BLACK LIVES MATTER

By Allston Pudding Staff

Photo of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery courtesy of Facebook

Allston Pudding stands in solidarity with Black lives. You don’t need us to tell you that police brutality is a state-sanctioned attack on citizens, and that the police force needs to be defunded. Today, we thought it would be more constructive to share resources on how to combat racism rather than staying silent in the face of injustice. First and foremost, we recommend looking to Black community organizers, and looking at the action items page from Black Lives Matter for comprehensive national petitions to sign, places to call, and organizations to donate to. We’ve highlighted a few of the most critical here, but we invite you to look at the full BLM list, which is constantly updating. We also put together a list of local actions you can take and organizations you can donate to. This is by no means comprehensive, and we invite you to shout out your own favorite fundraisers, actions, and Black-owned businesses in the Boston area to support on our socials. We will be retweeting anything via @AllstonPudding and updating this post.

Call Your Reps

  • *TIME SENSITIVE* If you’re a Boston resident, call your Boston district councilor and the at-large councilors today and ask them to defund the Boston police force. They will determine the city’s annual budget by June 30. Find your city councilor’s contact information here.

Script (feel free to adjust to your needs)

Hello Councilor ___’s office, my name is ______ and I am a constituent of [neighborhood]. I am calling today to voice my support for defunding the Boston Police. Time after time our police force has shown that they have no interest in protecting and serving their community. Their actions at protests like last night’s George Floyd demonstration and this past summer’s straight pride rally are disturbing and should be condemned. Thank you for taking my comment and have a great day.

  • Contact your representative regarding Ayanna Pressley’s bill to condemn police brutality, racial profiling, and the the excessive use of force. (The form will determine your rep. and their contact information once you enter your zip.)

Sign Petitions

Donate

Other Actions

*TIME SENSITIVE* Vigil for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and our local fallen in Franklin Park TONIGHT (Tuesday June 2) at 5pm. Meet near the Lemmanuel Shattick entrance. Sponsored by BLM Boston and Violence In Boston, Inc.

Support Black-owned businesses in Boston:

Support Black-owned restaurants, organized by neighborhood (reposted from this Twitter thread).

Roxbury

Dorchester

JP

Support Black-owned bookstores across the country.

Support Black musicians and artists in Boston (Twitter thread)

Allston Pudding will be hosting a livestream on June 17th to raise money for urgent funds needed to support the Black community. Artists and more information to follow.

Other Resources