We are outraged and heartbroken. We grieve and demand justice for the Black lives lost to police brutality, COVID-19, and more than 400 years of sanctioned violence and systemic racism in this country.
As we’ve seen again and again, communities of color — especially Black communities — are disproportionately traumatized by police violence and impacted by climate change and COVID-19. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery should be alive today, and their deaths are more horrific examples of systemic racism.
Over-policing does not make our communities any safer. The police didn’t keep George Floyd safe, or Breonna Taylor. They are more than names; they are our reminder that it is everyone’s responsibility to fight racism in all its forms. Black lives matter and we are committed to achieving social justice.
Here’s How You Can Help
People’s Budget LA in Los Angeles is calling for the city to put resources into preventing violence instead of reacting to it with more violence, by cutting the budget for the police and investing in early childhood education, job creation, and public health. Nature for All supports this action and urges all levels of government to take similar actions.
Communities of color have for too long suffered the impacts of environmental injustices and carried the disproportionate burden of racist policies. Please consider joining us in taking action to support organizations working on the ground to address structural racism, including deep-seated societal notions of anti-Blackness, and the resulting health inequities and violence.
We encourage everyone to make contributions and support organizations dedicated to fighting these injustices in memory of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and the countless others whose names we may never know.
Local organizations:
- Black Lives Matter, Los Angeles
- People’s Budget LA
- Healthy LA Coalition
- Youth Justice Coalition
- Community Coalition
- SCOPE
- Trust South LA
- ACLU SoCal
National organizations to support, who are working on these issues:
- Minnesota Freedom Fund – pays criminal bail and immigration bonds for those who can’t afford to
- Movement4BlackLives – was created as a space for Black organizations across the country to discuss and shift key policy, cultural and political wins
- Reclaim the Block – a coalition demanding investment in community-led safety initiatives (and divestment from policing) in Minneapolis
- Black Visions Collective – an arts collective advocating and organizing for transformative justice and liberation by and for Black Minnesotans
- Black MN COVID-19 Response – a coalition of Black organizers and organizers from Minnesota addressing the harmful impacts of COVID-19
- George Floyd Memorial Fund – the GoFundMe page of George Floyd’s family, posted by his brother
- Pimento Relief Fund – providing black business with insurance relief after white supremacists set them on fire during the protests
