This document aims to combine a variety of resources and aggregate them in one spot for the people of Chicago during this historic time. To submit information to be added in, updated, or corrected please use this form. This list was compiled using links and sources from an array of people, so we give thanks to those who had already been doing the work & those who are furthering it!
Enjoying the resource? Consider Venmo-ing: @kiahgrace (or tag me on IG with some virtual love!)
---> Shortlink to share document: https://bit.ly/chiblmcommunityresources
Table of Contents
Chicago Protests, Rallys, Marches
Tips for Deciding Which Protests to Attend - Instagram Post
Chicago Organizations to Support
Food/Supply Donations & Distributions
Donations (give food/volunteer time)
Individuals Raising Funds for Mutual Aid (pay them!)
Jail Support/Incarceration Resources
Police & Prison Abolition Resources
*Petitions for Black Americans who are Victims of Failed Systems
Tips & Tools for Smart Activism
Chicago Specific Resources
Art Opportunities
- Chicago Protest Photos for Use for Flyers/Social Media from @DDesigns
- Community Art: Repurpose Boards with Mural Moves
- Design for Justice - Complimentary Graphic Work for Black and/or queer folk
- For the People Artist Collective
- Help Tara Betts Open a Community Art Space on the Southside
- Join the Black Joy Experience Artist Collective
- Prison and Neighborhood Arts Project
- The Honey Comb Network - Co-working & Co-creating for POCS Fundraiser
Black Owned Business
- Black Coffee Shops - Instagram Post
- Black-Own Restaurants - Instagram Post
- Black-Owned Restaurants, Boutiques, Hair - Instagram Post
- Black Owned - Comprehensive Spreadsheet by Neighborhood
- Black People Eats & Their Black Restaurant Relief Fund
- Connecting people to black-owned food and beverage companies in your city.
Chicago Protests, Rallys, Marches
*For your safety do NOT mark “attending” on Facebook events & please note it is up to YOU to vet protest events and decide which you are comfortable attending.
*If you experience police brutality or misconduct while protesting, contact BLM Chicago for support.
*If you witness police using excess force and are able to document it, share with the @invisibleinstitute.
*General tips for safe protesting can be found below in the “General Resources” section.
Tools
- The CPDP takes Chicago Police misconduct records and makes them accessible & useful to the public.
- If you are protesting and want to know specific kinds of police info to look at on a map, contact @beamalsky & @emmacperez on Instagram.
Protests/Actions/Events
Aggregate lists to follow:
- Do more than “stand with” Black Lives Matter in Chicago: Daily Action Guide for White folks and Allies
- The best way to use this document is to bookmark it and consistently return to it, asking yourself, “How can I contribute today?” We will do our best to keep it as up-to-date as possible.
- Sign up for email updates.
Chicago Organizations to Support
*Any organizations below that are doing work specific to food insecurity, donations, mutual aid, or organizing work in light of #BLM will be specifically noted. Are you looking to receive mutual aid? Check out tab 2 of this list for opportunities.
- Follow their Instagram to get updates about their food distribution times.
- Support their alt_market, a free outdoor market in the Austin neighborhood.
- Become a virtual pen-pal to an LGBTQ-identified person in prison (every 3rd Monday).
- If you’ve experienced police brutality at the front lines, contact them here.
- Sign up for mutual aid or donate goods.
- Follow on Instagram for updates on mutual aid opportunities.
- Support them by buying their “Pride is a protest” tee.
- “Taking donations to support community activists and organizers as they dedicate their time, money, safety, and energy towards justice.”
- Venmo: @chicago-aof
- Follow their twitter for protest updates.
- “We’re giving away $10,000 to feed the youth. Match our money”
- Chicago Torture Justice Center
- Chicago Urban League
- Chi Nations Youth Council
- Circles and Ciphers
- Equity and Transformation
- Fourtune House
- Follow their IG account for organized protests and info from other organizers.
- Donate to their project “Farm. Food. Familia Mutual-Aid Meals”, which delivers hot food to Southside families.
- Check their twitter for supply distribution info - both for volunteers & those in need.
- Use this form if you’re 18-2 & in need of emergency relief!
- Summer of Hope program supply sign up.
- General donations: https://www.igrowchicago.org/donate/
- Donate an “imagination box”, which delivers a weekly box of activities that include materials and instructions for each week day, a book and healthy snacks to families. Other volunteer opportunities available.
- Currently collecting documentation of excessive police force at protests, submit here.
