In the midst of mass uprisings against Anti-Blackness and police violence that began in the United States and spread across the globe, The Medievalists of Color affirm our ongoing support for the movements of Black, Indigenous, and other oppressed communities, organizations that have taken to the streets to demand justice and accountability. As members of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color communities, we hold ourselves accountable to Anti-Blackness in our own non-Black communities.
While these present protests have emerged in the wake of ongoing and pervasive criminalization, hyper-incarceration, and state murder of Black men, women, and children in the United States, particularly the recent police murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and Tony McDade in Tallahassee, these dynamics are by no means novel.
The intensity and political clarity of the protests reflect a lengthy history especially of Black struggle against systematic structures of racism and oppression that have been part of the settler colonial and racial capitalist projects of the United States since its inception. The movement’s demands to abolish the status quo of militarized policing reflect a growing awareness of the police as violent agents of a U.S. state invested in upholding white supremacy, capitalist inequality, and ruthlessly suppressing dissent.
As medievalists we know that a world without police is not only possible but the norm for most of human history.
It’s time to act. We ask that you donate to relief funds, to Black community mutual aid organizations, Black students, and to Black businesses, and Black community groups.
To Aid Protesters Across The Country:
National Bail Fund Network Directory of Community Bail Funds: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory
NYC Black Mutual Aid: https://twitter.com/NYCBlackAid
Bed-Stuy Strong is a mutual aid network of over 3,000 people from across Bed-Stuy who are supporting our community during the COVID-19 crisis: https://bedstuystrong.com/
LGBTQ Freedom Fund For Bail Assistance: https://www.lgbtqfund.org/
Small Businesses On Lake Street Minnesota Teen Activists Community Rebuilding Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/small-businesses-on-lake-street
Minnesota Freedom Fund pays criminal bail and immigration bond for those who cannot afford to as we seek to end discriminatory, coercive, and oppressive jailing: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
Black Visions Collective, Transformative Justice Organization in Minnesota: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/about