ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Each week, The FADER rounds up a small selection of calls for donations from causes furthering the goals of equality and social justice, with a focus on areas that are overlooked in modern media coverage. If you have any comments or suggestions for the roundup, contact us on Twitter or Instagram.
Black Hills Legal Defense Fund
The Black Hills Legal Defense Fund supports Indigenous People and their allies who were arrested last week while protesting the desecration of sacred Indigenous lands and Donald Trump’s attempted Mount Rushmore fireworks show.
"Mt. Rushmore was stolen from the Lakota people in our treaties and human rights violated. This stolen land was taken from us and then the faces of four former US Presidents were carved into the mountain. These US presidents were colonizers that committed acts of genocide against Indigenous and BIPOC people throughout Turtle Island. At a time of social and racial reckoning in this country Trump has perpetuated a White Supremacist narrative that has further divided the country. As a group of Indigenous People and our allies we are committed to the dismantling of White Supremacy and systemic racism in this country." — Black Hills protestors
Miss Blanks' Gender Affirmation Surgery Fund
Melbourne-based Samoan-Australian rapper and club promoter Miss Blanks, aka Sian Van Der Muelen, is fundraising AUD$50,000 (USD$35,000) for life-changing gender affirmation surgery. Funds raised will go towards surgery and after-care.
"For the longest time, I have been battling with body dysphoria and as a trans woman/fa'afafine, the idea of surgery has been this pipe dream. [...] The current climate and global conversation needs to encompass care and support for those that are forced to live, engage, and face scrutiny due to a colonial cisgender and binary-lens. This fund and these surgical procedures is survival for me. I’ve worked hard to save in the past but there’s always been something that has come up where I’ve had to relinquish funds to those around me (usually family and community) that have required it more, or have required my time, energy, resources, and tools to the point where there's nothing left for me. But this cycle can’t continue if I want to do something for me that is ultimately life saving." — Miss Blanks
Louisiana Trans Advocates
The past week has seen Louisiana-based trans women Shaki Peters and Draya McCarty tragically murdered. Louisiana Trans Advocates is an 8-year-old community organization which actively supports and uplifts trans people in the state.
"We're more than just a transgender rights organization. We're a grassroots force of nature, deeply rooted in the communities we serve. Our leadership is cultivated from our social support groups, which are some trans people's only opportunity each month to be themselves. We're an organization for trans people, by trans people, and we believe that every single trans person in our state can contribute to the movement for trans liberation." — Louisiana Trans Advocates mission statement
NOISEFORNOW/Seeding Sovereignty COVID-19 Relief
NOISEFORNOW and Seeding Sovereignty are raising money to distribute PPE in Indigenous communities. For each mask or bandana purchased, one will be donated to the Indigenous Impact Community Care Initiative for distribution to reservations and pueblos, with money raised also going towards abortion funds for Indigenous and undocumented people.
“The number of reasons to support Indigenous efforts is the same as the number of souls who inhabit the world. White gluttony tried to kill off the very people who understood the language of the land. We chose to be owners instead of guardians, and we became a cancer. If we want to survive, we must support Indigenous efforts.” — Fiona Apple on supporting the NOISEFORNOW/Seeding Sovereignty fundraiser
Protect The Peoples Emergency PPE Fund
Protect The Peoples is seeking $200,000 to provide Indigenous communities with urgently needed medical supplies and PPE. COVID-19 infection and death rates are 10 times higher in the Navajo Nation than in Arizona, despite the tribe reporting its first case nearly two months after Arizona.
"You're telling people, 'Wash your hands for 20 seconds multiple times a day,' and they don't have running water. Or you're saying, 'Go buy groceries for 2-3 weeks and shelter in place and don't come out,' but people can't afford groceries for 2-3 weeks. So it's just a setup for frustration and concern by the population here." — Loretta Christensen, Chief Medical Officer for the Navajo Nation
Ashaninka Peoples COVID-19 Support Fund
The Ashaninka People of the Amônia River (Marechal Thaumaturgo, Acre, Brazil) are making an urgent appeal for support for Indigenous and non-Indigenous families who live in the forest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds raised will provide support kits for 1800 families.
"The Ashaninka Association of the Amônia River – Apiwtxa was created in 1993 as a strategy to strengthen our community. It functions as an operational arm of the community so that we can manage our projects and articulate ourselves from a social and political point of view. It is through the Apiwtxa Association that we, Ashaninka of the Amônia River, carry out our projects. They aim at the well-being of our people, and surrounding communities – as is the case with this campaign." — Ashaninka Association mission statement
Black Trans COVID-19 Community Response Fund
BTAC (the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition) is raising money to support Black transgender people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds raised will form a rapid response grant program for emergency food, shelter, utilities, transport, and healthcare, and be used to create care packages including PPE, personal hygiene, and safe sex supplies.
"Established in 2011, The National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition is the only social justice organization led by black trans people to collectively address the inequities faced in the black transgender human experience. Through our national advocacy center and affiliate state chapters we work daily, advocating to end poverty, discrimination in all forms and its human inequities faced in health, employment, housing and education that are rooted in systemic racism, to improve the lived experience of transgender people." — BTAC mission statement
#JusticeForFella
Wayne Fella Morrison was a Blak (Australian First Nations) man who was suffocated in police custody in South Australia in September 2016. He died in a police van with seven officers and no CCTV inside. The #JusticeForFella fund is raising AUD$40,000 (USD$28,000) for Wayne's family to travel to Sydney for the coronial inquest into Wayne's death.
"We have already done and will continue to do a lot of campaigning and media to get the systemic change that we want to see, so that no other family has to go through this. [...] Wayne’s name has travelled across the world and his story has been shared throughout the nations. But there is so much more work to be done from here, so we thank you for helping us carry the weight of this struggle. We know it’s going to be a long road to justice." — The family of Wayne Fella Morrison
Neighbourhood Food Hub
Photographer Luis Mora (who has worked with FADER in the past) has put out a call for assistance for Neighbourhood Food Hub, a Toronto-based organization helping food-insecure households. Toronto residents with cars are needed to help deliver boxes of food, but you can also donate here from anywhere in the world to help the efforts.