Solidarity with Black Lives

Black communities across the country, and globe, are in mourning and in uprising. We are horrified, enraged, in mourning, and sadly not surprised, by the recent brutal murders of Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Sean Reed, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. We say their names and the names of the countless others Black lives who have been murdered due to police and white supremacist​ violence. The depths of violence from white supremacy runs deep. It runs deep in rural spaces. It runs deep in rural, so-called, Vermont and Northern New England where many white folks don’t have an understanding of the racist, intentional, State-based ways whiteness dominates/ed communities in these places. It runs deep everywhere. The struggle towards dismantling white supremacy will lead towards collective liberation, towards economic, social, and political equity.
​
Out in the Open stands in solidarity with all those rising up and organizing for Black lives, self-determination, and liberation. We support and and stand in solidarity with all the ways Black community members mourn and protest. We stand with those on and off the streets organizing for Black lives. We stand with Black communities working to heal and build joy. We stand with Black communities in rage and mourning.

We know that rural queer and trans people have a critical role to play in the struggle. We believe that by virtue of our LGBTQ+ identities, we are obligated to stand with each other in all of our struggles against all forms of oppression and for liberation for all of us. We collectively stand on the shoulders of Black & brown trans women, gender non-conforming folks, and cis LGBQ people, like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major, José Sarria, Stormé DeLarverie, and many others, who ignited a movement for LGBTQ justice and liberation in the United States, well before and at Stonewall. And in our present moment we must fight for racial justice, as a foundational part of our LGBTQ+ movement, not as separately from it.
​
We know solidarity is an action word. We move, we stand, we build, we grow in solidarity. We commit to the long haul work of anti-racist organizing in rural communities.

Resistance and uprising in cities and rural spaces may look different. This we know. Showing up for rural Black community members means not erasing rural Black identities and experiences. It means learning what works in all of our rural contexts in terms of organizing strategies, trying some things out, possibly failing and trying again. It means moving money, power, and resources into the hands of Black folks. And means standing up for racial justice even if it’s just you, on your own, on your dirt road. We’re here to support and do all of that. Whether rurally or not: It means actively standing up and intervening in situations of covert and overt racism in all of our communities.

Here are some resources for acting in solidarity for racial justice here locally:

• Support The Root Social Justice Center by donating and supporting their mutual aid efforts

• Susu Healing Collective fundraiser for CSAs for Black families

• Become a member of the Windham County NAACP

• Lost River Racial Justice Statement and Resources

• Give directly to Black Vermonters

• 26 Ways to be in the Struggle beyond the streets

Ways to support uprising across the country:

• Bail funds across the country

• Support the family of Tony McDade

Resources supporting healing for Black queer and trans folks:

• Black Healing Resources from Black & Pink

• The Nap Ministry

• People's Hub Grief & Renewal Spaces: "We at PeoplesHub are in solidarity with the people rising up to defend the lives of Black people against the violence of white supremacy. We believe that we must resist, be resilient and be restored while also re-imagining a world beyond the police and military state. At all times but especially in moments such as this one, 99 years to the day that Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK was burned to the ground, we recognize that the work of justice is hard and can be detrimental to our health without necessary support. We are offering a space for people to grieve, renew, envision, and support one another. These spaces will be facilitated by a member of the PeoplesHub team, but are peer-led and can shift to meet the needs of those who join."

  • Wed. June 3rd at 6 PM EST | There will be breakout groups for Black people, non-Black POC, and white people. | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsd-yorzsvHNQ3NCmQxYwPkSoIGTfg7w-J

  • Thurs. June 4th at 6 PM EST | There will be breakout groups for Black people, non-Black POC, and white people. | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwodO2qrDovHtIPcXr2ee0pV2ER356z4N4r

To our rural Black queer community - we love you. We see you.