Black lives matter.

Love Your Labels’ vision is a world free of bias, stigma, and shame.

Black lives matter. We condemn acts of violence toward Black Americans at the hands of police officers. We acknowledge the long and unjust history of systemic racism in our society that disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC).

As we enter June, LGBTQ+ Pride month, we celebrate the voices of those who have and continue to stand up against oppression. We remember the trans women of color that led the riot at Stonewall; Martha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera who moved the LGBTQ+ rights movement forward. We call upon our LGBTQ+ community and allies to stand in solidarity with the Black community as they mourn and protest for change. We ask you to take an active, anti-racist role and support eliminating racism from our communities.

Love Your Labels commits to working alongside the members of our community, our partners, and other anti-racist groups to actively dismantle white supremacy and structural racism in America through:

Immediate action:

  • We commit to actively participate in local activism and seek out opportunities to support other groups and organizations doing this work.

  • All Love Your Labels board members will receive additional anti-racist and anti-oppression training.

  • We will sponsor a workshop for our community surrounding implicit bias, allyship, and anti-racism.

Working to Dismantle Racism Through Programming:

  • We will approach every initiative, policy, or program that we undertake as an opportunity to dismantle racism. We will do this explicitly and embrace accountability for our results.

Utilizing Our Voice to Support Black Lives Matter:

  • We will utilize our voice across our network and social media platforms to leverage resources that support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and elevate queer and trans BIPOC voices.

We may not all share the same experiences or face the same obstacles in society, but now, more than ever, it is important to listen to and learn from folks of color, so that we may recognize and address the deep-seated racism in our society.

Resources

Antiracism Education & Understanding

  1. What does it mean to be antiracist?

  2. 6 ways to be antiracist, because being ‘not racist’ isn’t enough (Mashable)

  3. For your bookshelf: “How To Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi

  4. Anti-Racist Organizational Change Resources and Tools

Donate to Queer, BIPOC Organizations

Black Visions Collective (BLVC) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.

BLVC is committed to a long term vision in which ALL Black lives not only matter, but are able to thrive. What we know to be true in order to create this world is that oppressed people, especially Black people, need to build collective power in order to create systems transformation. Through the development of powerful strategic campaigns, we seek to expand the power of Black people across the Twin Cities metro area and Minnesota. This can look like delivering mobilization and action goals as part of a national coalition in which Black lives are centered, but it most often looks like visioning and leading targeted collaborative local campaigns that advance a concrete impact for people’s lives here, while also advancing a shift in public narrative that connects to transformative long-term change.

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