Living our BA Values in Support of Black Lives Matter

June 4, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Living our BA Values in Support of Black Lives Matter 

Washington, D.C.: Today is a National Day of Mourning to honor the lives lost in the Black community, as well as to demand reform.

The BA Women’s Alliance supports justice for Black lives and stands steadfast with Black women and the Black community as a whole. We mourn the loss of George Floyd, as well as the many other Black women and men who have been unjustly and senselessly killed in a system fueled by a history of white supremacy that persists today.

We value community. It is our work to lift the voices and work of the Black community up and provide support alongside them. Today and every day.

To build the future we all imagine requires that we not only recognize the pain in the Black community but also do the work to become better allies. This is the work of turning some of the BA values—compassion, tenacity, curiosity, courage—into meaningful action. We strive to be “anti-racist feminists” not just in words or on social media, but in how we show up, each moment, each day.

This is especially true for individuals like me: people who are white and continue to benefit from the privileges of whiteness.

So, here are a few ways to support today:

• Participate in the National Day of Mourning and hear from the nation’s leading civil rights and racial justice organizations here.
• Donate to organizations doing the work to end “the tragic and senseless loss of Black lives to police-involved violence”, such as those leading the National Day of Mourning:
  • the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
  • The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  • The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
  • the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law
  • the National Urban League
  • the National Action Network
• Invite your friends and family, especially if you are white, into the work for racial justice. For example, buy the book Me and White Supremacy (ideally from a black-owned bookstore) and do the homework; ask your friends to read it with you. Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) also has great resources for this, including 130+ local chapters.
• For white people asking, “What Can I Do?”, watch this 5-minute video.