The Fight Against Police Brutality & Systemic Racism: How to Play Your Part

If you are not angry, encouraged to do more, pushed to say more, willing to prioritize eliminating the social and political barriers to progress, then you are not paying attention.

“Enough is enough,” roared hundreds of thousands of voices protesting in the streets across the US and threading through messages across social media after the death of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Recognizing this killing is a small piece to a long history of horrific systemic racism and police brutality against Black people in the United States, a number of companies and nonprofit organizations have realized their parts to play in moving our nation forward.

Now, as we not only stand in solidarity but also take action with those working to demand change, we encourage you to do the same, as the fight for justice and equality is a matter of basic human rights.

13 Resources to Help Fight Systemic Racism

While many are feeling helpless, there are many ways you, as a nonprofit leader, can support and progress the cause of racial justice.

To help guide you in playing your part, we’ve gathered a list of resources below:

1. Educate yourself (as well as encourage your team and others to educate themselves) on Anti-racism. Learn more here.

2. Create a bail fund or share a list of bail funds that other nonprofits have created to help drive more donations. See more here.

3. Reach out to your local state representatives. Create an email template for your internal team and others to use when reaching out to their local representatives as well. Find state legislators here.

4. Educate protestors by sharing resources about their rights here.

5. Be sure to join and encourage other nonprofit leaders to join a local Mutual Aid Network here.

6. Join forces with your local Black Lives Matter (BLM) Chapter here.

7. Sign and encourage others to sign the #JusticeforFloyd petition by Change.org here.

8. Share ways to donate effectively. Learn more here.

9. Drive donations in the right direction:

   • Help provide legal counsel by driving donations to the National Police Accountability Project here.

   • Defend our democracy by driving donations to the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund here.

   • Drive donations to Reclaim The Block and help move money out of policing and into community-led safety here.

10. Utilize the Reclaim The Block digital toolkit and help educate/spread awareness on your social platforms here.

11. Share or create resources that help educate others about Black lives. Learn more here.

12. Create a Facebook cleanup group for local neighborhoods.

13. Continue to share what you are doing publicly to be proactive, highlighting messages around voting or supporting local Black small businesses, etc.

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