Hey News-Changers. My name is Anthony and for those that haven’t been with us too long, I used to write and send out The Breakdown once per week. Jackie is on vacation this week, so I’m popping in to cover in her absence.

With so much going on with the protests, it’s natural to feel a little overwhelmed at times. And while things continue to be stressful, I hope this week can offer a glimmer of hope. As you’ll soon read below, your activism in standing up for Black lives is working. Thanks to news changers like yourselves, elected officials are taking notice and we’re seeing substantial progress being made. I’m inspired by you all each and every day.

Go ahead and read on for the latest developments from the past week and while you’re at it, remember to practice self-care when reading about discrimination and violence in the news.

Let's Do This.

Anthony

Young people protesting for Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter Protests Fuel Police Reform & Other Policy Changes

If you missed our response last week to the ongoing protests, read our guide for an explanation of why these protests are happening.

What’s happened?

In the past two weeks, protesters across the country have stood up against racism and police brutality by taking to the streets, donating to racial justice orgs, signing petitions, and more. As a result, elected officials across the country have begun to commit to making progress in their respective communities.

In just the past week, we’ve seen Minneapolis commit to dismantling its police force, Cleveland declare racism a public health crisis, and Portland remove police from its schools. We’ve seen Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York push for police reform from state lawmakers, while the city of Pittsburgh has already committed to tactics meant to reduce police violence. More announcements are expected to come.

While there is so much more work to be done to adequately combat racial injustice, it’s an encouraging sign that making our voices hard can lead to real change in our communities.

What’s next?

As protests enter their third week, there are no signs that things are slowing down. Protesters continue to demand community development and safety initiatives from officials, including calls to arrest the police who murdered Breonna Taylor and re-open investigations into Tamir Rice and others who were unjustly killed by police.

Additionally, protestors are calling for local and federal governments to defund the police. Essentially this means that rather than reform and make changes to police departments, many are demanding that funds be taken away and re-allocated to community development initiatives.

Take Action: Sign up for our Disrupt Racism campaign to join the 21,000+ DoSomething members who have committed to fighting racism and supporting the Black community.

BTS Donated $1 Million To Black Lives Matters...And Their Fans Have Responded By Donating Even More

Many celebrities and public figures have stepped up to fight for racial justice in the past couple weeks. Best-selling K-pop group BTS is no different, as they announced last week that they will be donating $1 million to the Black Lives Matter organization.

Shortly after, members of BTS’s fandom (known as the BTS ARMY) took to Twitter, using the #MatchAMillion hashtag to try and match the group’s donation. And guess what? It worked. According to Teen Vogue, the ARMY has already collected over $1.13 million in donations from more than 38,000 people in just a few days.

"We truly didn’t know whether the goal would be reached,” said a spokesman for the organizers. “We’re so proud that ARMY have once again channeled their power for good and are making a real impact in the fight against anti-black racism."

Take Action: Though the goal has already been reached, you can still donate to the #MatchAMillion campaign to benefit 24 different racial justice nonprofits.

Protests Lead to Surge in Voter Registrations

Beyond the recent policy changes mentioned above, recent surges in voter registrations are proving that protestors have every intention of continuing to fight for racial justice at the ballot box.

Organizations focused on registering voters (including DoSomething.org!) have reported a massive spike in registrations over the past week, most of which is believed to be associated with the start of the protests. In particular, “young people, in particular Gen Z and millennial[s]” have registered at especially high rates according to Carolyn DeWitt, the President and Executive Director at Rock the Vote.

This news lines up with survey data from DoSomething.org that found that 75% of young people believe that voting is the most impactful action for continuing the fight for racial justice.

Take Action: City and state officials decide most police funding and outcomes, so your vote has the power to decide the future of policing in your community. Take 2 minutes and register at your current address.

“As teens, we are tired of waking up and seeing another innocent person being slain in broad daylight. As teens, we are desensitized to death because we see videos of black people being killed in broad daylight circulating on social media platforms. As teens, we feel like we cannot make a difference in this world, but we must.” - Zee Thomas, one of
six teen activists who organized a Black Lives Matter protest in Nashville which drew tens of thousands.

Why aren’t more people talking about… how many states are ignoring the CDC’s guidelines to count “probable” COVID-19 cases and deaths?

Meanwhile, in the UK… anti-racism protesters toppled a statue of a 17th-century slave trader and rolled it into a nearby harbor.

My heroes today are… the hundreds of people who formed a human wall around Muslim protesters so they could pray at a Black Lives Matter march.

Today in viral cuteness… these panda cubs relaxing will make your heart melt and there’s simply nothing that any of us can do to stop them.

I’m obsessed with… 1919, a poetry collection by Eve Ewing which commemorates the 1919 Chicago race riots. Obviously the themes of race and revolution are as relevant as ever, so I want to share a few of those poems. (If you only read one, my personal favorite is the one titled “Jump/Rope.”)