8 Ways to Help After Charlottesville

Hello

This! One of the individuals at the dissent was an understudy from my present old neighborhood – he isn’t being removed or terminated from his grounds work. The college president is presently expelling what this individual did as free discourse, however, there is worry from workforce/staff/understudies that he is going to return home and unleash destruction in our peaceful little city, on a grounds that ought to be a sheltered space for everybody.

What I love about you and your blog is when terrible things happen in the world, you always check in with your readers and ask if we are doing okay and remind us to take care of ourselves. And then when we feel helpless you give us ways to help and a plan of action. Thank you so much.

Jo, thank you for this post!! I completely agree with other posters who said that interior design and style posts just don’t seem very relevant in times like these, when it feels like our country is going crazy. It would be awesome if you made these maybe a monthly column, I always find myself discovering a new group or organization through either the post or the comments. Plus, it seems like “community engagement” (or whatever you want to call it) should be part of everyone’s lifestyle at this point. :)

I found this op-ed to be super helpful, it talks about using humor during counter protests.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/opinion/how-to-make-fun-of-nazis.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0

I’m supposed to be writing syllabi for art classes right now and it just seems so. futile. in the face of what’s going on. Thank you for this; I really needed it today (and I’m very well aware other folks need it SO much more than I do). I’m inspired to have a studio sale, proceeds going toward SPLC, etc. Anyway, thanks for helping me to feel less helpless and take some (more) action. xx

Thank you for posting this! Not knowing what to do or how to help is kind of paralyzing in itself, so ideas, organizations to donate to, etc. is very helpful! Code Switch is amazing, I have been listening since November.

Thank you.

This is from January but always relevant: https://onbeing.org/programs/john-lewis-love-in-action-jan2017/ (many other wonderful episodes of this podcast too)

The Intercept is always worth reading, including this: https://theintercept.com/2017/08/15/donald-trump-has-been-a-racist-all-his-life-and-he-isnt-going-to-change-after-charlottesville/

Democracy Now! covers US and world news in great depth: https://www.democracynow.org/

I would love to see this post labeled as “politics” instead of “relationships”. There’s no shame in talking about politics and you guys should own that. Is an important part of a democracy.

Thank you for this post. We all need to speak up and be outraged, without giving into hatred. No matter who we are, where we live. Even though I’m not an American and I currently live in Asia, I feel deeply affected by what happened in Charlottesville. This kind of actions, this kind of rhetoric can’t be simply shrugged off because they’ll eventually reach us – that is the nature of violent hate.
Even though I have been born many years after WWII has ended, the devastating consequences had a big impact on me, as they had on my parents and their parents, who were lucky enough to survive. This is where this kind of hate leads and this is why we can’t stop at being angry, no matter our nationality.

Another Cville resident here. What a horrifying weekend. I had a tension headache and my shoulders and neck hurt all day Sunday from hunching over my phone all weekend, watching and praying as things unfolded.

And Trump? I can’t. I just can’t.

Charlottesville Abundant Life ministry does great work in our community and has for years. Tutoring, mentoring, summer programs– they are a steady resource in the community and would benefit from anyone’s donation!

http://www.charlottesvilleabundantlife.org

Thank you so, so much for speaking up and using your platform. I appreciate your willingness to lean in on these issues, especially in such difficult times. It’s certainly easier to stay silent and I applaud you for doing the harder thing. You’re a lovely role model.

Thank you for posting this. Charlottesville is my home, and I have been a school librarian here for six years. I don’t have words yet for what has happened here, and I don’t yet know how the city will recover, or how long it will take. As an educator, I am eagerly awaiting my students’ return to school next week so that I can hold them, love them, and begin the many conversations we will have about our world and what we can do to nurture it.

I work with an organization called Books on Bikes that rides bikes into Charlottesville neighborhoods loaded with books to deliver to students over the summer and winter holidays, when their school libraries are closed. We also bring popsicles, teachers and other loved and trusted faces, and open laps and hands for holding and story reading. Our community in Charlottesville has come together to make our organization a success – a local bike shop provides free service for our bikes, our public library donates books for us to give away, and local schools provide us space to store all of our goodies. We rotate between six neighborhoods and have given out thousands of books and popsicles over the years. We love Charlottesville and our students, and have been touched and humbled by the support that our city has received.

If you’re looking for an easy way to reach out, we have an Amazon Wishlist on our website full of books that, if donated, go straight into the hands of Charlottesville children. Or simply check out our website or Facebook page to see the real faces of Charlottesville. You won’t see them on CNN, but they are what we’re really made of.

Our website: booksonbikescville.org
or Facebook page: facebook.com/booksonbikes

thanks so much for posting this, really appreciate it.