- Follow their Instagram for food drive updates.
- Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
- Kuumba Lynx
- Liberation Library / SemiColon Bookstore
- Mollasses Chicago
- Mutual aid fund for Black Trans & Gender Non Conforming Folk.
- Donate, sign-up to help with a small business clean-up, or do wellness checks for seniors struggling from effects of Covid.
- Operating the Chicago Family Pairing program, which connects Northside families with those on the South and West sides for grocery delivery.
- Venmo: @onthegroundchi
- A mobile pop-up experience connecting communities with organizations and businesses in their neighborhood.
- Donate here and get info on their week of June 1 food distribution here.
- Southside Blooms
- Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation
- Southside Together Organizing for Power
- Sweetwater Foundation
- Thankful For Chicago
- The CornerStore Chicago
- Connecting youth to mental health resources
- Follow them on Instagram for get info on free meals. Pass them out, bring them, or eat.
- Support their Chicago Women’s Small Business Relief Fund
Clean-Ups
- Can’t clean? Send them $$$.
Coronavirus Resources
- Find a FREE Community-Based Testing Location or your Nearest CVS, which now offer Free Testing, or directly schedule your self-testing
- Community based sites are free & open to all, no symptoms needed! CVS is now also offering free tests to those most in need.
- Search for food, legal help, financial assistance, mental health resources, etc across the city.
- Chicago COVID-19 Hardship & Help Fund
- Chicago COVID-19 Mutual Aid Volunteer Sign-up
- City of Chicago Coronavirus Resource Center
- How to protect yourself, what to do if you’re sick, & how to get tested
- Available & free southside clinics, what to do if you have covid, FAQ, unemployment, mutual aid, etc
- Daily Coronavirus Updates for Illinois
- Financial Assistance for Transportation to COVID 19 Testing Sites
- Free Covid-19 testing clinic (tweet)
- Free Covid-19 Testing Sites List
- Free PPE Kit from Healthy Hood Chi
- Free State Run Testing Sites
- Hoodoise Covid-19 Mental Health Downloadable Guides
- Protest Safety: How to Protest During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- WE GOT US: Covid19 Community Response Fundraiser
- Volunteer Opportunities for Covid-19
- Volunteer or Donate to CORE Covid Initiatives
Food/Supply Donations & Distributions
*Anyone without internet access can text 312-436-2280 to ask about resources in their area.
*Times of distributions are frequently changing. I apologize if any of this becomes outdated. See which grocery stores are open/closed in your area here.
Donations (give food/$$$/or volunteer time)
- Every Monday and Friday - Lincoln Square Ravenswood Solidarity Network Donation Drive
- Every Wednesday - Food Supply Drop/Distribution with Time Being Tattoos
- Airgokiss Non-Cash Distribution List
- A great resource for those looking to donate products/food.
- Brave Space Alliance Food Pick Up/Drops Offs
- Chicago BirthWorks Love Packages for Black Mommas
- Donate to those helping feed CPS Students
- EyeLoveYouCamp Creative Relief Package
- Experimental Station Market Produce Boxes
- Feed the Westside
- Family Pairing Form for Grocery Delivery
- Getting Grown Collective
- Donate to their project “Farm. Food. Familia Mutual-Aid Meals”, which delivers hot food to Southside families.
- Our Mothers Light - Donations Requested for Westside Mothers
- Pills 2 Me - Looking for Drivers to deliver meds
- Redistribution of Wealth for Non-Black Allies Fund
- Sponsor Community Kitchen Box Lunches
- Thankful for Chicago Food Drive
- Sign up here to give free food/donate.
Distributions (get food)
- CLICK FOR MAP OF OPEN GROCERY STORES, DONATIONS, + FOOD POP-UPS
- Every Wednesday - Food Supply Drop/Distribution with Time Being Tattoos
- Every Thursday - Greater Grow Englewood Food Box pickup
- Every Friday - Southside Care Package Pop-Ups
- Every Sat. Starting June 6th - Healthy Hood Chi Fresh Produce Pop-Up
- Apply for Snap Food Assistance Online
- Black-owned Chicago Farms and Food Distributors
- Healthy Food Hub
- Urban Growers Collective
- Trinity United Church of Christ Farmer’s Market
- Your Bountiful Harvest
- Brave Space Alliance Food Pick Up/Drops Offs
- Use this tool to find food near you.
