This morning, a coalition of white people and non-Black people of color shut down the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives and in condemnation of the ongoing murders of Black people by police.
In response to the murder of Philando Castile — the most recent victim of police killings in Minnesota — local allies of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis known as the Wake Your Ass Up Collective are continuing to use nonviolent actions to demand justice and abolish policing.
Following this morning’s nonviolent action, dozens of Black Lives Matter allies including Gretchen Honnold, our beloved training coordinator, were arrested. FOR, along with SURJ Minnesota and APIs4BlackLives – MN chapter, is raising bail money. Our goal is $4,000 — and we need your help!
Half of all funds raised will go directly to Black Lives Matter – Minneapolis Bail Fund, and half will go to the Ally Bail Fund.
Make a donation to the Black Lives Matter Ally Bail Fund:
Last Wednesday evening, Philando Castile was shot 6 times. The coalition condemns this violence and believes this shut down reinforces the belief that comfort and business as usual must be disrupted until substantive changes occur in our city and throughout the country.
Among their demands are the dismantling of the police department, which includes disarming, defunding, demilitarizing, and disbanding police. The following is an excerpt from the coalition’s press release:
We believe that security for all of us does not lie in use of aggression and force. Real security occurs when all of us have meaningful employment, educational opportunities that help us pursue our own life choices, and the adequate healthcare needed to live fruitfully. Research and our experience tells us that the vast amounts spent on militarized police make most communities, excluding the very wealthy, less secure. Funds must be used to create green infrastructure, environments, and jobs. Education must not spare us from the reality of U.S.impact on the world and disenfranchised communities in this country. We want public education, led by communities, not corporations.
We support community-led alternatives, solutions, and programs to protect our communities. On this day, we support the workers attempting to make a living but we also know that sacrifices must be made if we hope to live decently together.
Please help! The bail is set at $78 per person. Would you help set one Black Lives Matter ally free today?
Donate to get these nonviolent activists out of jail:
If you’re looking for next steps to take, be sure to join FOR and dozens of other organizations in pledging to support the Movement for Black Lives. Tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern, there will be a national conference call organized by the Movement for Black Lives reporting on actions nationwide.
Thank you!
You can watch a recorded livestream of this morning’s events. If you do so, please take a moment to contribute to these activists’ bail fund.
Images from the Coalition to Wake Your Ass Up livestream and Facebook page.
