Most of the âkeep up the work after the protests have ended!â-type posts Iâve seen are mostly focused on like, reading Black authors and listening to Black voices and unlearning racism, and obviously all of that is absolutely vital - but no amount of individual self-reflection will be able to dismantle institutional systems of oppression. So I wanted to put together some resources for continuing to build a culture of noncompliance and resistance to the police and prison system even after things have calmed down
But first, be aware that the protests arenât over. Itâs June 29th and there are still events and actions being planned regularly across the nation, and they still need your participation and support. If youâre able, please keep your focus there; this list is for what can be done long-term outside of the protests
Know your rights. Giving the police any more information than you absolutely have to will never and can never benefit you or anyone else - positive evidence given to the police is regularly thrown out in court, whereas negative evidence will be used against you. Know what to say and what you have the right to refuse. You donât have to answer any questions without a lawyer present, you donât have to give the police access to your house or car unless they have a current warrant signed by a judge. They will try to intimidate you - learn your rights and donât let up, donât ever cooperate with the police
Donât snitch. If you see someone breaking the law in a way that doesnât hurt anybody, keep your mouth shut. If cops knock on your door asking you questions about your neighbors or anyone you know, donât answer
Donât call the cops. If you can solve the problem in a different way, do it. Cops have on multiple occasions murdered the people they were called to help (or bystanders) without provocation. Donât be complicit in that. Learn how to handle situations as a community or with the help of qualified experts
When you see an interaction with the police happening, stop and observe. If necessary, film the interaction. Organize and work with groups such as Copwatch to observe the police and hold them accountable
Use proper opsec, especially if youâre involved with anything that might make you a target for the cops. Downloading Signal is a great simple place to start
Learn about jury nullification, and spread the word. When serving in a jury, you have the right to vote not guilty on a defendant that you believe did commit the crime but doesnât deserve punishment for it. Donât be complicit in unjust punishment
Refuse to do work for the police or prison system. Workers keep the world running and the state relies on our compliance to keep our neighbors under their thumb. We can shut it down
Continue to support bail funds, even for non-protesters. Cash bail is unjust, and people shouldnât be in jail just because they canât pay
Continue to support legal defense funds as well, such as that of the National Lawyers Guild
Write to prisoners, either by yourself or with groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross or Black And Pink, and organize/support books to prisons programs, commissary funds, reentry programs, and other forms of prisoner support
Organize and support community-run crisis response organizations like the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon or the Birmingham Peacemakers in my hometown
Here are some other organizations to join that are doing good work in this area:
Black Lives Matter is obviously a huge voice in racial justice right now. The list of âofficialâ chapters on their website is very incomplete, though, so you may have better luck doing a web search for â[your area] black lives matterâ (beware of fakes though)
Showing Up for Racial Justice is another very active and widespread racial justice network
Critical Resistance is a grassroots prison abolitionist organization founded by Angela Davis
The Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement is another active prison abolitionist organization
The IWWâs Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee works with prisoners to organize strikes, phone zaps, and other actions combating injustice in prisons
Again, the Anarchist Black Cross does great work supporting political prisoners through letter-writing and more. The link Iâve been including is to an unofficial federation of ABC groups, though - there may be a group in your area thatâs not part of that federation, so a web search for â[your area] black crossâ may be better
Black And Pink is a prison abolitionist organization focused on queer people and people living with HIV/AIDS
Antifascism is of course an important aspect of racial justice and community safety. See @antifainternationalâs guide to getting connected to your local antifascists - though, again, beware of fakes (the âantifa checkerâ accounts on fedbook and twitter can help)
The police state and prison industrial complex rely on the complicity and cooperation of all of us to function and be effective. By building a culture of noncompliance and active resistance, we can drastically reduce the stateâs ability to oppress communities of color. Donât let the struggle be forgotten with the changing of the news cycle - keep up the struggle until all are free!
Boosts and additional resources are very much appreciated!
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