- DM @delacremescholars or email delacremescholars@gmail.com to get food delivered
- Experimental Station Market Produce Boxes
- EyeLoveYouCamp Creative Relief Package
- Feed the Westside
- Lincoln Square/Ravenswood Solidarity Network Request Form
- SunTimes resource list for those experiencing food insecurity
- Social Works Chicago
- Follow their Instagram to stay updated on when their food drives.
- Sign up here to receive free food.
Individuals Raising Funds for Mutual Aid (pay them!)
- Donate to their sex worker mutual aid fund.
- Posting volunteer and donation opportunities on her Instagram, mainly serving the Englewood community. Update for additional opportunities coming Saturday.
- Aid & Donations for healing, support, and community restoration. DM or message if you need more options on how to send donations.
- Venmo: JBambii18
- CashApp: $JBambii
- Combatting spiritual and physical burn-out by creating self-care packages for black folx
- Email molasseschicago@gmail.com if you or someone you know needs a box
- Venmo: onyx-Engobor
- Cashapp: $moongoddexx69
Local Business Assistance
- Black-Owned Restaurant Relief Fund
- Chicagoland Places That Need Help - Aggregated List
- Chicago Business Support Network
- “We need an army of volunteers to call businesses and recruit them to share their stories on the platform. We already have a list of 380 businesses that were affected over the last week.” → Volunteer
- Or, Request Financial Assistance.
- Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce Small Business Repairs - Donations
- Small Business Relief Volunteering by My Block, My Hood, My City
Jail Support
- Jail Support Actions
- Jail Support Legal Liason Helpful Information
- Rides for those being released from Cook County - Tweet
Organizations
Local Journalism
- AirGo Radio
- Block Club Chicago
- City Bureau
- Chicago Defender
- Chicago Reader
- Invisible Institute: investigative reporting to hold public institutions accountable
Take Action
- Call to Action: 5 Steps Toward Chicago Police Accountability/Defunding - Instagram Post
- Chicago Hospitality Accountability Database Demands
- “A constantly evolving accountability document! Learn about the anti-racist practices of your favorite establishments before spending your money there. Please email with any feedback, questions, or concerns. Our goal is to make sure that not only do Black Lives Matter in the Chicago Hospitality Community but that they also THRIVE. That means we all have work to do and this document will help us keep our industry accountable.”
- Defund the CPD Email Autodraft
- Defund the CPD Training Handouts & Resources from Black Abolition Network
- Hands Up Act - Action Steps for Illinois Residents
- How to Defund the CPD
- Police Free Schools - CPS Students Call to Action
General Resources
Art Projects & Opportunities
- Art Hoe Microgrant for POCs/Black Artists
- Black Artist Fund (make donations, buy art for the cause, or nominate someone)
- Black Creators Fund (nominate someone or yourself!)
- Black Museums and Artists Spreadsheet
- Black Creative Ecosystems to Support - IG Post
- Database of African Creatives
- Donate to a Cause and get a free art print
- Download Free Protest Posters from Hayley Powers
- Equity Design Resources
- Free Design Work for Organizers
- Help Build a Black Radical Art School
- Join (or learn about!) the design justice network
- Pro Bono Design Work for #BLM
- “Through the sale of highly-curated original images from Black photographers, we raise funds to support causes that align with our vision of Black prosperity. We stand in solidarity with our greater Black family to take immediate action for the improvement of Black lives. Our intention is to replenish those we've been nourished by.”
Apps/Downloads/& Tools
- takes Chicago Police misconduct records and makes them accessible & useful to the public
- This is a tool for anonymizing photographs taken at protests.
- Learn about it and download.
- A national database that documents campaign funds current state and local politicians accepted from law enforcement-affiliated PACs since 2015.
- State-of-the-art end-to-end encryption (powered by the open source Signal Protocol) keeps your conversations secure. We can't read your messages or listen to your calls, and no one else can either. Privacy isn’t an optional mode — it’s just the way that Signal works. Every message, every call, every time.
