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The Mission

There are many around the world who care about the fight for black equality in America. And though we may never be able to truly understand the experience of Black America, we stand in solidarity, offer our support, and recognize the need for humanity and decency to triumph over terror and subjugation.

BEGIN's mission is to tap on the resources of the international community to support black equality, fight oppression, demand police accountability, and resist fascism. We do this in two ways: (1) Providing resources by which the international community can learn about the Black American experience; and (2) Providing a list of the various organizations that the international community can support.
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Learning about the experience of Black America

we marched because we were getting killed, y’all are rioting because you didn’t get your way...we are not the same.

— Somto Claus □□ (@somtochukwu___) January 6, 2021
This is an interactive timeline of just some of the many significant events in Black American history. There are too many to fit into this free timeline tool. It starts with the earliest records of slavery in America in the 17th century, covers some notable events such as the Underground Railroad, and then jumps ahead to contemporary issues of police brutality against Black Americans. For a more complete overview of Black American history, please see the links to resources below.
Powerpoint timeline
Much of the discourse surrounding the Black American experience is set within the American paradigm, which is a complex context involving not just race but a plethora of other issues including politics, education, socio-economics, jurisprudence, history, and institutional accountability. Understandably, this paradigm may be unfamiliar to members of international community. Here are some resources that you can use to deepen your understanding of the Black American experience.
​ONLINE RESOURCES ON BLACK HISTORY
  • Black History Milestones: Timeline by History.com
  • African American History Timeline by BlackPast
  • Perspectives on African American History by BlackPast
  • Primary Documents that shaped African American History by BlackPast
BOOKS ON ANTI-RACISM
  • The Possessive Investment In Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics by George Lipsitz
  • How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
  • What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir In Essays by Damon Young
  • White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo ​
OTHERS
  • Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos by Dr Dwight Turner (psychotherapist, Senior Lecturer within the School of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Brighton)
  • Sociology of Racism by Matthew Clair of Harvard University, and Jeffrey S Denis of McMaster University
  • Letters for Black Lives, a set of crowdsourced, multilingual, culturally-aware resources for creating inter-familial discussions on why people of various races and nationalities must support the Black community.​
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON WHY BLACK LIVES MATTER
  • Black Lives Matter: A Singaporean's perspective by Tommy Koh (international lawyer, professor, diplomat) 
  • Why Black Lives Matter in Taiwan by Han Cheung, Taipei Times
  • Why Black Lives Matter Is a Global Issue by Dean Bowen, Global Citizen Project
  • Monologue on why Black Lives Matter to the Asian community by Hasan Minhaj, comedian (via Viola Davis, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist) - see video below
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VIOLA DAVIS (@violadavis) on Jun 16, 2020 at 10:28am PDT

INDIVIDUAL VS SYSTEMIC  RACISM
The following descriptions, adapted from the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre (ACLRC) are helpful in understanding what individual and systemic racism are.
  • Individual Racism refers to an individual's racist assumptions, beliefs or behaviours and is "a form of racial discrimination that stems from conscious and  unconscious, personal prejudice".  Individual Racism is connected to/learned from broader socio-economic  histories and processes and is supported and reinforced by systemic  racism...some people argue that their  statements/ideas are not racist because they are just "personal  opinion." Here, it is important to point out how individualism functions to erase hierarchies of power, and to connect unrecognized personal ideologies to larger racial or systemic ones. (That is, individualism can be used as a defensive reaction.) This is why it is crucial to understand systemic racism and how it operates.
  • Systemic Racism includes the policies and practices entrenched in established institutions, which result in the exclusion or promotion of designated groups. It differs from overt discrimination in that no individual intent is necessary. It manifests itself in two ways:
    - Institutional racism: Racial discrimination that derives from individuals carrying out the dictates of others who are prejudiced or of a prejudiced society
    - Structural racism: Inequalities rooted in the system-wide operation of a society that excludes substantial numbers of members of particular groups from significant participation in major social institutions.
    ​Some forms of systemic racism may be easier to identify than others, such as the exclusion of Black American golfers from elite, private golf courses in the US, or the way that "universal suffrage" did not include Indigenous North American women (nor did Indigenous men receive the vote until 1960, unless they gave up their status/identity as  Indigenous).
FORMS OF INDIVIDUAL RACISM
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"Racism Scale", adapted from the Stuart Center for Mission, Educational Leadership & Technology
POLICE VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
Police killed 1,098 people in the United States in 2019 alone.
Police violence is rampant in the United States, and is inextricably linked to violence against Black Americans. Much of this violence goes unpunished. This is why you may hear police violence being described as a "state monopoly on violence" - only instruments of the state (such as police) are permitted to inflict violence on people without punishment.

