The months after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis have reverberated into massive movements for police reform and anti-racism that have been largely led by young Black people who have organized, protested, and shared educational resources across the internet and cities around the country.
The work of young activists has led cities to pull down statues honoring the Confederacy, pushed school boards to reevaluate the need for police officers in schools, and cities to reconsider police funding. They’ve pushed large swaths of the country to examine the effects of racism in industries across the country and the outcomes that its various iterations have had on the lives of Black Americans. After weeks of protests and education, the movement only seems to be gaining momentum rather than fading to the background of the country’s collective consciousness.
Online, young Americans have been motivated to have conversations with friends and family about racism and implicit biases and have encouraged an open dialogue sharing anti-racism resources, petitions, and tips on discussing the issues with their families. For many Black Americans, the current paradigm shift around anti-racism and police violence isn’t new; they’ve turned to their group chats to process the moment and discuss the movement and their new outlooks on racism in the United States.
BuzzFeed News is looking to speak to young activists who’ve been having conversations with people in their communities, organizing online and offline, and who have worked toward pushing the movement forward in cities across the country.
We want to hear about how you felt in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death, what pushed you toward organizing in your own community and if you’ve noticed a shift in acceptance toward the work you’ve been doing, where you think the movement needs to turn, and what you think comes next as many people commit to anti-racism.
Send us an email or Twitter DM introducing yourself and sharing a little about what you’ve been doing (in person or online) or send us a suggestion about someone in your community who’s been doing this work, and we’ll set up a time to chat further: ryan.brooks@buzzfeed.com. You can also DM me on Twitter: @RyanBrooks.