No one should ever be discriminated against or harmed in any way because of the color of their skin. At the High Note, we value our diversity and it’s our diversity that makes us STRONGER.

We stand with our communities of color demanding change.

We need to use our anger and rage to strive for change. We ask everyone to use restraint and patience during these maddening times. Violence and destruction hurt our communities and will not give us the change that is needed.

Want to get involved and work toward change? We’ve compiled a list of resources and ways to get involved. If you see anything we’re missing, let us know!

First of all, register to VOTE.

California offers vote by mail. If you can’t make it or don’t want to go to a polling location, sign up for vote by mail.
Sign up for election reminders tailored to your local community – https://www.vote.org/election-reminders/

Fill out the census if you haven’t already: https://my2020census.gov/

Donate/Volunteer/Join

Here is a list of organizations focused on equality. Check them out, get involved, donate, volunteer, and follow them on social media.

Advancement Project

The Educational Equity Program uplifts educational opportunities for the children who need it the most, starting from our youngest learners (birth to five) in early care and education (ECE) and continuing through our K-12 public education system. We ensure that families, particularly in communities of color and low socioeconomic status neighborhoods, are given the necessary support and resources to access high quality education.

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.

Black Voters Matter Fund

Their goal is to increase power in our communities. Effective voting allows a community to determine its own destiny.

BYP100

Founded in 2013, BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100) is a member-based organization of Black youth activists creating justice and freedom for all Black people.

Campaign Zero

Organization that utilizes research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in the U.S. Mission: “Over 1,000 people are killed by police every year in America. We are calling on local, state, and federal lawmakers to take immediate action to adopt data-driven policy solutions to end this violence and hold police accountable.”

Color of Change

Color Of Change helps people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 1.7 million members, we move decision makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people, and all people. Until justice is real.

Grassroots Law Project

Grassroots Law Project bridges the gap between grassroots organizing and legal expertise in criminal justice reform by bringing millions of us together to address the most pressing and egregious failures of the system, hold powerful actors accountable, and advocate for deep structural change.

Know your Rights Camp

The Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative has identified and teamed up with top defense lawyers and civil rights lawyers nationwide to provide legal resources for those in need.

Last Prisoner Project

The Last Prisoner Project is a nonprofit coalition of cannabis industry leaders, executives, and artists dedicated to bringing restorative justice to the cannabis industry. 15.7M people have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the last decade. 40,000 still sit in jails with some even serving life sentences. The Last Prisoner project will not rest until the last cannabis prisoner has been set free.

National Bail Out

National Bail Out is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration.

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.

The National Police Accountability Fund

National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) is a 501(c)(3) organization and a project of the National Lawyers Guild, which was founded in 1937 as the first racially integrated national bar association. In 1999, NPAP was created as a non-profit to protect the human and civil rights of individuals in their encounters with law enforcement and detention facility personnel. The central mission of NPAP is to promote the accountability of law enforcement officers and their employers for violations of the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

The Marshall Project

The Marshall Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. We achieve this through award-winning journalism, partnerships with other news outlets and public forums. In all of our work we strive to educate and enlarge the audience of people who care about the state of criminal justice.

Unicorn Riot

Nonprofit media collective dedicated to exposing the root causes of social, economic, and environmental issues. Mission: “Our work is dedicated to exposing root causes of dynamic social and environmental issues through amplifying stories and exploring sustainable alternatives in today’s globalized world.”

Support black-owned small businesses in LA.

Here is a compiled doc of black owned businesses in LA. Vote with your wallet. Remember that what you spend your money on is an expression of your values. Support companies and brands who are working toward building the future you want to see.

Looking for more information or resources? Check out this google doc maintained by members of the LA community.

The High Note Stands for Equality