Where to Donate to Support the Black Lives Matter Movement

The documentary 13th is a good place to start.
Recent Code Switch podcast on “A Decade if Watching Black People Die.”
Claudia Rankine, “The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning,” published in the NYTimes in 2015, plus her Citizen: An American Lyric.
James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time, especially his open letter to his nephew, “My Dungeon Shook”

Just a short list! But hopefully a good beginning

thank you both! I know there’s a lot floating around, but it’s hard to engage folks who aren’t interested in learning more because they think they already know, let alone get them to read a book – sigh –

Hi Liz! I’m in the same situation as you, and don’t have a perfect solution yet. One of the things I try to remember is that it will likely take many conversations over a long period of time, so it’s not about finding that one thing that will make them change their worldview overnight (because that one thing likely doesn’t exist).

One of the things I have found helpful is talking about those implicit bias tests (I know Harvard has one, but I’m sure there are others). While my family generally ignored/shut down/argued against discussions of systemic oppression, they were actually receptive to discussing those tests. The way I talked about it with my family was that yes, police brutality affects many people, but when police are making split second decisions, they are more likely to see black people as a threat and pull the trigger.

Obviously there is so much more to be discussed, but maybe talking about these tests can help open the door? For what it’s worth, my family didn’t actually take the test (nor would they watch/read any of those wonderful recommendations) but were still able to understand the idea. I think because it’s something easier to conceptualize and doesn’t rely on numbers or data, which I’ve found puts my family on the defensive. I would also love more tips about how to talk to white family members about these issues!

Hi Mali, I can’t speak for CoJ and the team, but I’m in Canada and never heard of any of those awful things on social media or news media! Those are horrific and anti-Semitism is disgusting and I wish they had been televised and hashtagged; I follow a handful of people who are religiously or ethnically(?sorry if that’s not the correct term?) Jewish and American and didn’t hear about it. I know that anti-Semitism has also been increasing in North America and it’s extremely disturbing; it feels like we’re going backwards- often the same groups that are anti-Semitic are also anti-Black (and anti-most-people-in-the-world). I’m not sure if “trendy” is the right word to use for fighting anti-Black racism though. This is literally trending on media and it’s gained a lot of attention nationally and internationally and the Black Lives Matter movement is currently having a long overdue recognition is probably why CoJ is trying to use their platform for a current event. I hope first and foremost that there is no tragedy in the Jewish community going forward, but secondly that if there is it receives the attention it rightly deserves. I also hope that the perpetrators of those attacks have been brought to justice – which is a big part of what the current movement is about: police officers being the ones who perpetrate the violence and attacks on Black bodies and almost never being brought to justice.

Mali, I think it’s clear by now that wokeness rarely, if ever, extends to fighting anti-Semitism. I have yet to see this site take a proactive stance in support of the Jewish community.

Of course Black lives matter. Jews have been fighting alongside the Black community for civil rights since the earliest days of the movement. I’d also love to see Mali’s points addressed by the CoJ team, if not now, then in the near future.

Another Jewish woman here. Mali, I understand your frustration with the lack of acknowledgement of those events, I’ve noticed that too. But while anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish violence are real and terrifying, it’s extremely important to acknowledge that (especially) in the American context it is NOWHERE near the scale of anti-Black violence. Saying that Black lives matter does not mean that Jewish lives, or the lives of other minorities, don’t matter. Instead it’s an acknowledgement of the depth and breadth of persistent anti-Black racism – stemming from a long history of slavery and Jim Crow – that systematically disenfranchises, incarcerates, and kills Black folks in America.

I echo JJ’s connection to tikkun olam, though I would say that tikkun olam has always been inherently and inextricably linked with civil rights and racial justice. I would also encourage you to educate yourself about intersectionality, and specifically about the racism that Black Jews (and other Jews of Colour) experience, both within our own communities and in wider society

The reason this is different is because the murders of black people are happening at the hands of police officers who are paid by the people and are supposed to be protecting the people. Of course shootings of any kind need to be stopped and we need to fight anti-Semitism. The reason people are rioting and protesting now and not when an attack happens in a synagogue is that when the police are the killers there is no way for black people to get justice because the justice system is creating the problem.

Another Jewish mom your I understand your frustration. I’m in the UK and we have had anti-semitic incidents here, a whole thing with the main opposition party covering up anti-semitism in their party, and deafening silence from non-Jewish friends every time there’s an incident like Squirrel Hill or Poway, while I swallow my fear as my husband / children head off to synagogue. Also, it often feels inevitable that movements like BLM get infiltrated by anti-semitic people and it turns into a whole other thing.

But, this is a huge moment and opportunity for the black community to actually have some kind of breakthrough, and they need us to stand by their sides like so many Jews did during the Civil Rights movement. It’s a chance for us to listen and understand, to look at ourselves and our own prejudices / assumptions.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis puts it way better than I ever could:
“The rallying cry ‘Black Lives Matter’ should be understood as more than a powerful slogan. It is a call for rehumanisation in a world that seems in danger of forsaking its humanity.
While the shocking and tragic murder of George Floyd and the resulting protests across the world are currently making the headlines, the racism and dehumanisation that they have exposed is not new. We cannot stand idly by as it takes hold of our societies. However, it is also not enough for us to simply join in with a superficial chorus of disapproval. Real change calls upon us to find the courage to challenge racism wherever we come across it: on social media, in the streets, in our communities and in our hearts.
The world remains in the grip of the most devastating global pandemic in memory, a tragedy which should have placed all of humankind on the same side as we face a common foe. Now more than ever, we must recognise that we are all part of one global family within which all people are created in the image of God, whoever they might be.
Jewish tradition teaches that one who saves a life has saved an entire world and one who destroys a life has destroyed an entire world. Such is the value we must place on each and every human life. That ‘Black Lives Matter’ needs affirming at all is utterly shameful. There is no doubt that this is an essential wake up call for each and every one of us.”

Considering how much is raised already, I guess not all who donated wrote a comment too. Some write a comment only when they have something to say that isn’t already said multiple times. It mustn’t mean more than that.

I agree with the other commenters and I think that it’s important to step back and make space for the narrative of those whose voices are routinely marginalized and whom are directly and disproportionately affected by institutionalized discrimination in our country. For me personally, posting regarding my donation felt like coopting the post to demonstrate allyship rather than standing with those who are already leading the movement for equality.

Yes! Scroll down in the comments for a spreadsheet listing other folks who are matching donations!