Kholood Mo’allim, a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN (academic home to Material Collective Core Member Nancy Thompson), has compiled this guide for people who wish to support communities in the Twin Cities in this time of pain and crisis. She shared it with her campus at St. Olaf, and now we share it with you. Please do what you can, whether here or in your own community, to support those among us who are standing up to institutionalized racism and bigotry.
George Floyd’s family set up a GoFundMe for his memorial and their needs. The funds from this go directly to the family. They met the goal, but they are still accepting donations.
There is also a GoFundMe for the family of Ahmaud Arbery. From the description page, “This fundraiser was designed to assist Ahmaud’s mother; Ms. Wanda Cooper-Jones and her immediate family with financial support during this extreme[ly] difficult time and in their struggle for justice for the murder of Ahmaud Marquez Arbery. ALL donations are going towards the fight for making sure justice is served and to ensure that Ahmaud’s mother has the resources they will need.” They haven’t met their goal yet.
The GoFundMe for Breonna Taylor has met its goal, and donations are no longer being accepted. The mother of Ms. Taylor shared that “Breonna devoted her own life to saving other lives, to helping others, to making people smile and bringing people together.” These fundraisers share that goal.
THE MINNESOTA FREEDOM FUND– this is an organization dedicated to bailing out people who have been wrongfully detained.
REBUILD LAKE STREET– Lake Street is home to a lot of small businesses (many of which are owned by minorities), and unfortunately it got caught in the crossfires during the protest. This is an initiative to help these businesses restore and manage unexpected costs.
RECLAIM THE BLOCK– from their mission statement, Reclaim the Block “is calling on our city to invest in violence prevention, housing, resources for youth, emergency mental health response teams, and solutions to the opioid crisis.”
SOMALI MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA– from its website: “Founded in 2011, the Somali Museum of Minnesota opened the doors of its public gallery in 2013 as North America’s first and only museum devoted to Somali culture!” Unfortunately, it also got caught in the crossfires and artifacts were stolen and the building was attacked. This campaign is to repair the damage and recoup the losses from the incident.
GFM SOMALI BUSINESSES– A campaign to help Somali businesses affected by the protests. From the description: “Our goal is to distribute the donations evenly the best we can. Starting with the midtown-Phillips and uptown areas [which are] the areas that were hit the hardest.”
SIMPSON FOOD SHELF– from their website: “Serves residents of the area bordered by Franklin Avenue on the north; Lake Street on the south; Portland Avenue on the east; and Lyndale Avenue on the west.”
SIMPSON FOOD SHELF GOFUNDME– the funds from this also go to the food shelf.
CENTER FOR ASIANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS FOOD SHELF– from their website: “CAPI’s food shelf offers a healthy alternative to easily accessible, low-cost food options (i.e. fast food chains) and opens the door to integrate our clients [immigrants, refugees, and native-born low- income families] the other services CAPI provides (economic empowerment, basic needs, and civic engagement).”
The collection of these links is dedicated towards helping the most vulnerable communities during this time, and I’m sharing them in Ms. Taylor, Mr. Arbery, and Mr. Floyd’s honor. If you cannot afford to donate to any of them, please do share. Take care of yourselves.
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for God, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, God is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed God is ever, with what you do, Acquainted. (Quran 4:135)
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