Photography by Luke Passey at the Kneel for George Floyd protest, Manchester, 31st May 2020. |
To every reader of Aurelia past, present and future,
Black lives matter. Black lives matter today and every day. Our collective rage and activism cannot disappear once the coverage wanes and the riots stop. To non-Black readers: we must do more to protect and liberate Black lives. I urge you all to be effective allies: stand up for what you believe in. Use your voice. The importance of being vocal cannot be overstated. Attend protests if you can. Write to your local MP’s. Urge your favourite brands and businesses to do more to amplify Black voices and support the Black Lives Matter movement. Support Black owned businesses. Listen to Black voices. Sign petitions. Donate to causes. Say their names. Don’t ever stop saying their names. Black bodies are disregarded by those in power every single day. Black lives are in danger both in the US and here, where I write this, in the UK. Every single day. It is an absolutely heartbreaking travesty and it must end here, we have to be the change. The Black lives we have lost deserve justice and the Black people that are still living deserve lives of peace, freedom and no fear.
SOME PLACES YOU CAN DONATE TO:
Ahmaud Arbery Fund
HELPFUL AND COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCES:
Linktree by @rubylagoon
Newsletter by The Brown Girls Do It
Bail Funds and Fundraisers
Google Doc by @sana_noorie
How to Donate When You Have No Money
SOME PETITIONS YOU SHOULD SIGN:
Here is a great resource for petitions. More are appearing every day, keep your eyes out and sign as many as you can. It’s free and it’s easy and most importantly, it’s a call to action and it’s worthwhile.
We are committed to updating these lists throughout the week. Please feel free to contact us if you have anything you’d like us to add.
FINALLY,
We are proud to be a publication that focuses on the individual experience, and because of this have been a platform that so many amazing Black women/non-binary writers have come to to tell their stories, some of which have been re-highlighted on our home page from now until Monday, 8th June. Please do read them. Be open to educating yourselves, and listen to Black voices.
For the rest of the year, we will be donating 50% of all one-off donations we receive to Black causes, split evenly between UK Black Pride and Reclaim the Block, though we do strongly encourage you to donate to causes on the above list before considering donating to us. We will review again at the start of 2021 and continue to give as much as we can for as long as we exist.
We won’t be publishing anything new for the rest of the week to encourage you to place your full attention on the movement and strive to make a change. No justice, no peace.
Signed,
Kya Buller
Founding Editor of Aurelia Magazine
Co-signed by the team:
Izzie Rodger
Alice Gray
Nali Simukulwa
Kaya Purchase
Nali Simukulwa
Kaya Purchase
Ali McClary
Siobhan Barrett-Donlon
Paige Lyons
Steph Hebdon
Shahed Ezaydi
Seeham Rahman
Seeham Rahman