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Strike for Black Lives Call-to-Action

ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES

This document is meant as a resource to brainstorm ways that individuals and the Physics/Astronomy Departments of The Ohio State University can help create immediate and lasting change to support anti-racism efforts, especially for the Black community. Please be respectful of others in this space. If you wish to anonymously point out problems in either department or if you have other general feedback, we will have continued surveys in the near future as the APS-IDEA team plans additional town halls or other events related to equity and inclusion. Thank you to those who submitted feedback in the initial survey! A list of recommendations for the department based on feedback from this document, anonymous survey respondents, discussions from the call-to-action event, and other sources will be distributed in the near future.

To ensure that all current resources are preserved please contact one of the faculty on this page to have your additions added to the document.

Some things to keep in mind when coming up with action items (from Brian Nord in the DES collaboration):

  • Questions of compassion such as “Does this uplift and respect Black lives?”
  • What are the multiple stages of outcomes for a given tactic?
  • How does it contribute towards Black Liberation?
  • Are we using the unique skills of this group?
  • Let’s develop further methods and add more questions here.

Action items for individuals:

Action items for the Physics/Astro Department:

Problems you’ve seen in Physics/Astro that need to be addressed going forward:

  • Hire black professors - and work to convince them to stay. This will go a long way to address the lack of black physics students in our departments. Note the plural in both professors and students.
  • Address the pipeline at all levels to make the item above possible.  Even if we recruit every black student who still is interested in physics in high school we will not reach our goal.
  • Widely and openly discuss department-wide goals and values regarding graduate admission and recruitment. More generally, obtain collaborative input from graduate students in all important administrative matters, especially faculty hiring; this should include formal membership on key committees.

Where should I donate?

Local Columbus Anti-Racism Initiatives:

Columbus Freedom Fund

People’s Justice Project

Black Queer & Intersectional Collective (Instagram, facebook

Zora’s House

Columbus Freedom Coalition (Instagram, facebook)

Central Ohio Street Medic Collective

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ Columbus)

Fundraiser for NAACP Columbus and Columbus Urban League

National Initiatives:

Support Black Trans people by donating here.

Split a donation between 70+ National Freedom Funds.
   

Individual Victims and Family Donations: 

Official George Floyd Memorial Fund.

Official Justice for Breonna Taylor Memorial Fund.

Memorial Fund for Tony McDade.

Justice for David McAtee.

Justice For Regis Korchinski-Paquet Fund.

James Scurlock Memorial Fund.

Dion Johnson Memorial Fund.

Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund.

Lyanna Dior Fund on Cashapp: $IyannaDIO  

Bond, Legal, Medical For Sha’Teina El Grady

Equal Justice Initiative.

Resources to Share with Black Students:

Resources for Taking Action 

Guidance on Protesting

If you are a white person considering joining a protest this week, here is a list of rules put together for you. Friends of color, if they have forgotten anything, please add.

  1. FOLLOW CALLS ONLY. Do not initiate or lead calls. Your job is to follow and add your voice when it is called for.
  2. DO NOT TAKE SELFIES. Ask to take pictures or videos of individuals. You are there to witness only. Film the police as much as possible. Your goal is documentation to ensure that the true narrative is told.
  3. BE HELPFUL. Hand out water and snacks. Make sure protest leaders are hydrated and fed. This is exhausting work, help keep their energy up.
  4. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. If a black person tells you to do something, you do it immediately without question. You respect the authority and the decisions of the black protestors at all times.
  5. STAY IN THE BACK UNTIL YOU ARE CALLED FORWARD. If you hear “White people to the front” or “Allies to the front” step forward and link arms with other white people to form a human shield.
  6. WHEN YOU ARE AT THE FRONT, YOU ARE SILENT. Your job is to be a body. You are there to support only. The only voices on the police line should be black voices.
  7. REMAIN CALM AT ALL TIMES. This is difficult. You will be emotional and your system will be flooded with adrenaline. Remember this is life and death for the protestors. Save your emotions for home. DO NOT AGITATE.

This is not a game. Joining a protest is a serious decision. Make sure you are there for the right reason. Support the safety of black protestors at all times.

What you need to know about protesting during a pandemic:

Ways you can be an activist without going to a protest: 

How to Educate Yourself

Learn from Black Creators

Statements and resources from scholarly societies

Articles

Books

Don’t know where to begin? Join https://blackoutbuddyread.com/ if you don’t know or can’t decide what to read first. There will be live discussions of the books as well. Kind of like a book club. 

Books by Black Authors

Books for Anti-Racism Education

Twitter/Social Media

Videos/Documentaries/etc

TV/Film by Black Creators

Podcasts:

Images

Other/Miscellaneous

https://osu.libguides.com/arr - libguide

Civic Engagement

 

List of Petitions to Sign

Columbus PD:

Justice for George Floyd: 

Defund MPD: 

Justice for Breonna Taylor: 

Justice for Ahmaud Arbery: 

Life Sentence For Police Brutality:

Justice for Regis Korchinski: 

Justice for Tony McDade: 

Justice for Joāo Pedro: 

Justice for Belly Mujinga: 

Justice for Alejandro Vargas Martinez: 

The above petitions are all seeking justice for Black individuals who were murdered by police, with the exceptions of Belly and Alejandro, whose deaths are not related to police violence. The below three petitions are seeking justice for Black individuals who are currently in the criminal “justice” system:

Justice for Julius Jones: 

Justice for Willie Simmons: 

Justice for Kyjuanzi Harris:

Hands Up Act: 

National Action Against Police Brutality: 

Move On Call for Resignation for CPD Chief of Police:

Letter to Columbus City Council: 

OSU Classes that Deal with Racism

  • AFAMAST 2367.04 – Black Women Writers
    • Writing and analysis of black women's literary representations of issues in United States social history.Cross-listed in WGSSt.
  • WGSST 2230 – Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Popular Culture
    • Explores how popular culture generates our understandings of genders and sexuality at the intersections with race, class, nationality, and ability.