Black Lives Matter. Black Lives have always Mattered. Black Lives will continue to Matter. Black Lives STILL Matter. The fact that these words would cause some people’s blood to boil in outrage is a testament to the fight that Black people are facing, a fight that some may believe has been over due to the lack of news on the matter—
Or, at least, that’s the stance I was writing from when I recorded this segment for KFUG Community Radio’s News Now (the original newscast, by the way, can be heard here.) With the arrival of Federal Officers in Portland, some news outlets have been discussing the movement. However, that should be held under a critical eye. Black Lives Matter protests, rallies, and the movement itself never stopped, as some may have believed from the absence of a media presence. With these new violent developments, the same violent developments that attracted such large news presences in the first place, we must think about why we are reporting these things, and to what end. Especially since it seems after initial acts ended, such as the early on looting, many news outlets stopped reporting despite these movements still fully continuing.
For us, we unflinchingly support the cause. As an all white crew, there are always things we need to learn, improve, and do to be better allies and use our privilege to amplify Black voices any way we can. This video has one simple message: Black Lives STILL Matter, even if you haven’t been thinking about it—here are things you can do right now to support the cause.
This video can be utilized as a tool. Know the comprehensive list yourself and the advice that comes with it. Show it to your friends, family, loved ones, neighbors, coworkers, however many people you’ve added to Facebook, whoever cares to give it a watch and think, “Oh, well, I can do that. Black Lives Matter.”
As mentioned in the video, we are looking to work with Black voices in order to provide any amplification we can. We are hesitant to plan the exact project—we want to work fully with Black People interested so that whatever we do is genuinely beneficial to the Black community, not just some small show of allyship or a chance for brownie points for committing basic moral decency. If you are interested, you can reach us at our Facebook Page or email us at redwoodvoicedn@gmail.com.
Stay safe, and Black Lives Matter.
