White people, if you ever wondered what you would have done during the Civil Rights Movement, now is the time to decide.
Support an independent Black political voice by contributing to ColorOfChange.
Dear friend,
My name is Johnny Mathias. I've worked at ColorOfChange since 2012. And I'm white.
I came to ColorOfChange after years working to elect Democrats because I knew that party politics alone would not bring about the transformational racial justice changes that we all need. And I bet many of the white members* of ColorOfChange feel the same way. You share an article, you sign ColorOfChange petitions, make a call to an elected official when asked, donate to support campaigns and even engage fellow white people about the persistent anti-Black racism in our world. But deep down you know it's not enough, that the scale of your contribution to the cause does not meet the urgency of the moment.
The movement cannot be sustained solely on the efforts and energy of Black organizers, for whom this fight is a matter of life and death. All too often we think of racial justice as the sole responsibility of Black people. As white people, we have an obligation to dismantle racism and to do so by supporting Black leadership.
As the movement for Black lives stands on the precipice of tremendous cultural power, Black organizers across the country have issued a call to white people to take action. As white people, it's time for us to put our money where our values lie. We need to commit to sustained financial support of independent Black organizations and help ColorOfChange raise $200,000 by the end of the year.
While this email centers whiteness, the movement cannot, should not and will not. As white people committed to racial justice, we have a responsibility to consult with Black leaders and support their strategic needs in this fight. That means we need to leverage our privilege and resources to meet gaps where white-controlled corporate and governmental structures have refused to value Black lives. We must fund a private investigator when Sandra Bland is murdered in Waller County with no substantial inquiry. We must support the legal work behind Freedom of Information Act requests when it becomes clear that the FBI is surveilling Black activists. And we must marshal every resource we can to demand accountability from prosecutors — like Timothy McGinty in Cleveland who refused to secure justice for 12-year-old Tamir Rice — that allow police to murder Black people without facing justice or consequences.
I work with some of the most strategically brilliant Black organizers in the movement: Rashad Robinson, Arisha Michelle Hatch, Brandi Collins, Scott Roberts and the ColorOfChange campaigns team. As a white person at a Black organization, it is my role to use my skills and resources to help our team make an impact for Black people. As a white ColorOfChange member, you can do the same by contributing to make the creative and strategic interventions of Black leaders at ColorOfChange a reality.
None of the campaigns above would've been possible without the financial support of ColorOfChange members because we don’t take money from big corporations that don’t share our values. You've already taken the first step by being an active member of the ColorOfChange community. Making a contribution to ColorOfChange is one of the many ways, as a white member, you can deepen your support of the movement for Black lives.
Thanks and Peace,
Johnny Mathias and the ColorOfChange team
*As an organization, we are committed to centering Blackness in this movement. Most of our members are Black, but we felt it important to take this opportunity to speak directly to the thousands of white members of ColorOfChange. Please consider sharing this with the white people in your life.
ColorOfChange is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.
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