We Hear You. We See You. We stand With You.
Our world is hurting…and today we’re asking and crying out for healing in our land and healing in our hearts. Everywhere there is hate, or a lack of understanding, we ask for love to flood in and overflow throughout our nation. We cry out on behalf of the injustices in our land and we cry out for mercy, humility and repentance. As we struggle to find the right words and/or have a fear of saying the wrong thing, our conviction and commitment to humanity, this BEAUTIFUL + DIVERSE community weighs heavier in our hearts.
We sit and weep with and for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor - they should all be alive. Their families shouldn’t be mourning their death right now and they are just the latest in a long list and history of injustices.
Today, we are holding space to grieve and lament because it can be so easy to want to run and dive into solutions. But sometimes it’s so necessary to really connect internally so we ourselves can first be transformed from the inside out and be far more effective to bring true transformation and inspiration to others. We start with ourselves.
With tears in our eyes and hurt in our hearts, we have all watched as cities across the country burned, businesses are being vandalized, and tense stand-offs taking place between protestors and police forces.
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
We know that you’ve likely seen that quote a lot over the past few days - we see the anger, the frustration, and the painfully raw emotion of people from around the country, of all ages and races, crying out for justice and saying that enough is enough, we are so sorry.
Gals That Brunch, as an organization that is focused on building a beautiful diverse community - where every woman is celebrated. The injustices and systemic racism that POC have endured has gone on for too long. Change needs to happen and we recognize that we can all do better. And in order to do our part to push toward that change and raise awareness for those who need our support, here is our commitment.
Gals That Brunch is committed to this issue, we are committed to diversity, we’re committed to our strategy of being peace makers + bridge builders, and finding solutions. Justice is not just a trend or hashtag, the very definition of Justice is ANY violation of LOVE and we can’t move from this. There is no easy fix but we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and do the hard holy work until this is done in our nation. We’d love your continued feedback on how we can continue to rise and “pull up”.
To our City Leaders and Gals That Brunch members who are POC, we see you. We hear you. We stand with you. We always say that we are stronger together, and we feel that more fiercely now than ever before. If you are weary, tired, or need support, we welcome you to the table. We’re all moving along on our individual journeys and living through our own experiences, but as we try to find the words, actions, and next steps to move forward towards change, we humbly extend our hands and invite you to join us at the table. We are committed to providing a safe space for all women to come together and loving women back to life. So we welcome you to join us, to link arms, and to join together in the cry for justice, reconciliation, and for racism to be eradicated from our nation.
To our city leaders and GTB members who have family or who are on the frontlines of law enforcement yourselves. Who daily put your lives or the lives of your loved ones on the line to serve and protect all people. Who stand for justice and freedom and now find yourselves in the crossfires and clean up of the ignorance and brutality of others. We see you. We grieve with you for any and every part your sacrifice that is being tainted by the actions of those who do not represent what you stand for. We stand with you. We pray for your safety as you fight to uphold peace and equality for all, and we thank you for each day that you chose to get out of bed and do it all over again.
We also will try to take you on the journey that we are in of researching resources and education to support these important causes that need our support. If you are interested in learning more about the social injustices and the mission of the Black Lives Matter movement, finding ways to support communities that have been impacted, or want to sign petitions to incite social change, we’ve shared links to various resources for you to do so. We’d love your continued feedback!
Learn
Learn about & support the Black Lives Matter movement here.
Learn about & support the National Police Accountability project here.
Learn about & support the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) here.
Learn about & support Campaign Zero here.
Learn about & support Black Visions Collective here.
Learn about & support the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. here.
Learn about & support the Communities United Against Police Brutality here.
Learn about & support the Know Your Rights Camp here.
Learn about & support Reclaim the Block (Minneapolis) here.
Learn about & support Bloc By Bloc (Milwaukee) here.
Learn about & support My Hood, My Block, My City (Chicago) here.
Podcast
Films
Shows/Documentaries
Books
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Americanah & We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Grand Union: Stories by Zadie Smith
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
The Bluest Eye, Beloved, & Song of Soloman by Toni Morrison
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Why Are All of the Black Kids Sitting Together In the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
Donate
Support the Black Lives Matter movement here.
Support the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund here.
Support the I Run With Maud campaign here.
Support Fair Fight here.
Support the Justice for Breonna Taylor gofundme campaign here.
Sign
The Justice for George Floyd Petition on Color of Change here.
The Justice for George Floyd Petition on change.org here.
The Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition on change.org here.
The Justice for Ahmaud Arbery Petition on change.org here.
The Justice for Tony McDade Petition on change.org here.
We all have to do our part to educate ourselves on the issues that are impacting our communities and our nation. By understanding the causes and implications, and then supporting the organizations or non-profits that are on the frontlines fighting, we can affect change. Every little bit helps and even one person has the ability to make the world a better place.
Our hearts and prayers are for protection and safety for ALL, that every individual would truly be celebrated for how uniquely & beautifully they were created no matter the skin tone. It is our mission to speak PEACE to you and over our world today.