We Stand for Black Lives

We're unbelievably lucky to have built a community of creators from all walks of life—all shapes and sizes, with different interests, from all over the world. And in times like this, we owe it to each of you to make it unequivocally clear where we stand. Black lives matter, Black voices must be amplified, and we all must do everything in our power to ensure that Vocal is a platform where Black creators can feel safe and secure trusting us with their stories.

That's why, since the launch of Vocal in 2016, we have believed it important to safeguard our communities and our creators from malicious beliefs. Every story on Vocal is, and has always been, reviewed by a team of moderators before it's published to ensure that racism and other harmful content cannot find a place on our community. We strive to provide a platform for diverse opinions—but we firmly believe that racism is not a matter of differing opinions. Basic human rights are not up for debate.

We know that racism didn't begin on Memorial Day 2020 with the murder of George Floyd. But due to a culmination of so many factors, the world is now listening, and the decades of organizing efforts by Black women and men in America are finally being heard. Now is the time to speak up, and to do so loudly. We've put together some tools resources for any creator who wants to help make a difference and stand up to hate.

Give your money

Here are some organizations that can use donations to directly support the cause.

Bail funds:

• National Bail Fund Network
• National Bail Out
• The Bail Project
• LGBTQ Bail Fund
• (NYC) Free Them All for Public Health
• To give more locally, here's a list of local bail funds by state

Select mutual aid—community organizations that invest into feeding, housing, organizing, and supporting local communities directly:

• Anti-Police Terror Project
• We All We Got San Diego
• SisterSong: National WOC Reproductive Justice Collective
• Pop-Up Food Shelves, Twin Cities
• Cleveland Recovers
• Bread and Roses Fund
• Great People Helping Great People
• Black Queer + Intersectional Collective
• Mutual Aid NYC

National Orgs:

• ACLU: Racial Justice Demands
• NAACP Legal Defense Fun
• Reclaim the Block
• Campaign Zero
• The Marshall Project

Memorial funds for victims:

• Fund for Gianna Floyd, daughter of George Floyd.
• Dion Johnson Memorial Fund
• Tony McDade Memorial Fund
• Breonna Taylor Memorial Fund
• David McAtee Memorial Fund

Here's a useful doc compiling even more aid funds, organizations, and local businesses that could use donations.

And here's a community-sourced list of national organizations supporting Black owned businesses, as well as local Black owned businesses by location you can donate to directly.

Give your time

If you don't have the money to spare, that doesn't mean you can't contribute.

Petitions to sign:

• Justice for Breonna Taylor
• Ahmaud Arbery: Pass the Georgia Hate Crime Bill
• Mandatory Life Sentence for Police Brutality
• #BLM: Defund the Police
• Justice for Tony McDade
• Petition to Abolish Prison Labor
• Here's a list of even more petitions to sign
• Here's an extensive list of text message and email actions you can take to virtually sign petitions

How to donate money without any cost to you:

• This video is full of ads, and is donating all revenue to BLM. Play it on repeat!

If you're able to dedicate your time to showing up and protesting, here's a guide to finding protests and demonstrations in your area.

Stay safe

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Protect and preserve yourself so you stay safe and don't run out of steam—your efforts will be needed in the future as much as they are right now.

For Black creators—mental health resources and community support:

• National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Black Mental Health Crisis Hotline
• Black Visions Collective
• Loveland Therapy Fund
• National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color
• The Unplug Collective

Resources for safely protesting:

• What to Know if You're Attending a Protest (via TimeOut)
• Comprehensive list of legal help, how to treat wounds, how to photograph protests, and more
• Here's a helpful infographic from Amnesty International on protest safety and preparedness
• Here's a guide from the ACLU detailing your rights during any scenario at a protest.

This list is just a starting point of resources—there are so many organizers out there doing the work, but if you're not sure where to begin, these are some resources and causes that our team has found helpful.

Be sure to also take a look at our story highlights on Instagram for swipe ups to some other direct links, and join us in our Voices for Change Challenge, where we're pledging a $10 donation per entry to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories with us, especially during times like this, when those stories are ones of grief, and anger, and hope. We promise to do our part to support our community and our Black creators, long after the cause stops trending on social media.