A note from Port and a list of initiatives you can support
“You always told me ‘It takes time.’ It’s taken my father’s time, my mother’s time, my uncle’s time, my brothers’ and my sisters’ time. How much time do you want for your progress?” – James Baldwin
It’s heart-breaking that so simple a statement – Black Lives Matter – continues to divide a nation.
The death of George Floyd by the hands of US law enforcement on May 25th is another tragic addition to the long list of men and women racially profiled and murdered by the state.
While some of you may feel powerless to properly express your anger and lend your support – stuck behind doors, separated by oceans – there are a number of ways you can still help organisations and initiatives by donating, compiled below.
If you are in a position of power and privilege, platitudes aren’t enough, please open up that purse. The list is focused on the US and UK but we know we have readers all over the world, so if there are any that you feel could be added, get in touch with thomas@port-magazine.com
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
Finally, to those in the UK believing this issue is solely an American one – you are ignoring our colonial past and racist present.
In 2010 an EHRC report showed that the proportion of black people in jail in the UK was almost seven times its share of the population – in the US it is only four times greater. The racially disparate impact of austerity will result in a 5% loss of income for black households, double the loss for white households (stats taken from Mixed-Race Superman by Will Harris). The UK government is currently sitting on a report, right now, that illustrates how the BAME community is adversely affected by COVID-19 for fear of people drawing parallels.
There is no innocence in ignorance.
We cannot continue waiting for progress.
