#JusticeforFloyd: What To Do Next

To my sisters and brothers, and my allies too. This is for us. I'm no expert but I love us and I will do what I can for us.

Last night, Donald Trump, the PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. tweeted: "....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"

We must take action. (Everything ain't for everybody. Find your role and go with it. We need someone in every single role, no role can be cancelled).

1. Pray. We of course have the big issues we need to pray about but don’t forget to pray for some of the forgotten groups:
   • Activists on the ground
   • Reporters in Minneapolis
   • George Floyd’s family, Breonna Taylor’s family, and Ahmaud Arbery’s family
   • Black officers who do not stand for this violence
   • Darnella Frazier: the young lady who recorded George Floyd’s death
   • Protestors who are incarcerated and need to be bonded out 
2. Read/study how the Word applies to times such as these:
   • Isaiah 1:17
   • Micah 6:8
   • Psalms 82:2-5
   • Proverbs 31:8-9
   • Jeremiah 22:3
3. I spoke on the topic of the Black Church and Social Justice in a message titled: "Living As A Just Christian in an Unjust Society: The Black Church v. White America" last December at my home church in Houston, Texas: New Life Temple Church. You can watch the message here. (1:19:00): https://livestream.com/newlifetemplechurch/events/8259870/videos/199456697

1. Sign the Petition to charge the officers involved: justiceforbigfloyd.com
2. Call the Minneapolis County Attorney 612-324-4499 and/or justiceforbigfloyd.com
3. Sign up to be a legal observer at justiceforbigfloyd.com
   • Also see: https://twitter.com/MeritLaw/status/1266327680158519297?s=20
4. Participate in a rally, march/protest, or riot in Minneapolis, MN or your home city
   1. Houston (my home city):
      1. Friday, May 29th at 2:00pm: Hosted by the Houston Chapter of Black Lives Matter. Organizers are asking folks to gather at Discovery Green at the corner of McKinney and Avenida de Las Americas. From there the group will march to Houston City Hall.
      2. Sunday, May 31st at 12:00pm: Meet at Southmore & Emancipation: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAvFTKlDYHN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
5. Sign the Petition to Defund Police in Minneapolis: https://secure.everyaction.com/eR7GA7oz70GL8doBq19LrA2

1. Minnesota Freedom Fund: assists with paying bonds/bails in Minnesota: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
2. Minnesota Freedom Fund has also listed credible sources to donate to: https://twitter.com/MNFreedomFund/status/1265735264242225152?s=20
   1. These sources are black youth led orgs who need funds for supplies and more; credible list from Minnesota Freedom Fund. Organizations also include those who support black trans and queer individuals

Minnesota Freedom Fund has made clear that its members are not in communication with Shaun King and states to donate to the sources listed in the tweet above.

1. Follow key organizations and activists on social media. View my facebook post to see a list of people you can follow: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10222781558637742&id=1538661863&sfnsn=mo
2. Post a meme or photo on your timeline or story
3. Retweet important tweets
4. Spark valuable discussions on the topic
5. I wrote a paper for my Social Media Advertising class titled: “An Examination of the Intersection of Social Media, Activism, and the Law: The Transition from the Civil Rights Era to the #BlackLivesMatter Era." If you would like to read it, shoot me a message at info@tanishamanning.com.

1. Read a detailed description of the incident with George Floyd: https://nypost.com/2020/05/28/everything-we-know-about-the-death-of-george-floyd/
2. Also visit other sites of the more recent occurrences of brutality: https://justiceforbreonna.org/ and https://www.runwithmaud.com/
3. READ THESE BOOKS, seriously, try to read them within the next week or two.
   • I Can’t Breathe: A Killing on Bay Street by Matt Taibbi: this book describes in very extensive the detail the life of Eric Gardner and his death, INCLUDING how the officer was not charged and how the entire system played a role in it — this directly aligns with George Floyd’s Death
   • Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman: This book analyzes blacks in the police force and how the police force has historically oppressed blacks
   • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: a fictional story about a case of police brutality and sheds perspective on all involved including witnesses, officers, black families and communities, and white allies and non supporters
   • There are other important books that I either have not read or that focus on other relevant topics such as mass incarceration, so feel free to message me about them but these 3 books above are a GREAT START. Again my email is info@tanishamanning.com
4. Have conversations with black activists, lawyers, and civil rights advocates and learn about their work from their real life perspective and not the media
5. Have conversations with black officers that you know and trust and gain their perspective and an understanding.

1. Breathe. Do you hear me? BREATHE.
2. Take a walk outside, seriously.
3. Listen to music.
4. Text your loved ones and tell them you love them: ASK THEM "HOW CAN I LOVE YOU RIGHT NOW?" or TELL THEM THAT YOU NEED LOVE RIGHT NOW
   • Do this. I text 20+ black men at 3:30am the other morning because I could not sleep and the conversations were so helpful.
5. Don’t watch the video. Or listen to the audio. If you cannot deal.
6. Laugh, find humor in things that you can!
7. Write out your emotions or talk to someone, don’t keep them in.
8. Don’t be alone: call, zoom, or visit someone or a few people.

I know we need a real life discussion on how to break down the system as a whole so that they can STOP KILLING US. I think that discussion needs to happen offline so I have not included suggestions for that here.