Dear John,

Not even a global pandemic can overshadow the racism embedded in our country’s DNA. 

Horrific killings of unarmed Black people over the past three months — Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and countless others who haven’t received media attention — have ignited yet another outpouring of grief, anger, and frustration as Americans take to the streets to protest decades of harsh policing and unjust killings of Black Americans.
 
It is unconscionably cruel that in the middle of a pandemic that is disproportionately killing communities of color, Black Americans are forced into the streets to fight for their humanity and demand accountability.

It’s far past time for a reckoning with America’s racist history. From slavery to Jim Crow to the war on drugs to our present-day mass incarceration and police killings, we are a country built on violent oppression and injustice. They are America’s original sins, for which Black people are still paying a tragic price and against which those of us who are non-Black must continue to join them in fighting.  
 
I don’t have the answers. I won’t pretend to understand what it’s like to feel unsafe simply by existing. But I will use my privilege to help upend a system that has failed so many for so long.
 
So, I’m asking you today to donate to these organizations on the front lines, doing the work to end police killings and fight for Black liberation in America.
 
You can make a donation that will be split evenly among the 13 groups listed on this page, or allocate specific amounts to each.
 
If you are unable to donate, please take action with Campaign Zero by demanding your state and federal representatives pass specific legislation immediately to end police violence.
 
Tomorrow, June 5th, would have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday. The three officers who murdered her have not been fired, arrested, or charged. You can take action in honor of her birthday here, including by emailing a prepared script to the Kentucky Attorney General, Governor, and Louisville Mayor demanding her killers be held accountable.
 
This movement is historic. All 50 states have held protests over the past week, and we must keep the momentum going. Donald Trump is intent on militarizing the police and dividing America even further, for his own political gain. We must prevent this, and support social justice. 
 
We are at a crossroads. If you are a non-Black person like me, I urge you to get off the sidelines and become an active ally. We cannot let this movement fade away and sink back into our oppressive old order. We must keep protesting, donating, signing petitions, listening, centering Black voices, and advocating for true racial equity. 
 
And we must vote in November, like we’ve never voted before.
 
In solidarity,
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
 
P.S. Systemic racism and police violence aren’t going away overnight. These organizations fighting for black liberation are going to need our support especially when the media attention fades. If possible, please make your donations monthly so you can support their work beyond this moment.