- Includes features to blur out faces of protestors and block phone tracking
#Blacklivesmatter
- Official BLM Website
- Orgs Supporting Black Trans People
- Movement for Black Lives
- Exhaustive Google Doc of BLM Links
Coronavirus Resources
- CDC Coronavirus Information Page
- Covid-19 Safety in a Protest - IG Post
- Covid Symptom Tracker - App
- Free Testing at CVS Nationwide
- Recipes, Remedies, Resources for COVID
Connect to National Protests
Black Mental Health
- Black Emotional and Mental Health
- Black Girls Smile
- Black Virtual Therapist Collective
- Chicago Black Therapist Directory by @run.2.bq
- Collect a Reparation Plant via Undergroundplant.trade
- Dive In Well
- Free Therapy for Black Frontline Protestors
- Free Mental Health Resources for Black TQGN Folks
- Heal Haus
- Inclusive Therapists
- Liberate Meditation
- Loveland Therapy Fund
- National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network
- Open Path Sliding Scale Therapy
- Protect Your Energy: Canned Responses for When Calling In Black is Not Enough
- Therapy for Black Girls
- The Unplug Collective
- Womanly Magazine
Instagram accounts:
- @ancestorsfuture
- @blackgirlinohm
- @blackgirlmagik
- @Blackmentalwellness
- @diveinwell
- @harrietsapothecary
- @healhaus
- @healingwhileblack
- @jordanpickellcounselling
- @nqttcn
- @selfcareisforeveryone
- @thenapministry
- @Therapyforblackgirls
- @girltrek
- @abucketforthewell
- @embraceyourunknown
Black-Owned Business
- Discover black owned businesses & black entrepreneurs
- Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores.
Jail Support/Incarceration Resources
Petitions
Organizations
- Project Nia works to end the incarceration of children and young adults by promoting restorative and transformative justice practices.
Legal Aid
Bail
- Bail Funds & Legal Help by City
- Freedom Fund - LGBTQ Focused Bail
- National Bail Out
- Split a donation between 70+ community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers
- The Bail Project
Aid
Protester Safety/Resources
- The funds are designed to assist with any medical expenses or hardships related to contracting COVID-19 as a result of protest participation including but not limited to:
- Necessities: food/groceries, transportation, child care
- Job Support: loss of wages, or job termination
- Medical expenses: physical injuries following political participation and/or COVID-19 testing or other expenses
- Antisurveillance Protest Guide
- Basic First Aid Tips - Twitter Thread
- Covid-19 Safety in a Protest - IG Post
- Covid-19 Relief Fund for Protesters (Coming soon!)
- Creature Friend Finder
- If your friend gets arrested for protesting, these volunteers will team up to locate them.
- This is a tool for anonymizing photographs taken at protests.
- Kettling - What it is & Know Your Rights
- Know Your Rights
- Tear Gas Tips - IG Post
- Things to remember to protest safely - IG Post
Tips for Deciding Which Protests to Attend - Instagram Post
- Tips to Know - What to wear, bring, etc
- Tips for the Streets - IG Post
- Protest first aid, deleting digital footprint, lessons from Hong Kong, cop spotting, + more
- Protesting During a Pandemic Google Doc & IG Post
- Removing Metadata from Protest Pics - IG Post
- What Are My Rights - Instagram Account
Radical Readings
- Black & NDN (Native Indian) Solidarity Resources
- Collection of Revolutionary Black Texts (PDFs in Google Drive)
- Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture
- Extremely Comprehensive Masterlist on how to Dismantle Systemic Racism
- Healing Justice, Restorative Justice, and Abolition Resources from Transformharm.org
- More Free Black Lit
- Mapping Your Role in a Social Change Ecosystem
- Race Theory Reading List
- Racial Capitalism - Bibliography & Further Reading
- The Radical Database
- What to say when people deny the reality of what’s happening right now - IG Post
For Non-Black Folk
- A Guide to Allyship in the George Floyd Protests
- Allyship Resources for Non-Black Folx
- Anti-Racist Parenting Ideas from Curious Parenting - IG Account
- Anti-Racist Resources for Young Children, Families, and Caregivers
- Anti-Racism Book/Podcast/Movie List for YT Folk
- Educational Resources for Non-Black Folx
- "Educate Ourselves so Black People Don’t Have To” Public Syllabus
- Explaining Black Lives Matter to Your Parents
- The White Shift
- Calling white women into the critical and urgent work of uprooting and unlearning racism, one story at the time.
Police & Prison Abolition Resources
- “This is a resource compiling proposals under consideration by decision-makers for defunding and disarming the police, reducing their role in the community, and empowering alternatives. They are compatible with a view "towards the horizon of abolition," and avoid contributing to the legitimacy of policing as an institution for community safety.”
