5 Organizations You Should Donate To (Plus 2 Things To Do) Instead of Sharing That Same MLK Jr. Quote
By Sola Onitiri
Racism In this country isn't A thing of the past.
Let's just be honest about that. And while we're doing that, let's stop celebrating Martin Luther King's Day like we've succeeded in building a color-blind future where the effects of racism aren't felt every day. Donald Tr*mp ran on a racist platform and he's now president. Our retailers think it's ok to physically label a black boy as a monkey - so let's cut the BS, shall we?
Martin Luther King died fighting for the rights of black people and other marginalized groups. On this day, we honor him. And if we're going to honor the man who demanded that our country faced the injustice it inflicted on minorities, if we're going to honor the man who put it all on the line and then died for this cause. If we're really going to do it, if we're really going to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy - we're going to do it right.
We're not going to phone it in and tweet the same #MLKDAY quote republicans senators use to try and absolve themselves of a year worth of racist comments and legislation. Not us, we're better than that. So here are the five organizations you should donate to and two things to do on this Martin Luther King's Day.
1. Black Lives Matter
Photo By Black Lives Matter
2. Know Your Rights Camp
3. Me Too Movement
4. New Jersey Institute of Social Justice
5. Time's Up
What You Can Do
You may have noticed that these items don't have descriptions. As someone who constantly gets caught in lengthy, wordy, soap-box-esque literary theatrics, I'm deciding to keep quite this time. Because there's a few things that you need to do. Before clicking on 'Donate Now' I want you to click on 'Learn More' on each of the organization listed. This Martin Luther King Jr Day I want you to do your research. Forget the cable news pundits and the think pieces. Go to the source and read it for yourself - first hand, no buffer, straight up. Learn about what these organizations are fighting for. Because, chances are, you will want to fight alongside them as well.
When you're done researching, tell someone what you've learned. What good is knowledge if you're not going to share it right? Be visible and vocal in your fight against injustice. That's what Martin Luther King Jr. did and it changed the world. So imagine if we did it as well.