By now, you’ve probably heard about the massacre that happened at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC., along with the history behind it’s an abomination that’s 400+ years in the making and is not even the first time in recent memory.
So, if you’re a decent human being, you are horrified and are wondering what you can do, besides pray.
If you’re like most of us decent human beings, sticking it to The Man in person via things like protests comes with serious hurdles like jobs without a lot of vacation time, and children who need to be raised.
Enter Armchair Activism.
We make it as easy as possible for you to be outraged from your computer. Below are links for petitions you can sign, as well as Twitter handles and Facebook pages that you can use to vent your ire.
Well? What are you waiting for? Get to protesting the establishment, already.
Donation:
You should most definitely make a donation to Emmanuel AME. They are grieving as a church, yes, but they must work with 9 families to coordinate things like funerals and memorial funds. Get your card out, click here, and spot them $10.
Petitions:
Right now, the internet is awash with petitions to remove the Confederate Flag from flying in any location in South Carolina (as well as other locations in the South) starting immediately and staying down until about 10 days after Jesus recaptures His people. You know the confederate flag- that symbol of an attempted systemic annihilation of a people that’s just a symbol so don’t get mad because, heritage? The flag South Carolina DIDN’T take down or even put at half-mast in the wake of the murders? While there is reason to believe that it will probably stay up, petitions let the folks in charge know that the rest of the country is onto their fuckery, and are tired of it.
Here are two of the most popular ones (read: reputable sources).
Facebook and Twitter:
Why stop with online petitions when you can vent your ire for all the internet to see? Here is Governor Nikki Haley’s contact information, Twitter handles- with an ‘s’, ’cause Ms. Sassy has two– and Facebook page. Listen. Anyone who thinks this makes it okay to keep on endorsing a symbol of hate and oppression deserves your ire.
You should probably also protest to members of the state legislature, especially the ones who voted against hate crimes statutes, or justifiers, like our “friend” Lindsey Graham (who also has two Twitter handles. Is this a Southern thing?) or our “no way in hell am I calling him friend even in quotes” DoucheCanoe of the Week, Charles Cotton, who thought this made sense. We should probably explain common sense put his dumb ass on blast, too.
This section will be updated with more handles and pages as we get them.
Be engaged:
Here is an article on other things that you can do (it also includes information about donating to the victim’s fund).
Finally, if you really want to make a change, you’re going to have to grab your ovaries, get some courage, and start standing up to the racist crap around you. Stop discussions in its tracks, and work to educated those around you on why that kind of rhetoric is not harmless. Hold people accountable. If they are tone deaf, keep talking. Work to change the narrative that they hear.
Racism and hate crimes will only diminish if we work together to ensure that everyone know this is not acceptable.