Friend,

I’ve been watching Ma'Khia Bryant's TikTok videos, where her childhood and joy shine through as she does her hair. She deserved to live.

Last week after she called police for support to break up a fight outside her home, the police shot and killed her within a few seconds of arriving. And the responses have been horrifying: Many (including Detroit’s police chief) have tried to justify her murder because she had a knife as self-defense. But police have often been successfully able to de-escalate much higher stakes situations with white men who've just used machine guns to commit mass murder. This racist double standard confirms how much our society criminalizes and devalues Black people—including Black children.

So we’re fundraising for Black-led groups that are building a world where young Black people like Ma’Khia Bryant are valued, loved, supported, and lifted up.

Can you chip in now to support One Love Global and BYP100 as they build the world that Black children deserve?

BYP100 (short for Black Youth Project 100) is a national, member-based organization of Black activists and organizers between the ages of 18-35 years old, focused on transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and political education using a Black queer feminist lens. They have active chapters across the country, and their recent campaigns include #SheSafeWeSafe, to put an end to the different forms of gender violence that Black women, girls, femmes, and gender non-conforming people face every day. BYP100 envisions a world where all Black people have economic, social, political, educational, and spiritual freedom.

Based in Michigan, One Love Global is building a beloved community where there is justice, fairness, and racial equity for all. A big component of their work is helping young people to realize their power and organize around issues they care about. One Love Global is working to break trans-generational cycles of poverty and trauma—as part of holistic healing, wellness, and liberation of Black and marginalized communities. They’re the fiscal sponsor of Black Lives Matter Michigan and support racial justice work across the state.

Both Black-led groups are working toward a world where all Black people thrive in justice and freedom, and where Black young people are empowered and supported as leaders. This work is more urgent and necessary than ever.

Can you contribute today?

In solidarity,

Rashida