Statement Regarding Racial Inequality

This weekend and even now, protests are growing all across the country in response to the murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. This murder marks another in a long list of Black Americans murdered by corrupt and racist police officers supported by a nationally complicit system. This problem is not a new one, and reaches back to the murder of Breonna Taylor and Ahmed Arbury earlier this year, to Trayvon Martin in 2012, and countless others in the history of American policing. This senseless violence against the Black community is a cancer within a police system that cares more about giving badges to racists and serial killers than serving those who it is sworn to protect.

We cannot and will not be silent about this issue, and we aren’t going to pull any punches. Silence now allows for the continuation of needless violence. We will be very clear: the police brutality and racism that have gone hand in hand for centuries in America is wrong, and we will not stand for it. We stand with Black Lives Matter and call for justice for the communities deeply scarred by the disgraceful actions of Derek Chauvin, George Zimmerman, and countless others. America desperately needs to defund, demilitarize, and shrink police departments across the country. We need to dismantle the systems of power that are designed for oppression rather than justice or protection.

Psi Upsilon, and ESPECIALLY our chapter are organizations founded upon values of moral excellence and diversity. As a consequence, it’s our obligation to fight for these values whenever and wherever we can. So here’s the deal: go to protests, get ANGRY! Demand that police forces around the country be defunded and restructured, and don’t take no for an answer. Fight racism. It’s not enough to just say that you’re anti-racist or “have minority friends”, you have to actually stop it where you see it. Is it a racist family member, is it a problematic friend, is it even just someone who you heard mutter a racial slur on the street? Don’t let White ignorance continue: stop them, sit them down, and educate them. They may not be receptive to your words but if enough people call them out on it, they may step back and reconsider their views.

The Gamma Tau chapter of Psi Upsilon is committed to upholding our standards and values of diversity. Moving forward, we want to take a more active role in supporting Black communities around us, especially in our local Atlanta communities. To do this, we commit to supporting the Housing Justice League which helps Black Atlantans who struggle with housing due to a broken and oppressive system. How can our Black brothers and sisters hope to succeed if they are being forced out of their homes by the greed of a privileged few? Gentrification and landlord extortion have hurt too many of Atlanta’s communities.

The fight for justice and real change has only just begun. Here’s our challenge to our brothers, our families, our friends, and the whole of America:

• Protest, but be safe, whatever that means to you. Make your voice heard!
• Donate, and support the cause, but don’t give more than you can.
• Educate yourself and others. Racism isn’t inherent, it’s learned.
• Vote out the officials that enable these issues. Your voice matters.

We will not condone the continued violence against our Black and Brown brothers, family members, and friends.

 

Protest and Anti-Racist Resources

https://blacklivesmatter.com/ - Black Lives Matter movement home page containing petitions to sign and a place to donate

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ - "Ways you can help" master doc. Stay informed

https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ - Contains a lot of good information on reform policy and links to where you can contact your state representatives

https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-justiceforgeorgefloyd-protesters-in-atlanta - Bail fund for people protesters in Atlanta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM - This is one example of Youtube videos where the ad revenue from them goes to helping BLM. Make sure if you watch them you actually have AdBlocker off. You can look up ‘stream to donate’ to find some more.

https://atlsolidarity.org/ - Bail fund and support for protesters that have been jailed

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project - A national bail fund similar to the one above

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A3f-20SipegLlS2D-D8JRpJd2IBGmN7eKdfRB6cJHwY/htmlview - Spreadsheet with a bunch of bail, fundraising, petitions, and trans resources websites for specific cities.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/preview?pru=AAABcp1ULNk*-ehcVEPtvSdUliMeDz46gQ#heading=h.bz6xi12lobgw - Reading list for educating yourself on the Black struggle in America, and recognize your own privilege and biases.

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1PrAq4iBNb4nVIcTsLcNlW8zjaQXBLkWayL8EaPlh0bc/mobilebasic - Another good list of anti-racist resources and readings

https://www.autostraddle.com/police-and-prison-abolition-101-a-syllabus-and-faq/ - A guide to police defunding and how to fix the broken system

 

Black/POC LGBTQIA+ Resources/Funds

http://nbjc.org/ - National Black Justice Coalition - a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

https://www.twocc.us/ - Trans Women of Color Collective - donation fund