Long overdue...our way of joining forces

To move forward and keep our foot on the gas, we all have to step up and do the work

We at From Another Zero and Desde Otro Cero, wanted to express our support for our black brothers and sisters. We hear you, we see you and we stand by you.

I, Alejandra, as the Editor of this blog, did not know how to articulate a piece that could express how I feel about all this. With an open heart, I write today and say that I could not just turn around and continue about my business. As a Mexican woman living on the Tijuana-San Diego border, with a bilingual blog and bilingual podcast who's goal is to serve as a safe space as well as giving a voice to the arts, I want to reassure you that this will continue to be a safe space for all.

After a time of silence and deep reflection, I thought about ways we can start expressing our support. We uploaded the episode ZERO of our podcast on June 1. In it, we explain how this project came about and we also express our support and that our platforms are allies. We also share reading material and links to the description.

Moving forward, this blog will share a thought during the week where we highlight different cultures, family-owned businesses, and other platforms that we should be aware of. We will use the wonderful label and hashtag #DoingTheWorkTogether

I invite you, that are reading right now, that if you know of any business, show, 
performance, podcast, blog, profile, we should highlight and discuss here in From Another 0, let us know in the comments below. Or leave us a voice message on the podcast HERE.

These are some reading materials that we have found and read, to continue to do the work: Learn, support, donate, volunteer, multiply, echo, share... We are quoting from other pages we follow, some books we have read and content we have seen on social media.

From San Diego County:

• The SOULcial Workers: Open Conversations About Mental Health
• Local planner extraordinaire Passion Planner shared on their newsletter the Instagram hashtag  #amplifymelanatedvoices This movement created by @blackandembodied and @jessicawilson.msrd calls on White people and non-BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) to refrain from posting any original content in order to amplify the voices of the Black community. 
• They also shared a spreadsheet with links that gear us towards where we can learn more, support, and/or donate. Click HERE to check it out
• Yelp: List of Black-owned businesses in San Diego County. If you do not have the Yelp App, download it and follow the list so you can get updates.
• Packs Light: 20+ Black-owned businesses in San Diego

LA Times: The spreadsheet that shook the theater world: Marie Cisco’s ‘Not Speaking Out’ list

National Resources:
Theatremania: Black Theater Companies That Could Use Your Donations

The New York Times: High School Students and Alumni Are Using Social Media to Expose Racism

From the Goop Newsletter:
These might be repeats of the Passion Planner list.

POLICE FUNDING AND ACCOUNTABILITY
The Black Lives Matter Global Network fights for racial liberation and justice. They are calling to reappropriate funds from police departments to institutions that support safety and well-being for black communities. 

The National Police Accountability Project, a nonprofit project of the National Lawyers Guild, works to protect human and civil rights in people’s experiences with law enforcement and put an end to police brutality. 

Campaign Zero pursues data-backed policy solutions to address police violence in America. 

Reclaim the Block has been organizing the Minneapolis community to move public funding away from the police department and into the budgets of public institutions that promote public health and safety. 

POLITICAL AND LEGAL ACTION
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is America’s foremost legal organization on the front lines of the fight for racial justice.  

Black Visions Collective is a political organization seeking to secure liberation, justice, and safety for black communities in Minnesota.

PODCASTS:

• Carefree and Black Diaries. Hosted by Shaakira White
• The NYT Popcast: The Long Complicated History of ´Urban´ music. Episode
• The Goop podcast Me and White Supremacy. Episode
• POD SAVE THE PEOPLE. Deray’s New Show On Activism, Social Justice, Culture, And Politics.

BOOKS we read and recommend:

• Conversations in Black: On Power, Politics, and Leadership by Ed Gordon
• Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva
• Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

• Have difficulty understanding? Trevor Noah explains 
• Also from the Passion Planner newsletter, Instagram accounts for some of the Black voices they are listening to and learning from.

@rachel.cargle
@nedratawwab
@aclu_nationwide
@amandaseales
@ihartericka
@roxanegay74
@laylafsaad
@ibramxk
@iamrachelricketts
@therapyforblackgirls
@blessingmanifesting

We would love for the list to continue, so if you have any suggestions, please add them to the comments.

Let us all work together.

With love,

Alejandra