We recognize the power of affecting change through direct action that destabilizes systemic racism. By making this oppressive status quo untenable, we can build momentum towards dismantling white supremacy.
Find more information on future actions, conduct, and safety measures below.
Next Action:
Before the Action:
- Educate yourself on how to be an effective ally. It is an ally’s job to do the internal work themselves to prevent further emotional labor from leadership.
- Check in with yourself about your motives. What are you protesting for and how will your ethics guide you in achieving that result?
- Take steps to protect yourself against violent opposition tactics, both online and on the ground.
- Establish an emergency contact. Someone not attending that action should have direct access to your legal name, date of birth and any critical medical information in the event that you are injured or arrested. If no other option is available, our contact page can be a backup.
- Find a buddy and do a pre-brief together. We recommend going through the following acronym before each action as personal boundaries can change daily:
- P – Physical abilities (i.e. current/recurring injuries, or diverse abilities)
- E – Emotional abilities (i.e. mental state, past pertinent traumas and triggers)
- A – Arrestability (what is your comfort level with being at risk of arrest)
- R – Roles (how do you each plan to behave within the action)
- L – Loose Ends (i.e. pets to be fed, partners or employers to be notified)
After the Action:
- Seek care if injured by reaching out to medical teams on the ground.
- Rest is resistance! Take some space and give yourself permission to relax and heal from the traumas of combating injustice.
- Share your protest footage with us so that we can securely archive these valuable photos and videos. Not only does this support leadership in making visible the struggle for Black liberation, but helps compile a database of known aggressors.
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.”
Elie Wiesel, Author & holocaust survivor
Asheville For Justice 