Black Lives Matter

If you are in the United States or follow world news you may have heard of George Floyd's mistreatment by police officers followed by his death and the subsequent protests decrying the consistent mistreatment of black people by police in America.

Through the power of the internet, cosplay has become part of a global interconneced community. This has lead to amazing things! It also helps us to better understand the challenges that different people face. Through black American cosplayers sharing news and their experiences, and international cosplayers supporting them, we can see the challenges being faced and offer support for our American friends as they push for justice. Justice for those slain by police and those facing systemic racism and oppression at the hands of law enforcement.

Black cosplayers, black Americans and black people worldwide have been speaking out, protesting and petitioning. Please join me in standing with them by offering your support.

Donate:

Note: do not include “BLM” in your payment note, as some are getting blocked.

Official GOFUNDME to support the Floyd family:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
Other memorial funds:
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#victims
Minnesota Freedom Fund
Paying bail for people who can't afford it
https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
Other Bail Funds:
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#bail
We Love Lake Street
They are working to rebuild lake street's small businesses and community organizations damaged by protests. https://www.welovelakestreet.com/
Donate Directly to Black Businesses:
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#business
Reclaim the Block
They call on the city to invest in violence prevention, housing, resources for youth, emergency mental health response teams, and solutions to the opioid crisis - not more police.
https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2
Northstar Health Collective
They work in alliance with mainstream and anti-authoritarian organizations to create a safe and healthy events.
https://www.northstarhealthcollective.org/donate
Other Groups & Individuals:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fb2cioBcCO47L_oGPsjdGVWDAc3RTHU2tIpDtekWKs0/mobilebasic

Non-Donation Support Options:

If you can't donate or want to do more

Sign and share petitions:
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#petitions
Call, Text or Write to push for justice:
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#text
Share links to where people can donate and how they can help.
Spread awareness of the issue and use your platform to boost black voices.
Donate Your talents
Consider offering your talents to people who donate such as raffling off something you made or selling a special item with profits going to a fund.

Support in the Cosplay Community:

Anti-black sentiments are also a problem in the cosplay hobby. Black cosplayers are constantly fighting for their own space in the global cosplay community. There are many ways you can directly offer your support:

Call Out Racism & Hatred
If you see someone making comments that are racist or hateful, call them out. Don't allow that to poison our community.
Actively Be Inclusive
If you are a cosplayer you can actively support businesses/photographers/events that are inclusive and actively be inclusive when planning your own cosplay groups, events or when sharing content on your page. This may take some research. Look at the guest list, look at portfolios or reflect on your own experiences and see if anyone is being left out.
Support Diverse Creators
Do this by following their pages, engaging with their posts, sharing their content (with credit), buying their products or collaborating with them. You can find new creators with the #28DaysofBlackCosplay tag.
Actively Request Diversity
Request diverse convention guests, and support diverse panels. Let organizers know what you want to see.

Resources:

The above is just scratching the surface of how you can push for change.