Racism, sexism, ableism, and almost all other forms of oppression have not gone anywhere since June. Here's a list of immediate action items that you can take to do your part in fighting for social justice, broken down by issue. As always, feel free to let us know via email if any of this information is incorrect. Fire ReliefClick here to donate in support of people impacted by the Bronx fire, and click here to donate in support of people impacted by the Philadelphia fire. Credit to Anti-Racism Daily for these links. US General ElectionThis election is quite possibly the most important one in our lives thus far. Matters of literal life and death are on the line - from bodily autonomy to LGBTQ+ equality to racial justice to climate change to public health. The election is so important that Scientific American, which has never endorsed a presidential candidate in 175 years, has endorsed Joe Biden because we simply cannot survive four more years of science denial and fascism. Here's what you can do to salvage what's left of our semblance of a democracy:
Uyghur MuslimsUpdate as of 5/28/2021: we previously posted an incomplete and possibly incorrect account of the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghur Muslims, along with some action items related to the situation. We then realized that there had been a lot of misinformation about this issue, some of which harmed other marginalized groups in the process due to systems of governance and marginalization in foreign countries not translating perfectly to corresponding systems in the US. We then posted a document and an account that we thought had a breakdown of the facts of the situation, but we realized that that account may not have the full picture either. We apologize for spreading misinformation that was harmful to AAPI and brown Americans, and going forward, we will take greater care in fact-checking our posts and paying attention to whether it is our place to comment on every social issue that is brought to our attention. US Supreme CourtOn September 18, 2020, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. Though would be lovely if we could collectively take a few days to just mourn her death, President Tr*mp and Senate Republicans are already rushing to confirm her replacement. With this 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, our lives are on the line - women's rights to bodily autonomy, LGBTQ+ people's rights to exist, the fates of millions of immigrants, and the fate of our environment are all at risk. While RBG fundamentally served a racist, anti-Indigenous, and capitalist ruling class, replacing her with a Tr*mp nominee will only mean more people dying. Hence, we are not going to idolize her, but we will encourage you to take action within the scope of our current system. Some resources:
Environmental EmergenciesMany of you who are based on the west coast of the United States probably woke up to orange skies sometime in the past few weeks. Needless to say, this is not normal or good. While the air quality may be improving slightly now, people are still struggling to recover from the wildfires, and the policies (or rather, lack of policies) being implemented by our governments are only going to make this situation worse, ultimately leading to the destruction of our environment. California just passed legislation to allow former prisoners who served on firefighting crews to become paid firefighters, but this is barely the bare minimum. What to do:
Children in CagesThe Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is detaining children in cages at the US/Mexico border, forcefully removing the uteruses of people who have been detained, and letting COVID-19 spread unchecked through detention centers. What to do:
Black Lives MatterAs always, the movement for racial justice is not over. Please continue to check this site for resources. Some concrete things to do:
This Post Is Not ExhaustiveThere are obviously many more injustices occurring in the world than were covered in this post. We will continue publishing more action items on this blog, and be sure to also check out this site for resources.
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January 2022
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