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Wielding Peace, Supporting Black-Owned Bookshops, and Continuing the Movement

  • Writer: Joy
    Joy
  • Jun 13, 2020
  • 5 min read

My clothes from the Dove x Wielding Peace collection have come!


Currently wearing the pink long sleeves right now. I ordered it in a size medium so that way it's comfy to wear inside the house, lounging around – even though we're currently in Phase 2 right now. I'm excited to wear the black sweatshirt when it's colder outside! The inside is fuzzy and a little more comfortable than the shirt, if I'm being honest but I really enjoy them both.




Just a reminder: you can purchase these limited edition shirts from https://represent.com/cameron until the end of the month, though it looks like many items are sold out. Grab the last ones while you can, if you can and a portion of the proceeds will go to The Actors Fund for COVID-19 relief, while benefitting The Cameron Boyce Foundation.


Let's also keep supporting Black-owned businesses! I usually always shop at Barnes and Noble (never Amazon) for books, because I have a membership and I used to work at my college bookstore, affiliated with Barnes and Noble. It's not that I don't support local bookstores and booksellers, but I'm a creature of habit and if I'm paying for a membership already, I figure why the hell not get free shipping every time I shop?


But in light of recent events, I have been making a more conscious effort myself to shop at Black-owned businesses and not give more profits to Jeff Bezos. So instead of purchasing the first two books of the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake (you may know her from Anna Dressed in Blood) from Barnes and Noble, I bought them from Elizabeth's Bookshop & Writing Centre.


Here is more information about why I chose to purchase from Elizabeth's today, and why I think you should as well:

As of June 13th, over $3,440,000 has been raised for local bookstores!


In terms of shipping, my membership at Barnes and Noble gives me free shipping for 3-5 business days while Elizabeth's costs roughly $4.50 for 6-11 days (expecting at least 3 days of delay for COVID). In the grand scheme of things, I'm not crying of anticipation for these stories since I'm currently working through The Wizard of Earthsea (you can keep track of what I'm reading on my Creative Picks page), so the wait actually works in my benefit this time around.


In terms of pricing, the books were probably a dollar more to purchase through Barnes and Noble (mainly because I wanted one hardcover and one paperback). Stupidly, I didn't think about seeing if there was a hardcover option through Elizabeth's (WHICH THERE WAS but didn't realize until after I placed my order), so I'm thinking pricing would have been about the same. Just something to keep in mind.


But let's talk about continuing the movement, since social media seems to be going back to "normal." Many celebrities are still posting links to where you can take action and reminders that Black lives still matter, and Breonna Taylor's murderers still have not been arrested nor charged. While progress has been made – Breonna's Law was passed unanimously this past week – the fight is not over.



https://justiceforbreonna.org is a great site with resources and easy links to to take action. Keep posting about Breonna Taylor, and keep saying her name. The official GoFundMe for Breonna has well surpassed its original $500,000 goal but that does not mean you don't have to keep donating. For me, personally, as someone on Unemployment funds right now, I'm doing my best to donate to funds that have not reached their goals and are not as publicized, but I strongly encourage all who can to keep donating to Breonna's memory.



"Julius Jones is on death row in Oklahoma, despite maintaining his innocence and compelling evidence that he was wrongfully convicted. Mr. Jones’ co-defendant fit an eyewitness’s description of the shooter, while Mr. Jones did not. His co-defendant was the state’s key witness against him, and the prosecution repeatedly told jurors at Mr. Jones’ trial that his co-defendant would serve a 30-year sentence in exchange for his testimony. However, after pleading guilty to the crime, Mr. Jones’ co-defendant was released after only 15 years and is now a free man."


Almost 55,000 people have taken action to email the Pardon and Parole Board – here's a link where you can help out: https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=7177.



"When Julius Jones was 19-years-old, he was convicted of a murder he says he did not commit. I need your help to save his life.

Julius has lived on death row for almost 20 years, and is held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. He is allowed one hour of sunlight a day, and three showers a week. Every minute we wait to take action, Julius is suffering. Every second that goes by brings Julius closer to being executed for a crime he didn’t commit. 

At the time of the crime for which he was convicted, Julius was a 19-year-old student athlete with a promising future, attending the University of Oklahoma on an academic scholarship. It is clear that Julius’ lawyer did not adequately defend him, and that explicit racial bias played a significant role in the process.. For example:

  • Eyewitnesses place Mr. Jones at his parents’ home at the time of the murder, miles away from the crime scene. 

  • Mr. Jones’ co-defendant admitted to being involved in the crime and is now free after testifying against Julius. He was heard bragging that he “set Julius up.” Mr. Jones’ co-defendant matches the only eyewitness description of the shooter based on the length of his hair.

  • Newly-discovered evidence shows that at least one juror harbored racial prejudice that influenced his vote to convict and sentence Mr. Jones to death. One juror reported telling the judge about another juror who said the trial was a waste of time and “they should just take the n***** out and shoot him behind the jail.” 

I learned about Julius’ story through Viola Davis’ docuseries “The Last Defense.” As a person of color and a person of faith, I knew that I couldn’t stand by while an innocent man was killed. I am an Oklahoma taxpayer and the idea that my money will be used to kill Julius makes me sick. "


You can watch The Last Defense on Hulu.



This past month, Josh Williams was interviewed by GQ Magazine.


"Joshua Williams was 18 when he was arrested for stealing a bag of chips and lighting a QuikTrip trash can on fire in the aftermath of a protest sparked by the death of Antonio Martin near Ferguson, MO. It was December, 2014; Williams had already been in the streets for months already at that point, protesting the killing of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. During that time, Williams became a well-known and well-liked activist in Ferguson. Williams eventually pleaded guilty to counts that included first-degree arson and second-degree burglary. Despite having no prior criminal record, he was given eight years, a sentence many have questioned, and his cause hassince been taken up by many other community leadersin the area. He has now served five years. Later this month, he is up for parole."


If you would like to stay updated on how to help Josh, sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUQ3BYP6OElwP-iM6NIigPCpbLDqBmRrfMuh8TZ1-0BAKXvA/viewform


Here are some more ways you can show support directly to Josh:

 
 
 

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