This map is from Mapping Police Violence, a website that provides information on police violence in America and how this violence disproportionately targets Black Americans. The map was created by Samuel Sinyangwe. The map shows where and when police violence took place in America in 2019.
LEARN MORE ABOUT POLICE VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
  • Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop by Officer A. Cab
  • Mapping Police Violence
  • Ongoing Twitter thread recording police brutality during the protests in the US by T. Greg Doucette
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Helping with immediate / short-term relief

DONATING TO FUNDS FOR THE VICTIMS
These donations go to the families of the victims for funerary expenses, seeking justice, children and dependents, and other aid required by the family. Where donation goals have been met, some funds may forward additional donations to other charities or organizations.
  • Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor
  • George Floyd Memorial Fund
  • George Floyd's Sister's Fund
  • Ahmaud Arbery Fund
  • David McAtee Fund
  • Regis Korchinski Fund
  • Jamee Johnson Fund
  • Destiny Harrison Funeral Fund
  • Eric Rosalia Fund
  • Belly Mujinga Fund
  • Dion Johnson Fund
  • Aaron James Fund
  • Tony McDade Fund
  • Healing for Darnella
  • Destiny's Dream Scholarship
  • James Scurlock Fund
  • Support for Leslie Fund
  • Trevor Belle Fund​
SUPPORTING BUSINESSES
  • Atlanta Black Owned Business Relief
  • ​Rebuild the Block
  • Shoppe Black
DONATING TO BAIL FUNDS AND EMERGENCY SUPPORT FOR PROTESTERS
Community funds across the United States have been set up to provide emergency support for protesters, such as medical supplies, transportation for injured protesters, megaphones and pamphlets, and legal support, bail, fines, and court fees for arrested protesters. 
  • National Bail Fund Network
  • The Bail Project National Revolving Bail Fund
  • Bay Area Bail Fund
  • Brooklyn Community Bail Fund
  • Charleston Bail Fund
  • Chicago Community Bond Fund
  • The Colin Kaepernick Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative
  • Florida Bail Fund
  • Peoples City Council Freedom Fund, Los Angeles
  • ​Protestors of Manassas Virginia
  • Massachusetts Bail Fund
  • Minnesota Freedom Fund
  • Missouri Black Protester Relief Fund
  • Philadelphia Community Bail Fund
  • Richmond Community Bail Fund​
DONATING WITHOUT SPENDING MONEY
  • Stream this YouTube playlist - Creators are donating the ad revenue towards various causes including associations that offer protester bail funds, help pay for family funerals, and advocacy groups 
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Promoting long-term social change

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TOWARDS SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUALITY
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles
  • ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities
  • Advancement Project
  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  • Black Male Achievers
  • Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD)
  • Black Table Arts
  • Black Visions Collective
  • Black Women's Blueprint
  • Black Youth Project 100
  • The Colin Kaepernick Know Your Rights Camp
  • Detroit Justice Center
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
  • NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF)
  • National Police Accountability Project (NPAP)
  • The Loveland Foundation
  • Reclaim the Block​​
SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM
  • The Marshall Project
  • Unicorn Riot




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It's not over

It doesn't end at #blackouttuesday. The fight for social justice goes on. Keep up with what's happening at these social media accounts.
  • American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) on Instagram
  • Afua Hirsch (columnist, broadcaster, author) on Twitter
  • Aja Barber (sustainability expert, writer, speaker) on Instagram
  • Amanda Seales (comedian, actress and TV personality) on Instagram
  • Amandla Stenberg (actress, social activist) on Instagram
  • Ava DuVernay (creater, co-writer, and director for Netflix series "When They See Us") on Instagram
  • Black Lives Matter on Instagram and Twitter
  • Black Visions Collective on Instagram
  • Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) on Instagram
  • Check Your Privilege on Instagram
  • The Conscious Kid on Instagram
  • Danielle Coke (artist) on Instagram
  • David Olusoga (Historian, Professor of Public History at University of Manchester, BAFTA winning TV Presenter/Producer) on Twitter
  • Ericka Harte (educator, writer, model, podcast host) on Instagram
  • Ethel's Club on Instagram
  • The Gathering For Justice on Instagram and Twitter
  • Grace F. Victory (blogger,  YouTuber, mental health advocate, columnist and podcast host) on Instagram 
  • The Grassroots Law Project on Instagram
  • Ijeoma Oluo (author, editor) on Instagram
  • Know Your Rights Campaign on Instagram
  • Layla F. Saad (writer, speaker, podcast host, author) on Twitter
  • Martin Luther King III (human rights activist, son of Martin Luther King Jr) on Twitter
  • Munroe Bergdorf (trans model and activist) on Twitter
  • R29 Unbothered on Instagram
  • Rachel Elizabeth Cargle (writer, lecturer, activist) on Instagram
  • Renni Eddo-Lodge (award-winning British journalist and author) on Instagram and Twitter​
  • Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (lawyer and political and women's rights activist) on Twitter
  • Speak Out Speakers on Instagram
  • Trevor Noah (comedian, author, host of The Daily Show) on Instagram and YouTube
  • Dr Yusef Salaam (public speaker, author) on Instagram​
Tweets by Blklivesmatter
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Credits

Logo by Trippy Thambi
Images by Kelly Lacy, Jumana Dakkur, Shane Aldendorff, Life Matters of Pexels and Clay Banks, Mike Von and Koshu Kunii of Unsplash
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