Being an ally means taking it upon ourselves to actively dismantle the systemic racism plaguing this country and we are dedicated to learning, unlearning, and discovering all the ways that we, as a company and as individuals, can do better. In our first, long overdue action to support the BIPOC design community, we are hoping to seek out and establish paid relationships with freelance graphic and technical designers, models, photographers and retail workers who would be interested in collaborating with Belief. Please send portfolios, resumes and contact information to info@beliefnyc.com - we promise to review them all.
Additionally, in the coming months, as NYC begins to open up again after Covid-19 closures, we are planning to establish a part-time internship program for BIPOC youth, based out of our office and store in Astoria, Queens. Our goal will be to introduce our interns to the ins-and-outs of running a clothing company here in NYC, with a focus on graphic design, production and marketing. We will be updating our followers on when we will be able to accommodate this initiative in the coming months and are extremely excited to begin this program.
Below you will find links to a number of charities we admire and support, as well as what you can read and watch to enrich your understanding of this movement. We encourage you to take part by any means possible. Now is the time for action, for speaking out against evil, for donating and protesting, learning and unlearning, for demanding that voices be heard that should never have been silenced in the first place. No one should be judged, tormented or subjugated based on the color of their skin, least of all by the people who are meant to protect and serve them. We don’t tolerate that, nor should anyone else in this world.
No more violence. No more hatred. No more names.
In love and solidarity,
Co-founders Jimmy, Phil & Raffie
Community Oriented
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Black Lives Matter - Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.
Know Your Rights Camp - Colin Kapernick’s camp, their mission is to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders.
The Dream Defenders - founded in April 2012 after the tragic killing of 17-year old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. That Spring, young Black, Latinx, and Arab youth marched from Daytona Beach Florida to Sanford Florida where Trayvon Martin was killed. With that fire in their bellies, they then went back to their communities and campuses to organize.
Integrate NYC - Integrate NYC is a youth oriented organization designers of solutions, advocates for transformative policy, and visionaries for a more just future. We have learned from the past, and we do not want to stop at desegregation. True, meaningful integration requires a transformation in our school system that centers students and communities of color. We have developed and are advocating for 5Rs of Real Integration to create lasting, revolutionary change in our school system.
Political Reform
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Fair Fight 2020 - Stacy Abram’s organization promoting fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourage voter participation in elections, and educate voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund - The NAACP LDF is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans.
Police Reform
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Communities United For Police Reform - Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change.
Innocence Project - The Innocence Project is a 501 nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating individuals who it claims have been wrongly convicted through the use of DNA testing and to reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
No New Jails NYC - No New Jails NYC formed in September 2018, shortly after the Mayor launched the formal land-use approval process for the jail expansion plan. A direct continuation of the grassroots efforts to close Rikers immediately, No New Jails NYC also draws on the success of previous of jail construction fights in NYC. At the same time, No New Jails NYC is building power in communities throughout New York City and with its incarcerated members. Overwhelmingly, New Yorkers agree that all efforts should be dedicated now to closing all jails on Rikers Island, that there is no need to build any more jails, and that the billions of dollars budgeted for new jails should be redirected instead to community-based resources that will support permanent decarceration.
Documentaries
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Below are suggestions from Vulture who put together a great list of documentary films to help people familiarize themselves with the length, breadth and gravity of the history of police brutality and racism in this country.
Let The Fire Burn (2013)
(streaming on Kanopy)
Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 (2017)
(streaming on Netflix)
LA 92 (2017)
(streaming on Netflix)
Whose Streets? (2017)
(streaming on Hulu)
Copwatch (2017)
(streaming on Amazon Prime)
16 Shots (2019)
(streaming on Showtime)
Do Not Resist (2016)
(rental on Amazon)
The Force (2017)
(streaming on Netflix)
Crime + Punishment (2018)
(streaming on Hulu)
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
(streaming on Netflix)
13th (2016)
(streaming on Netflix)
(streaming on Amazon Prime)
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Between The World And Me
The Hate U Give
White Fragility
So You Want To Talk About Race
The New Jim Crow
They Can’t Kill Us All
How To Be An Antiracist
A More Beautiful and Terrible History
Beloved
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
When They Call You A Terrorst - A Black Lives Matter Memoir
The Fire Next Time
The Underground Railroad
Understanding Mass Incaerceration
Stamped From The Beginning
Podcasts:
Code Switch
Pod Save the People
1610 by the New York Times
Come Through with Rebecca Carroll
Ted Talks:
Baratunde Thurston, "How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time"
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie "The Danger of a Single Story"
Plus an entire series on Ted.com entitled "Talks to help you understand racism in America"