving In Defense of Black Lives

As people with class privilege, who were born into, adopted into, hired into, or partnered into class privilege, we are in the uncomfortable position of knowing that our access to wealth is part of what this racist, police violence is trying to protect.

Resource Generation condemns the anti-Black violence embedded throughout police forces and white supremacy culture in the U.S. that led to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Sean Reed. And as we say their names, we also know that COVID-19 is having a devastating, disproportionate impact within Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities.

Our work towards supporting the equitable distribution of wealth, land, and power, means we are committed to flanking and funding liberatory Black organizing for the long haul; We invite RG members and the broader community of people with race and/or class privilege to support Movement for Black Lives’ week of action through coordinated giving and coordinated action in defense of Black lives: 

• Review M4BL’s week of action page and plug in where you’re able

• RG webinar this Thursday: Hitting the Streets: RGers in Defense of Black Life

  • When: Thursday, June 4th 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
  • Who: This is a space for RG members and the broader community
  • What: ground together, get clear on our roles in disrupting racist and classist narratives around this uprising and find ways to plug into the collective actions happening.
  • *We strongly support those who are able to take to the streets, and there are many other ways that you can take action this week 🙂
    

     

    
    
• Friday – National day of action In Defense of Black Lives (We especially encourage RGers to be part of the Movement for Black Lives actions on Friday!)
  

   

  
  
• RG webinar this Friday: Time to Give in Defense of Black Lives
  • When: Friday, June 5th 3-4pm ET/12-1pm PT
  • Who: open to people who want to donate, at whatever level to support rapid response needs and long term Black-led organizing
  • What: We’ll hear some specific requests coming from on the ground organizers, share some resources and guidance around giving, and move money together in real time.

Since the creation of the first “Night Watch” in the 1600’s, it has been clear that the design of the police is to ‘protect’ white people from Black people and, more broadly, rich people and property from poor people’s rightful rage. The systems of policing, prisons, and detention are designed to protect and uphold the racist status quo. As Black organizers and prison abolitionists have said, there was a time before police and prisons, and there can be a time after them.

Resource Generation amplifies the demands of the Movement for Black Lives to end the reign of police terror on Black people by divesting from racist institutions and investing in resources that create healthy, thriving communities. As a multiracial community of young people with access to wealth, we must be clear on where our allegiances lie. We back the demands of the Movement for Black Lives to end the criminalization, incarceration, and killing of Black people, and to defund the police and invest in Black futures.