If taking it to the streets isn't possible because of COVID-19, no need to worry! There are still plenty of things you can do to make your voice heard and contribute to the movement.
1. Post About Protests In Your Area
If you can't be there yourself, there's no harm in sharing ones that are nearby anyway in case your friends or followers are able to attend! Search up your area on the Internet, and see if there are any protests or events happening locally! Sharing links or locations to these is an easy way to help other people get out and attend protests or Black Lives Matter events.
2. Sign Petitions
There are plenty of petitions going around! Making an account on Change.org makes it easy to sign multiple petitions in a row with just the tap of a button! In addition to the Justice For Breonna Taylor Petition, there are many that haven't yet met their goal including The Hands Up Act Petition and a petition to have Sandra Bland's case reopened. These are just a few examples of petitions you can sign, and a simple search will lead you to more.
3. Amplify Black Voices
Diversify your social media experience by following more Black people and people of color! Artists, authors, activists... I guarantee you that there are many talented, brilliant humans out there for you to follow. Share their posts on your story while you're at it, you never know who could be inspired or who could learn something because you shared a post.
Sharing the voices and opinions of Black people in the Black Lives Matter movement is a way to bring attention to the situation going on even if you can't think of something to say yourself.
4. Educate Yourself
Read Black authors such as James Baldwin, bell hooks and Zora Neale Hurston. Find documentaries about racism or go to Netflix where they have created a specific section on Black Lives Matter for viewers to educate themselves!
Remember there is no such thing as learning "enough." Teach yourself about Black history every day, make more space in your life to learn from black educators, but this doesn't necessarily mean going to the first Black person you can think of and expecting them to educate you... Google exists for a reason!
5. Contact Your Representatives
Do your research on your local representatives! Find out who your council men and women are, who your senators are and your congress representatives. When emailing any of these individuals, it is super simple to find many links that will draft an email for you and require you to only hit send after typing your name.
While these are useful and certainly not to be disregarded, using prompts can sometimes cause your email to be filtered out and never see the light of day. Even if it is just one sentence, writing your own words or changing up the prompt will ensure that your email is received and read. Whatever your demands are, they have to look at it!
6. Stay Informed
Remember to follow the news, allow yourself mental health breaks if need be, of course, and stay informed on what is happening. This is a movement, not a moment, and it will take more than just a few months of posting and raising awareness to bring about real change.