Thank you for not being afraid to stand on the side of what is right. I feel such liberal-vibes from almost every writer I follow online (writers who never fear to suggest open-mindedness in fashion, decor, music, etc), yet no others have been willing to be straightforward in condemning racism. I understand that it can be tricky to mix politics into lifestyle blogs (how could you risk losing a reader, even if they are racist!?), but Cup of Jo… I deeply admire that you do not throw diversity on as a guise. I have read comments that throw a little shade at the sameness of your staff, but is it not more important that your team has open arms to all who are different? Your team truly sees beauty and talent and wonder in different people and different cultures, perhaps even putting it out to readers who might not have seen things so clearly on their own.

Beyond your suggestions (which I am thankful for at a time where I feel more than a little helpless), I feel reassured by the goodness you project, and the unity I am reading in these comments.

Thanks so much for covering this topic and offering such a broad variety of ideas.

Thank you for this post!

Another rec: https://www.safetypinbox.com/

Safety Pin Box is a monthly subscription geared towards white people. Each month you get a box with tasks and assignments that include “data collection, personal development, influencing your networks, and showing radical compassion.” It’s an awesome way to put money directly into the hands of black women and work on being true allies. Highly recommended!

I came from Pinterest looking for a paint color and found this post which I needed more than any decor hint. Thank you so much for the links and addressing this.

I know as a white person I’ve had a learning curve in terms of rooting out the unquestioned assumptions that enable bigotry. I detested the blatant racism I saw around me as a kid, but still had/have my moments of “white fragility” on being faced with unpleasant truths from people who’ve been othered. Being an ally often means shutting up and listening to what people tell you about their own lived experience.

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book “Between the world and me” and Claudia Rankine’s prose poem “Citizen: An American Lyric” are terrific works that gave me some real a-ha moments. But reflection has to lead to action, too. I’m deeply concerned about the erosion of voting rights and the harm that could be done with this lie about non-existent voter-fraud. This presidential commission w/Pence & Kobach of Crosscheck infamy is a recipe for voter suppression and disenfranchisement. Certainly for minority voters, but for the entire country. And that too would give the despicable white nationalists a victory.

Thanks to the commenters here too. It’s encouraging to find decency breaking out on the internet.

Thank you. More of this, please! We need to keep confronting racism, sexism and hate.
To the commenter who made a distinction between a Trump voter and a Trump supporter: when a presidential candidate brags of sexually assaulting women, stirs hatred against all Mexicans and Muslims, mocks a person with disabilities, and refuses to disavow the KKK, he is simply not fit to be the leader of the free world. These examples are from his own mouth, not taken out of context, and not as reported by the so called “fake media”. They were all spoken/shouted by Trump himself during his candidacy well before he was elected. Often. Unequivocally.
Every single person who voted for Trump, regardless of the reasons they gave to themselves or others, is responsible for the hateful, divisive and frankly incompetent government we now have. And those who didn’t vote at all are also culpable. “All that is needed for evil to flourish is for good men to stand by and do nothing.” Voting is not a game, it’s an enormous responsibility. Now we all have to come together to right this disaster. And that starts by taking responsibility for it.

I really value Cup of Jo for using its important platform to take a stand against racism and injustice. Thank you thank you thank you!

One of the big challenges is what to do when hateful groups converge. In San Francisco we’re hearing that a permit has been granted for Aug 26 for Chrissy Field for a group much like the one that initially was permitted in Charlottsville. Many of us want to say that what they have to say is not welcome here..or anywhere. To have a counter protest potentially invites an interaction – one desperately hopes a safe one – and definitely invites more media attention, etc to them than they would get otherwise. We need ways that we can respond without engaging them. Ways to say this is not ok and not how we treat people without giving them the attention they crave.

Hi Jo, as a long time reader I have never commented, but I feel compelled to post some thoughts up here. Whilst I agree with majority of commenters here who applaud you for addressing this issue, I also agree with the few others who are saying that listening and donating money are just not enough. It is crazy to me that the world has gotten to this point (with Brexit, Trump and right wing movements and governments across the world gaining more strength) and unfortunately just talking and reading about it isn’t going to help. As a born in Britain Asian, I STILL get asked where I actually come from… I know it’s not from a rude place but there is ignorance everywhere. Please try and promote what you speak by widening your stories to include more people of colour, and perhaps as one commenter suggested, look into where your staff and models also come from.

Thanks again for proving that lifestyle bloggers don’t have to stay silent on the IMPORTANT and devastating things happening in our country today.

Thank you so very much for posting this. I follow a lot of blogs, and in this moment in time, the fact is, I really don’t care about the best blush to use or what the hot color for fall will be. While we need that kind of escape some of the time, I think we also need to take time to face the tough realities in our country right now. I really appreciate that you include content such as this.

Joanna, as a brown woman, I truly want to thank you for consistently using your blogging platform to spread love and peace on the internet and for talking about the importance of racial/gender/cultural diversity and unity. My hope and prayer is that despite what we see in the news, America WILL change and together we can finally put an end to the history of hatred and oppression that continues to rear it’s ugly head into our neighborhoods and cities. Truly, thank you.