5 Things Friday

Flooding, wildfires, and the gutting of women's rights—like nearly everything else, these issues and events disproportionately affect BIPOC and other marginalized communities. Here are your antiracism steps for September 3.

We've talked in the past about picking an issue and dedicating the bulk of your time, energy and resources to it. That without some sort of focus we're bound to drown in the relentless and tragic news cycle, and end up feeling paralyzed and helpless.

I just needed to type that out, because I don't know about you, but this week was enough to leave me frozen in my tracks, not knowing in which direction to even look, let alone help. Plus, with racial justice as our personal chosen focus, what the hell are we supposed to do with flooding, wildfires, and the gutting of women's rights?

Well, it turns out (surprise!), like nearly everything else, many of these issues and events disproportionately affect BIPOC and other marginalized communities. And everything from the way the media covers these events, the way relief funds are distributed, and the way we ourselves talk (or tweet) about all of it can either aid or distract from the fight for racial equity.

So this week we wanted to spotlight some stories, activists, and organizations who we turn to continue to understand these events through a racial equity lens.

Here are your 5 Things.

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS. "Heir’s property" refers to a form of land ownership that became prevalent through the South after the end of the Civil War, when African Americans freed from slavery bought or were deeded property. This is still the primary form of land and property ownership throughout the Gullah/Geechee nation, an estimated 200,000 people living on the barrier islands of the Carolina, Georgia, and Florida coast—ground zero for the destruction wrought by hurricanes like Ida. One academic study from 2001 estimated that 41 percent of African American-owned land across the Southeast could be classified this way (read this deep dive into the practice and its recent implications). For years, FEMA relied on records like deeds to prove that land belonged to disaster victims before it sent them money through its individual assistance program. The practice was meant to curb fraud. But many Black applicants, whose homes or land were inherited informally without written wills, were also denied under the rules. Thankfully, FEMA just announced sweeping changes yesterday to the way the U.S. government will verify homeownership for disaster relief applicants who lack certain legal documents for inherited property.

DONATE TO THIS. Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, a racial justice group in the Gulf area, is working to connect people who are less likely to receive resources from mainstream organizations with assistance by distributing donations directly to “indigenous, Black, and brown frontline folks impacted by Hurricane Ida and groups who currently don’t have online donations capacity, as well as directly to individual families impacted by the storm.” To support their efforts, donate here.

UNDERSTAND THIS. According to the ACLU, Texas' new abortion ban "is a racial and economic justice catastrophe. Decades of racism and structural inequality within the healthcare system have left Black and Latinx people and anyone trying to make ends meet with few alternatives to the cruel reality that Texas politicians have created." As @shivaun_elizabeth put it, "This isn’t just a war on women, this is a war on BIPOC communities and lower class people. People with financial resources will just go elsewhere to have safe legal abortions, however people without those privileges will suffer great consequences… death from unsafe abortions unfortunately being one of those," Follow @shivaun_elizabeth and @blackgirlvoices (also run by Shivaun) for a smart and nuanced perspective on global events. Plus, we recommend sitting with these critiques from Bree Newsome and Fred T. Joseph of why comparisons of present day Texas to "A Handmaid's Tale" blatantly erase what’s been happening to Black women in this country since 1619.

DONATE TO THIS. OK, and now, open your wallets. Donate to Lilith Fund and support abortion access in Texas. Your financial donation to the Lilith Fund goes directly to offset the cost of a safe and legal abortion for someone who otherwise couldn't afford it. And yes, giving funds to the ACLU to support the many legal battles ahead is crucial, but once you click "donate," don't forget that most freedoms weren't won in the courtroom, but on the streets. Read the words of Derecka Purnell, the author of Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom, and get ready to head into the streets.

KNOW THIS. Some good news to end on: The five officers and paramedics involved in the killing of 23-year-old Elijah McClain have been indicted on 32 charges by a grand jury. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced the charges on Wednesday, saying the first responders have been charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. "We're here today because Elijah McClain is not here and he should be," Weiser said, according to CNN. "When he died he was only 23 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him and his family and his friends must now go on and must live without him." Next up, CONVICTION.