Fifteen Minutes of Activism: Black Lives Matter
Everyone has a free fifteen minutes of their day, and here, we’re trying to give you something to fill that time with, activism. Below you can use those fifteen minutes to sign some petitions, read more about this movement, and take action. Every week we will be posting our fifteen minutes of activism for a different cause, comment below additional resources we can add to this post and movements or causes you’d like us to feature next!
(two minutes)
Petition:
Justice for Breonna Taylor
“Breonna Taylor was an award-winning EMT and model citizen.
One month ago, a division of the Louisville Police Department performed an illegal, unannounced drug raid on her home. Not a single officer announced themselves before ramming down her door and firing 22 shots, shooting Breonna 8 times, killing her.
Not only were the police at the wrong house, but the man they were looking for had already been arrested earlier that day.
1. Charges must be filed immediately. Arrests of the officers involved, specifically John Mattingly, Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, and any other officer involved in the death and coverup of the death of Breonna Taylor must be made NOW. There have been no charges thus far (it has been nearly 3 months). This is unacceptable.”
Read more and sign above here!
(two minutes)
Petition 2:
Police Reform Bill
Due to unchecked police violence in this nation, we are requesting an immediate police reform bill. When police brutality occurs, police are allowed to conduct their own investigations of their own misconduct. In some situations a neighboring police department will conduct an investigation of misconduct. This is a conflict of interest. We demand a bill that requires all police departments in this country be investigated by democratically elected, independent civilian review boards; which have the power to investigate police, and also bring charges against police.
Read more and sign above here!
Some Good Words
Here are now two written pieces about this issue.
(six minutes)
US needs reparations
This Huffington post piece is an interview with law professor Mehrsa Baradaran, about
how addressing centuries of racist policy is a critical solution to today’s social unrest.
(two minutes)
Ignorance is a Choice
This piece is a MixedLife hosted personal reflection by
seventeen year old Kaiya Jefferson about
youth desensitization to black violence.
( Any three minutes )
Video to watch
This video is a twelve minute interview from the Daily Show with Trevor Noah with Miski Noor who discusses Black Visions Collective, George Floyd’s murder and the Minneapolis City Council’s pledge to dismantle the city’s police department. An amazing and insightful piece, we insist on watching at least three minutes of the video but recommend watching more if you have time.
Have some more time?
Click here to find black businesses you can support!
https://www.fastcompany.com/90511856/7-black-owned-businesses-to-support-right-now
If based in Los Angeles and looking for a take-out bite to eat…click here to find a list of black owned restaurants in LA.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/18w-0RBhwBBlXDN9kRV9DVSCAGSCjtHb9K0Pq2YBv18U/htmlview
Check back with MixedLife next week for our next fifteen minutes of Activism piece!