Hello, reader. I deeply apologize that this comes to you late.
It has been almost a week since George Floyd, a black man, was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota by a police officer. Many more black folks in America have been murdered by police thereafter. These past six days, there has been protests all around the world fighting for justice, an end to police brutality and most importantly, the rights of black folks. I would very much hope you would know all of that by now, no matter where you live.
I’m a Japanese person living in California, speaking in solidarity with black lives. I wanted to share you this resource via Carrd (I am not the author; credits go to @dehyedration on Twitter) to help you get informed on how to participate to fight this injustice. There are petitions you can sign, contact info to text/call for legal help and call for change in American government, organizations to you can donate to, education material and many more.
Just to share what I’ve done these past days, just because I don’t want to call action without doing anything myself, I’ve been donating to bail funds set up in different cities to help protestors. I gave what I can to the bail funds in Minnesota, Brooklyn, Louisville, Los Angeles and San Diego—where I live. I also gave to North Star Health Collective in Minnesota and a few black-led LGBTQ+ organizations across America: SNaPCo, TransJustice Funding Project, and the Okra Project, who all have different missions to help their community of focus.
It’s not much, but the This Side of Japan newsletter has a readership, and I can’t stay hush about the matter with you all. It’s not fair to you; it’s not fair to the countless folks who don’t have the privilege to log off and remain ignorant. Please do what you can to care for and protect black lives. If some of our favorite Japanese artists covered in the newsletter, who live on the other side of the world from America, can show solidarity for black folks, then we all should to speak up in some capacity.
Thank you for your time.