This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCD chapter.

While protests are a powerful way to demand public attention, protests are not for everyone. All concerns are valid, whether they include feeling uncomfortable with police presence at the protests, not wanting to be in a large group of people due to the current pandemic, or others. However, with so many ways to help without attending protests, there is no excuse for doing nothing right now. While there are many more ways to take action, here are ten things you can do without leaving your house to show support for the black community right now.

1. Above all, listen to and amplify black voices

Take a look at your social feeds and at who you are following right now. If your feed doesn’t contain many black people, that needs to change immediately. The most important thing that non-black people can do right now is support, uplift, and amplify black voices. Listen to what black people are telling us is the best thing to do, rather than speaking over them and deciding what we think is best or invalidating their concerns. I absolutely don’t think that they should be the only ones talking about this — we need this to be a global, community effort — but right now is a time for all non-black people to take a step back, listen, and then go from there.

2. Sign Petitions

If any petition related to what is happening right now comes across your feed, take ten seconds to sign it, re-tweet or share, and move on to the next one. This act is extremely simple, easy to share, and not time-consuming at all.

3. Text & Call to Demand for Change

Some include:

Text “FLOYD” to 55-156 to demand that the four officers be charged with murder.
Text “ENOUGH” to 55-165 to demand justice for Breonna Taylor.
Call DA Mike Freeman in Minnesota at (612-438-5550) and demand prosecution for Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao.

4. Donate

Donate to bail funds, or organizations such as Reclaim the Block, Black Visions Collective, Campaign Zero, Run with Maud, or the official Black Lives Matter group. You can also consider donating to independent people making meals or buying medical supplies for protestors (people doing so are frequently posting on Twitter and Instagram asking for funds).

Don’t have money to donate? Watch YouTube instead! Popular Mukbang creator Stephanie Soo is starting a series where she discusses systematic racism and police brutality and will donate 100% of the ad revenue to BLM. There are also a ton of people working to compile videos of work by black artists and musicians, where 100% of the ads go to BLM as well.

5. Support independent, black-owned businesses

Pick an industry or hobby that you are interested in, whether it be makeup, fashion, art, etc. and do research on small black-owned businesses that are selling what you’re looking for. If there’s something you want to buy, I guarantee there is a black business or creator that is selling it.

6. Educate Yourself

Look for books, movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, etc. created by black people containing information about topics like institutionalized and systematic racism, intersectional feminism, racially-motivated police brutality, etc. It is not up to black people in your life to educate you right now. There are more than enough resources out there for you to do this on your own.

7. Register to Vote

There is no excuse for this one! Voting doesn’t just include the “big ones,” like the president and governor. We can start change at a grassroots level by electing officials in our cities or regions and working upwards from there.

8. Share and Repost Resources on Social Media

Even if you have a small audience, social media can be used to connect people with resources that they need right now. Make sure you are sharing helpful things (please no more fluffy quotes about how violence isn’t the answer or blank black squares on Instagram with no other information), including mental health resources for black people, information for protestors, or links to petitions.

9. Have Real-Life Conversations

One of the most important things that we can do right now is take a look at how non-black people in our lives are responding to this, especially those in the older generations. If someone you know has a close-minded, uneducated, or hateful view on Black Lives Matter, please take the time to educate them. These conversations are difficult, but necessary if we want to change people’s minds.

Additionally, take note of how you are reacting as well. Consider how exacting you are helping black people. Consider whether you are overstepping or speaking over them, or if you have internalized racism that you need to address.

10. Keep the Momentum

As a group, we need to make efforts to keep the motivation that we currently have, and not let it die out after a week or two as it usually has in the past. Make sure that you are showing up for black people all the time, not just when it’s trendy or getting media attention.