Toward an Anti-Racist World

As demonstrations expand in response to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, each day brings not justice, but fresh examples—freshly enraging—of police brutality. George Floyd lost his job to the pandemic, lost his life to the racist actions of men in uniform, and now an increasingly militarized reaction doubles down on state-sanctioned violence.

Founded in racism and structurally wedded to it, the United States needs wholesale, systemic change. The call has been issued to everyone—those who are directly affected by these injustices and those who aren’t—to step forward and add their voices to those protesting in the streets. Change happens when we do our own work and also join with others in a common demand. We as a collective have sought some way, beyond our individual efforts and commitments, to materially support the work being done by protesters nationwide. It’s a small gesture, but we’ve chosen to donate to bail funds and community-resilience efforts, including many in our own local communities. We invite you to do the same. As the protesters’ work continues, so must ours.

—The Masthead of AGNI

This first list reflects the places where we live and come from. To support similar work in your community, please see this Directory of Community Bail Funds.

We’ve also sent our money to these vital national efforts and organizations:

And, reflecting the importance of resilience and community rebuilding, we have donated emergency supplies, food, and/or money to the following local groups:

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Minneapolis)
Holy Trinity is holding an ongoing emergency supply and food drive.
The Link and Circle of Discipline
Circle of Discipline (COD) and The Link are two Minneapolis community organizations founded by black leaders. They’ve organized a joint food drive.
Metro Behavioral Health
Metro burned to the ground—it provides professional mental health services to low-income, minority, and immigrant community members in Minnesota, and is the first and largest culturally specific behavioral health provider owned by African immigrants in the State of Minnesota.
MIGIZI
MIGIZI, too, lost its building to fire. It nurtures the development of Native American youth in order to unleash their creativity and dreams—to benefit themselves, their families, and their community.
We Love Lake Street
This Lake Street Council fundraiser will donate 100% of funds to help rebuild Lake Street, starting with direct support to small businesses and nonprofits to help them rebuild their storefronts, reopen their businesses, and serve our neighborhoods.

If you possibly can, please click on one or more of these links and join us in donating.