So You Attended a Protest. Now What? #BLM

I've been so happy lately to see my timeline on Twitter and Instagram stories posting non-stop about the Black Lives Matter movement. In times past, it was a trend that people cared about for a few days, posted one or two Insta stories about it, and then moved on with their lives. But now, we're done moving on from the unjust murders of Black Americans.

Artist: seethrunikki on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CA8unCfnAZz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Even in the midst of The Rona, there are protests are nearly everyday. People are organizing – bringing signs, bringing hand sanitizers and water bottles, wearing masks, etc. It's so heart-warming to see. This past Thursday, my predominantly white town all organized in "The Square" for a silent vigil. It was organized by one of my long-term friends and I was so proud to see everyone gathered outside, despite the muggy heat.

This past Tuesday, my childhood friends and I went to a protest that was attended by over 5,000 people. There are aerial shots that don't do the crowd justice. We chanted, we marched, we listened. It was peaceful. Towards the end as we all headed home, police cruisers revved their engines 'trying to clear a path so cars could start driving through that park road again.' But it was unnecessary. We almost thought violence had broken out – because the National Guard had been called – but it was all peaceful.

(I don't have very many pictures from these events because no shot I took could do the crowds justice, and I didn't have permission from people to be taking their pictures. For privacy reasons, I will not be posting pictures I've found from Twitter either.)

At the end of the day, protests are good for raising morale and showing police officers and our local governments that NO MORE Black Americans are allowed to be killed and forgotten. This violence needs to end and it's going to end with this generation, raised on The Hunger Games and other works of dystopian fiction. We're no longer letting celebrities slide with posting one picture and posting about their luxurious, quarantine lives after this.

Though, after attending a protest and taking your 'obligatory' pictures to show that you were there, what's next? This movement doesn't end after you go home and "disinfect yourself," as one of my friends says. This movement lives on through sharing and signing petitions, calling your representatives, and donating to Black-owned businesses that have been affected by looting. It's not simply enough to attend a protest and say that you've done your part.

It's not enough to just share Insta stories and to post a black square (#BlackoutTuesday) and call it a day. We need people to keep speaking out about this and having uncomfortable conversations with their families about anti-Blackness. It's been really great to see many non-Black POC on my Instagram explaining the conversations they are having with their mothers, their fathers, their aunts, or their other relatives about anti-Blackness thoughts and discourse. It gives me hope that this year, Black Lives Matter is not just a trend we tweet and then move on with our lives. From now on, we will be making sure every police officer that kills an unarmed Black American is charged and brought to justice.

Putting pressure on these figures is important. We raised the degree for the police officer who murdered George Floyd (I refuse to say or think his name), and the other officers were rightfully charged and arrested. Now we need to keep directing that energy towards the officers who murdered Breonna Taylor in her own home, because it's clear that national (and international!) outcry works. Protests work.

"When am I allowed to start posting my own content again? When am I allowed to start tweeting about the things and people I love again, outside of BLM?"

You were never not allowed to, in my opinion – though I'm glad in the first few days after George Floyd's murder, everyone I follow on social media realized it wasn't the time to be tweeting about how much they loved so and so celebrity, so and so fictional character, so and so TV Show. Because otherwise that can become performative, I think – look at me tweeting only about Black Lives Matter! Look at how much I care! You just have to tweet and post with moderation. Make sure you are being outspoken about BLM and doing your part to share and tweet petitions, donations, and protest information and don't ignore it.

The timeline is slowly getting back to "normal," as people say. People are tweeting more and more about their favs, but I hope they continue tweeting about all the African-Americans wrongly killed who deserved justice. I hope they keep sharing petitions and keep donating when they can. I hope they keep staying angry, because now is the time to fight back and I hope with all my heart this past week of anger and reflection does not simply become reduced to a trend, all because Stan Twitter and Instagram wanted to get back to normal.

So you attended a protest. So you posted an Insta story. So you signed one petition. So you made one donation. Now what?

Keep supporting protests. Keep posting your Insta stories. Keep signing and sharing petitions. Keep in mind when you have the funds to donate and be cognitive of which organizations and charities you're supporting. Keep calling out your faves when they're not doing enough, because it works! My favorite teen heartthrob actor, Dylan O'Brien, heard when his fans said posting one tweet wasn't enough. Since then, the social-media/Twitter-inept actor has been posting petitions and sharing videos and voicing his outrage almost daily.

And keep in mind, which celebrities aren't listening to your criticisms and instead being defensive. I agree it's important not to praise white men for doing the bare minimum, so make sure under Dylan O'Brien's comments you're not immediately rushing to tell him "THANK U KING" or "ILY LEGEND." Just be sure to acknowledge what he's doing work and keep sharing petitions he might have missed in the comments.

Here are some ways to keep fighting for justice for Breonna Taylor:

Clicking this link – tinyurl.com/y7ke93du – takes you to a pre-written email template to the Louisville, Kentucky district attorney to demand justice. All you have to do is fill out your name and where you're from. (Link supplied from didi_godwin's Instagram bio).

Continue donating to the Justice for Breonna Taylor's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9v4q2-justice-for-breonna-taylor. This GoFundMe campaign (as of June 6th, 2020) has raised over $5,000,000 dollars, from a $500,000 goal.

(Can't donate? Understandable. I've also lost my job and am relying on Unemployment funds as well, donating what I can, when I can. Here is a link of Youtube videos to watch that donate their ad revenue to the BLM movement: https://twitter.com/cooIpeopIe/status/1267937798755102723?s=20).

And lastly, for now, www.standwithbre.com is an excellent site that has resources for making calls and a petition that is 96% of the way towards reaching 1,000,000 signatures. Please sign and share with your friends and family.

Also please do not forget about Tony McDade. Here is a petition to support justice for him, a transgender black man killed by the police: https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-tony-mcdade/psf/promote_or_share. (DO NOT donate to Change.org, they keep the donation money to themselves).

Please donate here instead: https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-tony-mcdade. As of right now, the GoFundMe campaign has raised over $170,000 from their original $25,000 goal.