Ilkley Moor

In light of the horrific displays of racially-motivated police brutality that has been exposed on a grand scale in the US, today I wanted to share links to a variety of organisations that accept donations and signatures for petitions regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. I have been shocked and infuriated to see how many of my Facebook and Instagram posts have gone completely ignored by my white peers; white silence is violence, and by choosing to remain silent, we are condoning the inhumane treatment and blatant murder of black people, in both American AND Australian society. When we reach a point where we worry more about “being seen as too political” than we do black lives, we have failed as allies, and frankly, as human beings.

I have decided to include the images that I took at Ilkley Moor in order to highlight our privilege as white people – which enables us to continue to travel and experience the world without having to fear for our lives, a basic right that is not extended to black people. Though we have been provided with the privilege to continue on with our lives unaffected, I wanted to use the blog as a platform to help those that don’t have that same opportunity.

The Bail Project is an organisation which aims to combat mass incarceration – in this case specifically those who have been wrongfully arrested after protesting peacefully in a variety of states across America. I’ve noticed that in the general media, the reporting on the protests has been very one-sided and limited, but hours of conducting my own research on Twitter (which can be viewed at the bottom of this post) has revealed countless instances of cellphone footage revealing police officers arresting peaceful (and mostly black) protesters, with some even brutalising civilians who are simply walking by. It is clear that the media has put a heavy focus on the “looting” aspect of the riots, whilst failing to address the footage that reveals white opportunists tagging buildings, as well as cops destroying property to further place the blame on black protesters. The majority of those that have been taken into custody are innocent, peaceful protesters, so donating to this cause will help correct this blatant abuse of power that is being perpetrated by the American police. You can donate here.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund is an organisation with a focus on fighting for racial justice and advocating for civil rights. You can donate here.

If you haven’t already signed it, here is the link to the petition calling for justice for George Floyd’s murder.

David McAtee was a black man who was shot and killed by two police officers during the protests, both of whom had their body cameras turned off (upon instruction by the Chief of Police). He was a local business owner who was known to offer free food to cops, and was not involved in the protests at the time of the shooting. No officers have been apprehended yet. You can sign the petition calling for justice here.

The link to donate to Black Lives Matter, an organisation dedicated to eradicating white supremacy, can be found here.

The link to the website that provides hundreds of links to different petitions and organisations can be found here.

I also want to link specific videos I’ve found on Twitter so that you can see what I’m describing for yourself.

Peaceful protesters getting forced out of the way to make room for Trump, who was on his way to get a photo op outside a local church: https://twitter.com/anthonypadilla/status/1267758030231228422?s=20

Black business owners who were immediately arrested by police despite the fact that they were the ones who called them because a group of WHITE looters were destroying their store:
https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1267641851215036416?s=20

One of many peaceful protests met with extreme force from the police:
https://twitter.com/Justiceaddwater/status/1267650345947271176?s=20

An unarmed man getting maced, before having a a gas canister shot into his face at close range:
https://twitter.com/jusalotofpain/status/1267638427723296768?s=20

The video I am personally most horrified by, a young black male and female sitting in their car, doing absolutely nothing, getting ambushed, tased, and dragged from their vehicles (also notice the white girl in the car directly in front of them) for “breaking curfew”:
https://twitter.com/BigBoyler/status/1267515061544775682?s=20

A completely random bystander getting viciously dragged away by police:
https://twitter.com/Shapuku/status/1267217544898678785?s=20

Disgusting footage of Bunker Boy (Trump) from an old newscast in which he condones the use of excessive police force (notice the smirks and laughs of the officers behind him):
https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1267319531636228098?s=20

Evidence of white protesters tagging a Starbucks, whilst black protesters ask them to stop:
https://twitter.com/gryking/status/1267101707596632066?s=20

An elderly man with a walking cane being shoved to the ground by cops:
https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1266908354821206016?s=20

Another peaceful protest escalated by police:
https://twitter.com/greg_doucette/status/1267918152635203585?s=20

A teenage girl who was shot in the face at close range with a rubber bullet:
https://twitter.com/shannynsharyse/status/1266631722239766528?s=20

A link to a thread compiling 185 (and counting) recorded incidents of police brutality against peaceful protesters from the recent riots in the US:
https://twitter.com/greg_doucette/status/1266751520055459847?s=20