Protestors in Ferguson
Ferguson has our attention. The fight for justice for Michael Brown is one of the recent tragedies to highlight the systematic targeting and oppression of people of color who are faced with hyper criminalization and police harassment on a daily basis. The subsequent reaction of the police force has forced the nation to realize the harsh, brutal reality of militarizing our police and enabling them with weapons of excessive force.
The loud call coming out of Ferguson, Missouri has become a national rally to action.
Those in the Ferguson community are working to address these systemic problems and force our nation to seek justice for Michael Brown, while representing countless other victims. We need to support their work in the ways that will best serve their needs.
There are a number of ways to support the movement growing from Ferguson, here are a list of resources and requests from organizers, organizations, and media on the ground:
Support to the Family: Justice For Mike Brown
There are two ways to donate directly to the family of Michael Brown—
online, you can use the Michael Brown Memorial Fund. Organizers have confirmed this as the official donation portal with the family’s attorneys.
If you prefer to support the family with a donation via check, the Brown family has established a memorial fund Fifth Third Bank. You may drop off a check at any of their branches or mail a donation. Please include “Michael Brown Jr. Memorial Fund” in the memo line:
Fifth Third Bank
8013 West Florissant Ave.
Jennings, MO 63136
Call the branch at 314-685-3200 with any questions.
Bail and Legal Fund for Ferguson Protesters
Two bail and legal funds have been established to support the people who are being arrested in Ferguson, MO for exercising their constitutionally protected right to assemble and protest against systematic use of excessive force against black and brown communities. You can donate via PayPal to this fund or with multiple options through this fund.
Resources to Sustain Protests and Local Movement Building
On the ground, protesters and organizers in Ferguson need support and supplies. Leaders need resources for their outreach and organizing, street medics need supplies for injured and exhausted protestors, protestors need food and water, every morning volunteers are organizing cleanups, crowd control needs bullhorns, folks needs signs, and citizens need equipment to document the events—and police brutality.
Donate to the local, immediate needs and support of building long term infrastructure at the Hands Up, Don’t Shoot Campaign Infrastructure Fund here.
Long-Term Organizing: Organization for Black Struggle
Organization for Black Struggle (OBS) is in Ferguson, MO. They are asking for the resources to hire an organizer dedicated to organizing youth in Ferguson and manage the movement building happening on the ground. A PayPal account has been set up separate from our regular donations, to specifically support the Ferguson organizer. You can donate here.
Provide food support through the local food pantry:
According a local Ferguson church, the food pantry in Ferguson is running short on supplies because of the unrest. Please, donate to the food pantry at St. Stephen’s Episcopal church in Ferguson.
Support Independent Media Coverage
Our friend, Elon James White, host of This Week In Blackness, which is normally produced from the Daily Kos offices, and his crew, are broadcasting live from Ferguson. Their work is providing valuable, independent, black media to the world. Please consider supporting their efforts by donating here.
For those who want to take direct action:
Build a local movement in your community, to address these issues locally, connected in solidarity with the work happening across the country. If it isn’t already happening, help make it happen by doing the following things:
National Call in Days
New Media/Social Media
Local Solidarity Demonstrations
Participate in Rapid Response Mobilizations
Collect stories of police brutality in your community and share in our story bank
Create art for this moment
For those of you who want to get involved in your community movement, please fill out this form to stay connected to the national movement. You can tell them what skills you can bring to the movement.
For those who want to be in Ferguson:
Right now, the situation is still organizing and the need for some folks with particular skills are the most necessary:
Medics (Doctors, Nurses, EMT)
Attorneys
Photographers & Videographers (not press affiliated )
Organizers of color with experience working with youth, especially those with experience in Street Theater & Civil Disobedience
Spiritual Healers/Counselors
Tech folks (Data, Coders, CRM, Graphic Designers)
As you can imagine, there are a lot of moving parts that local organizers need to manage, so if you DO NOT have these skills, right now, the best thing you can do is show solidarity and provide support from your home geography.
To be properly oriented and connected with local organizing infrastructure and make the best use of your skills organizers ask that folks fill out this form BEFORE coming to Ferguson. Then, local organizers will contact you to discuss the details and properly integrate volunteers and activists into the local infrastructure.
The final request from organizers in Ferguson is this:
In order to ensure we leverage our resources and capacity effectively, it is really important that you NOT come to Ferguson without filling out the link and being properly connected with local leaders.
**Update:Here is another compilation of giving resources. **
This information has been compiled from public documents being used by organizers, in addition to other sources. If there are additional requests and updates, please drop them in the comments below and we will continue to update this page.