OGALLA stands with our Black community and communities of color across the nation in mourning the deaths at the hands of the police. We are tired of seeing the execution of Black men and women, cis, trans, nonbinary and all peoples. All BLACK LIVES MATTER. George Floyd should be alive! Tony McDade should be alive! Ahmaud Arbery should be alive! Breonna Taylor should be alive! Tragically, so many more names are on this list. Black people are being killed by state authorities with little to no oversight or consequence. Our criminal justice system is embedded with white supremacy. Police were created in this country to uphold civil society and for the protection of private property, for white people. Far too often, this history of white supremacy and institutionalized oppression continues to manifest in the loss of Black lives at the hands of police.
The response we see in Minneapolis, Portland, and around the world should come as no surprise. The protests today are an inevitable response to a system where Black people are killed just for existing; just for being Black. OGALLA unequivocally stands with the protesters and their right to demand change from a system meant to keep Black communities from thriving.
Public officials and community leaders should be more concerned with a broken criminal justice system than broken glass. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. We have recently seen this legacy of white supremacy and police brutality laid bare yet again. George Floyd’s death is a stark reminder of the unspeakable acts of violence, hate, and discrimination that claim far too many lives.
OGALLA is committed to fighting for all marginalized communities especially our Black and Brown communities. We stand in resistance to police brutality and ask that justice be sought for all of the victims.
OGALLA encourages you to take the following actions:
Observe a National Day of Mourning this Thursday
Donate!
https://www.lgbtqfund.org/ – bail fund providing relief to jailed LGBTQ people
https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd – the official GoFundMe supporting the Floyd family
https://www.gofundme.com/f/pdx-protest-bail-fund – GoFundMe established by the General Defense Committee Local 1 to bail protestors out in PDX
https://srlp.org/donate/ – The Sylvia Rivera Law Project which provides direct representation for low-income transgender people and transgender people of color
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFbCqnPzsY0pSi39i_AjsTpVZpqJ 20IOlJoX37N5qOHqN6cA/viewform – The Tony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDk1ZaSv_nCqc1wI0KH0ZsOS28FT9tH-BRviA-VUB_Cf-tZg/viewform – The Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund
Volunteer to Help Protesters. The National Lawyers Guild is looking for lawyers to help with protest support efforts around the country. Volunteers are needed to answer hotlines, act as legal observers, and help with legal defense work. Training materials are available through the National Lawyers Guild and local chapters. You can sign up here: https://www.nlg.org/join/
The Know Your Rights Camp: An organization founded by Colin Kaepernick that provides education and training in black and brown communities, set up a legal fund for Minneapolis protestors – https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/ and https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/legal
Keep learning and educate ourselves on this issue: perhaps recommend a few articles, videos, or books about racial equity
Support Black Owned Businesses in Oregon and Portland
Help clean up after the protests
OGALLA, The LGBT Bar Association of Oregon was founded in January of 1991. OGALLA was created as a statewide organization to support the needs of sexual minorities and gender non- conforming people in the legal profession. More information about us can be found at ogalla.org.