Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Supporting Black-owned businesses, protesting safely, paying homage to a brilliant artist and more
Practices for Safe Protesting
Protesting and mobilizing together surpasses the value of social media posts in solidarity. There is work to be done offline; some of it visible, some not. Standing up for Black individuals can be effective in combatting brutality and the systemic belittling of Black bodies. New York City’s 14th Congressional District Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared the proper practices for in-person protests and marches, as they unfold in cities across the US. From wearing masks and carrying water (and bringing extras) to turning your phone to airplane mode or off entirely, the list offers insight on how to act in solidarity safely. “Follow the directions of grassroots Black organizers,” she reminds her followers. See more on her Instagram.
Support the Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund
“While publications ask Black journalists—both freelance and full-time staff members—to put their lives at risk to report on racial injustices and embed themselves within the protests, they rarely provide resources for these same journalists to process the trauma incurred both on the job and in daily life,” Sonia Weiser, the organizer of the Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund, says at its launch. On the fundraiser’s GoFundMe page, an application form allows for Black journalists to apply for covered treatment—up $1,500 per applicant. For any mental health professionals willing to offer their time and services, Weiser asks for you to reach her via Twitter, where she acts as a resource for freelance writers year-round. The effort reached their goal of $20,000.
Even If You’re Broke, You Can Support Black Lives Matter Financially This Way
Zoe Amira created a 56-minute YouTube video which—if you play it with advertisements and volume on—will result in 100% of advertising revenue being donated to Black Lives Matter and associated bail funds. The video’s content is spliced together spoken-word, poetry, art and music by Black artists and is worth viewing, but we implore readers to then play it over and over each day, even if it’s in the background. Other clever YouTubers are doing the same. Find out more at High Snobiety.
Black-Owned Restaurants to Support in Washington, DC
DC-based food advocate Anela Malik maintains a list of Black-owned restaurants to support and explains how food is inherently political, saying, “As individuals, one of the best ways to stand up for those at greater risk, to support communities that are neglected, discriminated against or left behind is to support them financially,” she says. From Ethiopic and Cane to new pop-up Butter Me Up, these restaurants remain open and represent some of the best cuisine in the city. Click through to peruse her independent, ongoing, and ever-growing list of Black-owned restaurants in DC and its surrounding metropolitan.
Black-Owned Businesses and Restaurants in NYC
TimeOut New York lists several online directories filled with Black-owned businesses, restaurants, writers, food stylists, and beyond. EatOkra, an app, maintains an ever-growing list of Black-owned restaurants in NYC—right now, it has over 2,000 entries. Black-Owned Brooklyn signal boosts the offerings of Black-owned businesses in its borough, an effort they call “a curated guide to Black Brooklyn’s people, places and products.” Shoppe Black lists tech companies, farms, vintage and antique stores that are owned by black people, while Equity at the Table finds chefs that work outside of traditional kitchen settings as caterers, freelance cooks, event staff, private chefs, pop-up operators and more. Support your local Black-owned business thanks to these useful lists. See the full list at TimeOut.
Black-Owned Restaurants to Support in the Bay Area
The San Francisco Chronicle, with assistance from the Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Business, has compiled a searchable directory of Black-owned restaurants in the region—making it even easier to support those businesses. Included are details like whether or not they offer takeout or delivery, how to order without relying on third-party delivery services, and what types of dishes and drinks are on the menu. It’s another pragmatic approach “to spend with intent… to support your community directly” quotes the Chronicle. See the list there.
Black-Owned Restaurants to Support in Los Angeles
Helmed by their LA editorial assistant Kat Hong who tapped resources including Black Book LA and EatOkra, restaurant-centric website The Infatuation published a list of Black-owned eateries in and around Los Angeles. From Anaheim to Crenshaw, from DTLA to Long Beach, there are hundreds of quality spots included, and the editorial staff is continuing to update and add locations. You can send them suggestions or use the list to order your next meal. Read more there.
Christo Unwrapped Imaginations With His Large-Scale Conceptual Artworks
As the guest of my college roommate, I watched Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” unfurl throughout all of Central Park from the penthouse of the Pierre Hotel. A domino of saffron tumbled along the wintry landscape in an unimaginable way. The image will always be with me. The days I spent walking the park that February 2005 will, too. Long before the social, funhouse-like museums of everything, this conceptual artist duo wrapped up, draped over and festooned landscapes and monuments in a way that defied the natural—or enhanced it—astonishing attendees in their process and execution. They rewrote reality and asked people to experience their art, not just view it. Christo and Jeanne-Claude unwrapped imaginations as they wrapped up the world. Jeanne-Claude passed in 2009; Christo passed this weekend, at his home in NYC, at 84 years old. His last work in development, wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, will still proceed in September 2021. Read more about his astounding works at The New York Times.
Criterion Collection Removes Paywall From Movies by Black Filmmakers
The Criterion Collection has removed their paywall on all narrative films and documentaries made by Black filmmakers in an act of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. A statement from the platform reads, “We are committed to examining the role we play in the idea of canon formation, whose voices get elevated, and who gets to decide what stories get told.” Additionally, the company donated $25,000 and will continue monthly contributions of $5,000 with various advocacy groups, bail funds and community organizations. Dazed offers viewing suggestions: “[Leilah] Weinraub’s 2018 documentary, Shakedown, about a Black lesbian strip club in Los Angeles; [Maya] Angelou’s Down in the Delta, the writer and activist’s sole feature length film, about a drug-addled woman whose mother sends her and her children to a small Mississippi town; and [Cheryl] Dunye’s 1996 debut, Watermelon Woman, about a twenty-something lesbian struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, a 1930s Black film actress.” We also hope that with this move, Criterion Collection expands their offerings from BIPOC filmmakers. Read more at DazedDigital.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