- Alternatives to Policing - Flyers
- “Are Prisons Absolete?” by Angela Davis Instagram Book Club
- Building a Police-Free Future: Frequently-Asked Questions
- Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities - PDF
- No More Money for Police
- Podcasts on Policing
- Prison Abolition FAQ & #8toabolition project by @sheabutterfemme
- Reading Towards Abolition: A Reading List on Policing, Rebellion, and the Criminalization of Blackness
- Understanding Reformist Reform vs. Abolitionist Reform
- On the Road with Abolition: Assessing Our Steps Along the Way Panel Webinar by Critical Resistance ft. Mariame Kaba
- The End of Policing - FREE ebook
- Understanding the Role of Police Towards Abolitionism: On Black Death as an American Necessity, Abolition, Non-Violence, and Whiteness
- What do we do with abusers like R. Kelly if we abolish prisons?
- What is community policing?
- Who’s Left: Prison Abolition - Comic Strip
- Challenging “8 Can’t Wait”
Understanding Bail
- After Cash Bail: A Framework for Reimagining Pretrial Justice
- Detaining the Poor: How money bail perpetuates an endless cycle of poverty and jail time
Take Action
- #8toabolition Campaign
- 15 Percent Pledge
- Earn It Act - Sign Petition to Reject Act that Ends Encryption
- Everything You Need to Know About the Hands Up Act - Instagram Post
- How to help Oluwatoyin Salau
- Justice for Breonna Taylor - Action Steps
- “Darnella Frazier, the brave young woman who filmed the murder of George Floyd, deserves peace and healing. In addition to the trauma of watching a black man be murdered by police, she has had to deal with trolls, bullies and ignorant people harassing her online. Darnella played an important one and should be uplifted, not shamed.”
- Instagram to easily access and boost crowdfunding requests, prioritizing black + brown marginalized ppl
- Pen Pal Initiative In solidarity with our Incarcerated Family
- Petition List (Ahmaud Arbery, Tony Mcdade, Tamir Rice, George Floyd + more)
Petitions for Black Americans who are Victims of Failed Systems
- Demand Sandra Bland's case reopened
- Julius Jones is innocent. Don't let him be executed by the state of Oklahoma.
- Free Willie Simmons who has served 38 years for a $9 robbery
- Justice for Alejandro Martinez who was murdered while walking home from school. No arrests have been made.
- Demand accountability from Portland law enforcement and officials for Tete Gulley who was found hanging from a tree.
- Drop All Charges Against Incarcerated Trafficking Survivor Chrystul Kizer!
- Free Siyanda who was sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison after defending herself.
- Reopen Kendrick Johnson’s Murder Case and demand accountability from investigators
- Justice for Emerald Black who was attacked by San Leandro Police Department while pregnant and subsequently miscarried.
- Indict the Trump Administration & the U.S. government in the United Nations for systemic racial discrimination & killing African-Americans
- Demand Justice for Angelese Rock and Shauntae Chambes and demand accountability from Orlando Police
- Demand Justice for Maurice Gordon who was killed by New Jersey Police while he waited for a tow truck.
- Demand Justice for Elijah McClain who was murdered by Aurora Police while walking home.
- Demand the release of unedited footage of Jamee Johnson’s murder
- Support the family of Kayla Moore, a Black trans woman murdered by Berkeley Police, as they appeal her wrongful death suit
- Support Jamarion Robbinson’s family as they seek legal recourse for his brutal murder at the hands of Atlanta Police.
- Demand the closing of Rikers in the name of Layleen Polanco, an Afro-latina trans woman who died in solitary confinement because of a $500 bail.
- Help make prosecutors transparent and accountable.
- Spreadsheet of GoFundMes, personal accounts, memorials, and bails-outs for white and non-black POC to donate to. Boost it on Instagram. Submit to be included in spreadsheet.
Tips & Tools for Smart Activism
- A Guide to Dealing with Resource Overload
- Disability Inclusive Protest Etiquette Guide - IG Post
- How to Reshare a Post Responsibly - IG Post
- How to Rest & Recover while you fight for social change - IG Post
- Image Scrubber
- This is a tool for anonymizing photographs taken at protests.
Unique Ways to Contribute
- BLM Bracelets to Support Chicago Bond Fund
- BLM Stickers to Support Reclaim the Block
- Bookmarks for prison abolition
- Donate to a Cause and get a free art print
- Give a Black Person a Plant
- No money to donate? Run this playlist in the background.
- No money to donate? Stream this video!
- Pay for a black woman’s therapy
- Text POLICE to 504-09 and easily and automatically sign a petition to end police brutality and send letters to your officials.