#SixNineteen: Nationwide M4BL Actions to Defend Black Lives Juneteenth Weekend

#SixNineteen: M4BL Actions to Defend Black Lives in Washington D.C. & Nationwide

To honor our ancestors and to lay a path to freedom for future generations, we are calling
for the #SixNineteen mobilization. We invite you to join us by taking action from home,
in your community, or in Washington, D.C.

When: Juneteenth weekend, Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 21, 2020

Where: San Francisco Bay Area & throughout USA; also online actions

M4BL actions: take to the streets or participate digitally. Find in-person actions in your
zip code and/or virtual actions here:

https://map.sixnineteen.com/?source=web_module
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#SixNineteen: Defend Black Lives Mobilization

Juneteenth is a day that commemorates Black liberation from slavery, honors Black freedom and Black resistance, and centers Black people’s unique contribution to the struggle for justice in the U.S. This Juneteenth is a rare moment for our communities to proclaim in one voice that Black Lives Matter, and that we won’t tolerate anything less than justice for all our people.

In response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless other Black people who have been killed at the hands of vigilantes or law enforcement, millions have taken to the streets with a clear and distinct call to end police violence and to defund police. Combined with COVID-19 and four years of Trumpism, Black communities are demanding:

--Justice
--Accountability
--Divestment from policing
--Investment in healthy, sustainable communities

The millions of us are here to remind lawmakers that we are bigger than monied interests, including police unions and right-wing think tanks. We know the path away from this disaster. After years of anti-Black violence and animosity for Black life, we demand the defunding of police and an investment in Black communities.

We also call for the resignation of Donald Trump, who met our calls for justice with a brutal wave of repression that has added fuel to the fire of racism and systemic inequity.

M4BL Demands: https://sixnineteen.com/demands/

M4BL Principles: https://sixnineteen.com/principles/
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M4BL Protocol for Public Risk/Harm Reduction While Protesting during COVID-19

Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14aCsBMjlpFb7JwcF4kYo0oyFc3aXpN6jf0piDl6RtVA/edit

We believe that protest will save Black lives -- but only you can decide if it is worth the risk for you. We trust you to make the best decisions for yourself and your community. We commit to doing everything in our power to protect you, to minimize risks, and to value you and your health.

The M4BL #SixNineteen Mobilization includes virtual actions for those who wish to engage from home during COVID-19.

To control the spread of the novel coronavirus while in person protesting, PLEASE:

--Wear cloth face coverings/masks; they protect other people if the wearer is infected, even if they’re not showing symptoms.
--Practice physical distancing, staying more than six feet away from people who are not a part of your household, if possible.
--Use hand sanitizer often.
--Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
--Avoid touching surfaces.
--Minimize contact by multiple people with commonly used surfaces like water bottles, bullhorns, handrails, and barricades
--Minimize yelling and singing. Make noise with drums, tambourines.
--If you use a megaphone, it should be thoroughly sanitized between different speakers

If you have the following symptoms, please DO NOT participate in person. Even if you test negative for COVID-19 but have these symptoms, please refrain from in-person actions, and instead, consider engaging in online actions.
--Fever
--Shortness of breath
--Cough
--Headache
--Loss of smell or taste

CDC: Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing serious complications from COVID-19 illness.

CDC COVID-19 link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
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