I’ve been following (& supporting) the #BlackLivesMatter (or BLM) movement for some time.

Proud to see nyc (& other cities) protest the injustice that is happening across the nation #BlackLivesMatter

— (((Shai Goldman))) (@shaig) December 5, 2014

The data around the number of civilians who are killed by police is very clear and is alarming.  The data around the disproportionate number of black people who are killed by police is very clear and is alarming (see chart below).  The topic shouldn’t be controversial or divisive, they are facts and we need to be in action if we want to see the numbers decline.

This post includes action items for people who are conscious of the issue of black people being killed by cops at disproportionate rate (see below) and you haven’t done anything about it but are thinking about getting involved.

1. If you are on social media (Facebook and/or Twitter), share articles on what is occurring.  Many people are silent on this topic.  While this seems like a trivial thing, sharing news has a viral aspect to it and the more people read about what is happening, the larger the odds of someone new becoming conscious of this issue as well.
2.  Donate money.  There is typically a crowd funding site running a campaign to raise money for the families of those who are killed by police.  Even $5 can go along way, when aggregated among thousands of other donors, it becomes a meaningful amount for the families that are impacted.
3.  Attend a BLM rally that is happening in your city.  These rallies are typically spontaneous, the way I find about them is typically via twitter.   If you are on twitter, you need to follow some other conscious individuals in your community, the best way to do that is do an advance search on twitter, filtering by location and the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.  I’ve participated in several rallies in NYC, they are peaceful and are welcoming of anyone who wants to participate.
4. Get familiar with Campaign Zero .
5. Vote for politicians who are also conscious of this issue and will implement some of the recommendations outlined by Campaign Zero.

If there are other action items that I should add, please let me know, as I’m still looking to do more on my end.

See this chart, I hope you are aware of it, if not, I hope it makes an impact on you.