The Question
How Can Everyone Support the Black Lives Matter Movement?
“My advice is to do everything you can to be a good ally. When expressing your outrage against police killings and the general system of racial oppression, classism and ableism, you need to check your tone on how you speak to these issues so you’re not silencing voices in the Black community.”—Lawrence Robinson, Public Health Junior
“My advice for white people is to seek out resources by people of color about how to be an ally and, above all, listen to people of color when they tell you what you are saying is racist or problematic. Learn about systemic racism and how you benefit from it, in order to dismantle it. Educate others if you have the ability to do so, and openly support the movement on social media and in real life.”—Anonymous, Member of the Feminist Action Project and the Queer & Trans People of Color
“We can all make some progress by reading different books about Black history. Read ‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X’ or books by other civil rights leaders so you can understand why people are so upset and why they’re out protesting in the streets amid this pandemic. Once you have that knowledge base, you’re able to think for yourself and apply what you’ve learned toward the future.”
—Madison Goodrich, Government/African and African Diaspora Studies Graduate (Spring ’20)
“Make sure you’re getting information from a reputable news source, then really think about what you are passionate about and what cause you want to support. Get your family on board and listen to their opinions. This is a collective experience, and all voices need to be heard.”—Anna Lai, Management Information Systems Senior
“People should take more classes like Interpreting Black Rage. It opened me up so much to what’s going on in our community—things like mental illness, education, what it means to be a Black woman or a Black man. One thing that really struck me is that we were never meant to be successful in these systems because they weren’t built with us in mind.”—Amel Weaver, Sociology Senior
Read more quotes and takeaways in our Allies & Advocates series.