Juneteenth Reading and Action

Photo: Sari Goodfriend

This Juneteenth our team is creating space to reflect on writing on racism and climate, in some cases focused on policing. We are also exploring Movement for Black Lives actions and events today and this weekend.

This is a special day, but the reflection, learning, and deepening of our practice extend forward.

What we’re reading:

• We Don’t Have To Halt Climate Action To Fight Racism

  By Mary Annaïse Heglar, HuffPost, June 12, 2020

• Defunding the Police Is an Environmental Justice Issue

  By Drew Costley, OneZero, June 15, 2020

• There Is No Climate Justice Without Defunding the Police

  By Brian Kahn, Gizmodo, June 2, 2020

• Read Up on the Links Between Racism and the Environment

  By Somini Sengupta, New York Times, June 5, 2020

From the Movement For Black Lives: 

We launched SixNineteen ten days ago. Today there are 450 events on the map and tens of thousands of people signed up to attend. Those numbers reflect the leadership and allyship of many people. And I’m writing to offer concrete ways to keep that momentum going. d

Here are 5 ways you can still help to make SixNineteen as powerful as possible: 

1. RSVP here to Attend a Juneteenth Action in your community or online. 

2. Sign Up to Host an Event. We need more event hosts around the country in local communities so please sign up if there isn’t already an event near you! The actions are planned through Sunday, so there’s plenty of time left to post a strong event.

3. Elevate the M4BL Juneteenth call to action using our Social Media Toolkit with sample posts, email language, graphics. 

4. Text the word DEFEND to 90975 to stay updated on how to take action this week 

5. Follow M4BL on Facebook 

If you have the capacity to dig in a little, here are: 

1. Messaging Guide — Make sure you and your organizations are following the demands and framing of Black leaders, including the M4BL. 

2. Recruitment Guide for Partners & Organizations — Take a look and help spread the word!

3. #KnowBeforeYouGo COVID-19 Health Guidance — It’s a false choice between fighting for our lives and staying safe. This document offers steps people can take to engage in safer protesting during the pandemic. We’re also hosting 75 virtual events this weekend for those who prefer to join from home!

4. M4BL Public FAQs — This is what we’re fighting for, and how we’re talking about it.