Beyond Protesting: Resources to Build Momentum for Racial Justice

By Beth Chajes

Whenever a mass demonstration or protest is planned, the question always arises:  What's next?

So often, we turn out to make our voices heard, only to return to the status quo. We must ask ourselves how we can sustain the energy of the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and turn it into lasting change. White people who are newly awakened to their own culpability in maintaining our racist systems and their responsibility for dismantling those systems can begin by educating themselves and supporting the organizations on the front lines of the fight for racial justice.

To this end, we have pulled together a list that can serve as a starting point. The list will be updated as new resources come to our attention.

Donate or volunteer to support the work of the following groups:

Delaware-focused groups:

• Black Mothers in Power
• Delaware ACLU
• Delaware Coalition to Dismantle the New Jim Crow
• Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative
• Ella Josephine Baker Black Organizers Group
• Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League
• NAACP Delaware State Conference of Branches 
• Network Delaware
• Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice
• West End Neighborhood House
• YWCA Delaware 

National or Minnesota-focused groups:

• ACLU Racial Justice Program 
• Black Lives Matter Global Network
• Campaign Zero
• Color of Change Education Fund
• Equal Justice Initiative
• George Floyd Memorial Fund 
• The Marshall Project
• The Movement for Black Lives 
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• National Bail Fund Directory 
• National Bail Out
• National Police Accountability Project
• Unicorn Riot
• Until Freedom 

Understand and support national and local policy proposals:

• The Movement for Black Lives Week of Action in Defense of Black Lives
• Black Lives Matter Releases Policy Demands
• Delaware NAACP State Conference of Branches response to recent police killing

Support Black-owned businesses in Delaware:

• Delaware Today: A list of black-owned restaurants across Delaware
• Technical.ly: Meet 50+ black-owned businesses in Delaware

 Self-education resources for White people:

• “Talking About Race” portal of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
• An anti-racist reading list: 20 highly rated nonfiction books by Black authors
• Showing Up For Racial Justice training video
• Anti-racism resources for white people 
• Scaffolded anti-racist resources document 
• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
• Sierra Club Book Club Starting in July: How To Be An Anti-Racist