This has been another heartbreaking month. The number of police shootings in the U.S. is staggering. Check out this interactive map posted on Vox.com, which documents 2,009 police shootings in the U.S. since the shooting in Ferguson, MO.
The backlash against Black Lives Matters Toronto (BLMTO) for stopping the Pride parade and for standing for an investigation of the shootings of Andrew Loku and Jermaine Carby needs to be addressed.
Here are six ways you can support BLM in Canada this week.
1. Send a love letter: BLM Toronto has been inundated with hate mail since their sit in at the Pride Parade. If you support them, send them a love letter.
You can also sign a petition to support and honour Black Lives Matter.
2. Join the vigils against police violence. Vigils are being held across Canada to protest the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. There was a vigil in Edmonton on Saturday and there was a vigil in Vancouver on Sunday. Let us know about other vigils.
3. Support the GoFundme campaigns for the Sterling and Castille families. Scholarship campaigns have been formed for the children, campaign are also being launched to cover legal costs. Contribute if you can.
4. Participate in the anti-racism public community meetings in Ontario: Let's keep demanding change.
5. Police Carding: In 2015, The Globe and Mail contacted 21 police departments across Canada to find out how pervasive carding is in Canada. The results were chilling. Do click through to see the data about departments in your province. There have been some changes being made in municipalities like Toronto since 2015.
6. Learn more: The Toronto Star published this great timeline of the work Black Lives Toronto has been doing. The Black Lives Matter movement is growing and active and, unfortunately, there is a lot of change that still needs to happen to address racism in Canada. Search Facebook and join Black Lives Matter in your community. The inquest into the death of Andrew Loku is ongoing, the deaths of too many people need to be investigated, and a lot of change needs to be made.
