I like to think of community as a plant that needs love and care to thrive, especially right now. Natural disasters and health crises can exacerbate human rights abuses, and create an excuse for governments to further marginalize our most vulnerable communities. It’s hard not to feel defeated, but there are many ways we can fight for our rights and practice social justice while social distancing. Below are 10 ideas for how to keep our roots strong, nurture communities, and bolster human rights in the wake of this global pandemic.
1. Practice social solidarity
Social solidarity means thinking about our community, not just ourselves and personal security. It means staying at home, if you have the privilege to do so, to flatten the curve. It means not hoarding masks, sanitizers, and groceries. The food-supply chain in America is strong, so we can and should buy groceries at a normal pace. Check in on the neighbors, even those with whom you might usually avoid eye contact; if you’re willing and able, send an email to the building or leave a note in the lobby with how to reach you if someone needs help. Offer to pick up groceries or make a pharmacy run and leave the items on your elderly or immunosuppressed neighbor’s doorstep. Just offering to help goes a long way at a time when people are feeling isolated and fearful.
2. Get involved with mutual aid networks
You’ve probably seen this term popping up around the internet over the past few weeks. So what is mutual aid? It refers to people banding together to meet immediate survival needs because of a shared understanding that the government systems in place are not enough to help us. Mutual aid isn’t the same as charity or wealthy people donating money; instead of waiting for elites to solve problems or pass laws and policies, mutual aid networks take power into our own hands. These networks usually coalesce around sudden disasters like earthquakes, and they have a deep, rich history in America — most notably the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program for schoolchildren, which was started in 1969 and lasted through the early 1970s, eventually leading to the creation of the country’s School Breakfast Program. Big Door Brigade is a great resource to learn more about what mutual aid is and how to find local mutual aid projects in your area.
3. Protect immigrant rights
The Trump administration has essentially dismantled the asylum system at the Mexican border during this crisis. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol are still arresting and detaining immigrants, deporting family members, and incarcerating adults and children in detention centers, despite advocates, lawmakers, immigration attorneys, and judges calling on the agency to stop enforcements and halt proceedings. Here’s what you can do:
- Share important “know your rights” info with your community about what to do if ICE shows up at your door.
- Document ICE presence or enforcements in your neighborhood safely, ethically, and effectively using this tip sheet from WITNESS, a human rights nonprofit organization.
- Join RAICES in telling ICE to release all immigrants at risk of coronavirus.
- Volunteer remotely as an attorney, law student, or bilingual translator for Al Otro Lado, and help protect asylum seekers at the border.
- Donate through ActBlue Charities to support emergency humanitarian medical relief at the U.S.-Mexico border.
4. Don’t forget about people who are incarcerated
If we really want to flatten the curve, we also need to remember our community members who are incarcerated. About 2.3 million people are locked up in America on any given day, creating the highest prison and jail population per capita of any country in the world, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Additionally, reports have found many instances of jails and prisons doing a horrible job of providing health care to incarcerated people. Advocates across the country are calling on police departments to reduce arrests, and for prisons to release our elders, those with health conditions that could exacerbate COVID-19 symptoms, and those in pretrial detention (meaning they have not been convicted of anything yet, but couldn’t afford the cash bail). Here’s what you can do:
- Tweet at your mayor and other elected officials, and follow Worth Rises on Twitter for tips.
- Call your governor now and ask them to prioritize the immediate release of the elderly and medically vulnerable from prison. The Innocence Project will connect you directly or call 917-540-5188 to be connected to your governor's office.
- Call your sheriff, chief judge, or state’s attorney. See this resource from the Chicago Community Bond Fund for sample scripts you can adapt.
- Send a letter to your local jail asking authorities to make videos and phone calls free for people in custody; you can use Prison Policy Initiative’s letter template.
- Sign this petition demanding free phone calls for people in prisons right now.
- See this list from the Innocence Project for more ideas.
5. Donate to local food banks
As COVID-19 continues to spread, food banks may face additional pressures to meet the demands of those who have suddenly found themselves out of a job or without free meals at school. If you’re in a position to help (maybe you have extra money in the bank right now because you’re on salary and not taking all those Ubers or going out to meals with friends?), consider donating to your local food bank. Donating money instead of canned or packaged goods gives food banks flexibility over which supplies they’re able to buy, like fresh foods and paper products. Food banks have a better understanding of what their community needs are, and donating money affords them the opportunity to make those decisions. You can find your local food bank at Feeding America.
6. Support small and local businesses
Because of the pandemic, small and independent businesses will be hit hard, forcing them to let employees go or even permanently close their doors. You can support the businesses you love and the communities they employ and serve by:
- Supporting an emergency fund for tipped and service workers
- Purchasing a gift card to use at a more secure time
- Writing a positive Yelp or Google review
- Ordering online if you’re able, and leaving a generous tip when possible
- This is also prime time to catch up on pleasure reading; but if you do, try ordering books from independent bookstores. They need the money much more than big chains or places like Amazon.
7. Find remote volunteer opportunities
There are lots of opportunities to volunteer remotely right now. Check out idealist.org’s virtual/remote options to explore what’s available. This could also be a great time to phone bank for your chosen presidential candidate from the comfort of your living room.
8. Combat misinformation
There is so much information and misinformation about COVID-19 floating around online. Misinformation can escalate unnecessary fear and panic during an already vulnerable time, especially for elderly loved ones or those who consume most of their news via unverified sources reposted on Facebook and WhatsApp. Below are some resources to combat mis- and disinformation. Share them with your networks!
- The Guardian - five ways to fight misinformation about COVID-19
- Poynter - useful advice for how to avoid coronavirus disinformation
- PolitiFact.com - political fact-checker
- FactCheck.org - also has its own coronavirus coverage
- The News Literacy Project - a resource page with trustworthy information about the pandemic and tips for debunking falsehoods
9. Fight xenophobia
The spread of COVID-19 has come with a rise in xenophobic incidents of violence and hate toward the Asian American community. It doesn’t help that President Trump continues to refer to COVID-19 incorrectly as a “Chinese virus.” Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weighed in on the rise of anti-Asian racism on its tip sheet, pointing out that "those of Asian descent...are not at greater risk of spreading COVID-19 than other Americans." You can fight back against this racism and stand in solidarity with the Asian American community by:
- Informing friends/family that being of Asian descent does not increase the chance of getting or spreading COVID-19
- Calling out racism in the media and in your family when you see it, even if they are “just joking”
- Reporting any bias-related incident you witness or are victim of to Stop AAPI hate (after reporting it to the authorities)
10. Fill out the census
It takes just a few minutes and can help determine how billions of dollars and federal funds are allocated to our schools, infrastructure, and public services. Additionally, the census determines the number of seats each state has in Congress and how/where district lines are drawn, even at the most local levels of government. Fill it out here.
Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: People Are Fighting the Coronavirus With Mutual Aid Efforts to Help Each Other
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