Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Wellness Consultant, Author, and Speaker.
CALL TO ACTION
Every day in the US and around the world people's lives and freedoms are taken away because groups in power seek to maintain control over others. There are systems and institutions that seek to oppress people through forces of racism, sexism, genderism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, xenophobia, and so many other lens of power dynamics. All these patterns of beliefs and systems, impact the mental health and well being of billions everyday. As a Social Worker, I look at Mental Health & Illness through an intersectional lens, also considering how social, political, and economic structures impact my clients.
Please take a look at some of the social justice initiatives I am currently advocating for.
End Hair Discrimination
The CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is a law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, which is the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists or bantu knots. There are currently 13 states that have signed the act into law, and 37 states remain.
Please visit www.thecrownact.com for more information
What can you do?
Sign the petition HERE
Justice for Daunte Wright
On Sunday, April 11th, 20-year-old Daunte Wright was pulled over for a traffic violation by police in Brooklyn Center, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis. Officers determined there was a warrant out for Wright's arrest. While trying to detain him, officer Kim Potter fatally shot him. Though Wright drove away—hitting another car—he soon died at the scene.
What can you do?
1. Support the Family
Wright's aunt, Kelly Bryant, created a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs and assist Wright's son and his son's mother.
The Minneapolis-based business Holistic Heaux has been in touch with the mother of Daunte's 2-year-old son, Chyna. (The account also said they're the only person who has been in touch with her and Wright's family, and anyone else claiming to collect donations is a scam.) Chyna's direct Cash App handle is "$hubby98."
2. Donate to Support Protestors
Community organizer Paige Ingram set up a GoFundMe for the Brooklyn Center Mutual Aid Fund, to provide protesters with personal protective equipment (PPE), supplies for medics, safety supplies for protestors, and food for the families in the apartment complexes surrounding the police station since they're blocked into their homes by the protests.
3. Support Anti-Racism & Police Accountability Funds
If you prefer to donate to a national bail fund, which gets protestors out of jail, the Bail Project National Revolving Bail Fund is a very good one. The NAACP, Equal Justice Initiative, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, Unicorn Riot, LGBTQ Fund, Emergency Release Fund, and Trans Justice Funding Project all support the fight for equality at a national level.
Justice for Sean Reed
Sean Reed was a 21-year-old Black Army Vet who was shot by police in Indianapolis while on Facebook Live. The officers on the scene first used a taser and then shot Reed 13 times. Afterwards, the officers can be heard laughing and one officer says, “I think it’s going to be a closed casket homie.”
How can I help demand justice for Sean Reed?
Sign a petition calling for justice for Sean Reed here.
Justice for Tiana Arata
On Tuesday, July 21, Tianna Arata was arrested by SLO PD at about 8 p.m. near Mitchell Park as she and other demonstrators were loading up a car after the protest — which at one point stopped traffic on Highway 101 — and had already dispersed. She is currently facing up to 15 years due to being an organizer of a peaceful protest.
Read more here: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article244416732.html#storylink=cpy
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How can I help demand justice for Tiana Arata?
Donate to (or share) the fundraising campaign towards her legal fees.
Email San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow with this useful template inspire your own emails, tweaking content.
Sign petition to drop charges against her.
Organizations for Change
Below are some organizations that are constantly fighting to create support and change for historically oppressed and marginalized groups.
Act Blue
Donate Here
From their site: "As a nonprofit, we’re driven by the belief that our democracy works better when more people participate in civic life and when our campaigns and nonprofits are powered by the people they serve. That’s why we’ve built a powerful online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, progressive organizations, and nonprofits. Our tools make it possible for anyone to build a grassroots campaign or movement and give donors an easy and secure way to support their favorite candidates and causes."
Black Lives Matter
Donate Here
From their site: "#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives."
Black Visions Collective
Donate Here
From their site: “Black Visions Collective envisions a world in which ALL Black Lives Matter. We use the guidance and brilliance of our ancestors as well as the teachings of our own experiences to pursue our commitment to dismantling systems of oppression and violence. We are determined in our pursuit of dignity and equity for all."
Color Of Change
From their site: “Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 1.7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.”
Community Justice Exchange
From their site: “The Community Justice Exchange is a national hub for developing, sharing, and experimenting with tactical interventions, strategic organizing practices, and innovative organizing tools to end mass incarceration. We provide support to community-based organizations that are building a new vision of community justice through bottom-up interventions in the criminal legal and immigration detention systems.”
Emergency Release Fund
From their site: "The Emergency Release Fund is a grassroots response to grave public safety issues. 100% of your contribution is used to post bail for trans persons, people of color, and underrepresented communities at risk of injury and death."
Equal Justice Initiative
From their site: " EJI is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. We challenge the death penalty and excessive punishment and we provide re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people."
Human Rights Campaign
Donate Here
From their site: “HRC works to improve the lives of LGBTQ people worldwide by advocating for equal rights and benefits in the workplace, ensuring families are treated equally under the law, and increasing public support around the globe.”
Know Your Rights Camp
Donate Here
From their site: “Our mission is to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders."
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
From their site: “The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.”
National Bail Out
From their site: "The National Bail Out collective is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration. We are people who have been impacted by cages — either by being in them ourselves or witnessing our families and loved ones be encaged. We are queer, trans, young, elder, and immigrant.”
National Black Disability Coalition
From their site: "The National Black Disability Coalition (NBDC) is a response to the need for Blacks with Disabilities in America to organize around issues of mutual concern and use our collective strength to address disability issues with an emphasis on people who live in poverty."