Photo credit: @powership
Just because the protests and media coverage has slowed, doesn’t mean the work is over. In fact, many of the issues brought to light by the Black Lives Matter movement have yet to be properly atoned. Back in August, however, Austin voted to cut its police department’s budget and other cities are following suit as we continue to make steps in the right direction towards a fair and just community for all.
If you want to get involved at a local level but don’t quite know how, here are some resources for you to learn, take action, donate, or have some fun around the city while supporting local black-owned and -operated businesses.
SUPPORT:
Do512 has put together an amazing and comprehensive list of black-owned businesses in Austin that you can support today, tomorrow, and next week. Categorized by shops, services, and restaurants, find the business that speaks to you and see your dollars making a tangible impact in real time. View the full list, including an interactive map, here.
GET INVOLVED:
Austin has always been a haven for activity and activism, so there’s no shortage of ways to get involved in support of our community. From donating food supplies to the free fridge next to Nixta Taqueria, donating your skills to assist in career building, or delivering rations to the unhoused, here’s a short list of organizations that always welcome helping hands:
- Austin Justice Coalition | @austinjusticecoalition
- The Austin Justice Coalition hosted the largest protest in Austin where thousands marched through the streets in show of support for BLM. Now, their Instagram provides a steady stream of crucial information and resources.
- ATX Reparations | @atxreperations
- ATX Reparations is working to provide useful aid to Black and Indigenous communities around Austin. They’ve created a comprehensive spreadsheet full of offers and requests where you can use your professional skills to help with career counseling, editing resumes, graphic design, food recipes, and more. Find all the resources they provide here.
- ATX Free Fridge Project | @atxfreefridge
- ATX Free Fridge Project has set up a couple fridges around Austin where you can donate food and supplies for the unhoused or others needing an extra little pick-me-up. Find the fridges and more information here.
- Grassroots Leadership | @grassroots_leadership
- Grassroots Leadership works to end prison profiteering, mass incarceration, deportation, and criminalization.
- CCU | @ccu_coalition
- Street Forum ATX | @streetforumatx
- The Ally Ship | @theallypics
- Despacho ATX | @despachoatx
- Mutual Aid Collective ATX | @mutualaidatx
- B.A.T.S. | @bats512
- UNI Abolition Collective | @uni.abolition
READ:
While you are sitting with your morning coffee or afternoon tea, here’s a list of books to further understand how racial injustice has an impact on our country.
- Why I’m No longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
- I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
- Natives by Akala
- Dark Days by James Baldwin
- Diversify by June Sarpong
- How To Be Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- Freedom Is A Constant Struggle by Angela Davis
- They Can’t Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery
- Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde
- White Girls by Hilton Als
- Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga
- The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla
LISTEN:
These podcasts and speaking engagements give an overview on the deep history, struggles, and injustices BIPOC have faced and continue to face today.
- The Prison Industrial Complex by Angela Davis
- 1619 by The New York Times
- Code Switch by NPR
- All My Relations by Matika Wilber & Adrienne Keene
- Intersectionality Matters! with Kimberlé Crenshaw
- Witness Black History by BBC World
- Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America by Vox and Ben & Jerry’s
WATCH:
Critically-acclaimed TV shows and movies that educate the masses and portray what life is like for many people around the world and, particularly, in the United States.
- 13th (2016) - Available on Netflix
- When They See Us (2019) - Available on Netflix
- Selma (2014) - Available on Amazon Prime
- If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) - Available on Hulu
- The Hate U Give (2018) - Available on Amazon Prime
- I Am Not Your Negro (2017) - Available on Netflix
- Do The Right Thing (1989) - Available on Hulu
- Fruitvale Station (2013) - Available on Amazon Prime
- Just Mercy (2019) - Available on Amazon Prime
- The Color of Fear (1984) - Watch FREE on Youtube