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The Postcard

Week 14 (July 1-7)

Our beloved Shout Mouse Intern and co-author of I Am The Night Sky Sasa Aakil has started an initiative in response to the murder of George Floyd. Based on the famous National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) flag, Sasa has printed "A Man Was Lynched Yesterday" onto Red, Yellow, and Blue postcards, each color representing the person to whom the card is addressed. Red represents elected officials, district attorneys, judges, yellow represents friends and family in and of the struggle for Black lives, and blue represents the police. You can find out more about this initiative on Sasa's website.

This week's your prompt will be to write a letter addressed to 1 of the 3 categories listed. Finding the name, title, and address of the person to whom you would like to write a letter may require some research. Shout Mouse staff send them on your behalf (with your consent). Please make sure your response includes:

Choose if you are going to write your letter to an elected official, friend or family member in the BLM movement, or the policeAddress the letter using the full name and/or title of the person to whom your letter is addressed (i.e. Gianna Floyd, George Floyd's daughter, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General)Include the address or PO box to where the letter should be sentWrite a thoughtful letter including what you think the person should hear. Possibly ask elected officials to defund the police, request friends/family join in the fight for Black lives, or ask police to practice non-violent interventions. These letters can also be personal, including your own experiences, suggestions, or feelings.

Featured

Letter

Autoridades de Washington D.C.,

Por este medio, quisiera expresar hacia ustedes la resignación, dolor, que nuestros hermanos de color estan pasando. Todos somos humanos. Sentimos y ver lo que están viviendo es tan triste, porque como ellos están viviendo esta guerra, nosotros también la tenemos dia con dia. Siento mucha tristeza al ver que tenemos que llegar hasta este punto para ser escuchados o respetados. Si nos lograran respetar y tratar de una manera humana, nadie estaría furiosos en las calles, intentando formar una guerra entre unos con otros

Dear Mr. Floyd

Dear Mr. Floyd,

It is an honor to write to you today. However, I wish that you were able to read this yourself. I believe that this letter will reach the people who need this the most, along with you, watching over the reader. I wanted to start off with the ways in which your death has affected me and my life story. Since your passing, the uprising of protests have begun

To a Friend, From a Friend

Azaria Brown,

Hope all is well!

As you may already know, there is an uproar in the community because of injustices caused by police officers all over the world. This affects those who are considered minorities in the U.S., and our brothers and sisters are at the front line of the havoc. I believe that it is time for us to come forth and speak more on the matter. We could use social media as our source and outlet to speak publicly on the issue.

Postcard for Larry Hogan

Dear Governor Larry Hogan,

I applaud you for attempting to handle the COVID-19 situation to the best of your ability and trying to keep the number of cases and deaths as low as possible in Maryland.

However, your lack of response and silence in regard to the Black Lives Matter movement and your obliviousness to the problems that are plaguing your people are both grossly offensive.

Why Our Lives Matter

Dear Aunt Venis,

I know you think you are right, and I know some things you cannot change because it is who you are. I know you love your family and that you would be hurt deeply if something happened to one of us. However, I want you to understand that you hurt us everyday when you post #alllivesmatter. The Black Lives Matter movement is something that affects your family everyday. When people say #blacklivesmatter and you respond with well “#alllivesmatter,” it says that you refuse to see the discrimination that is happening everyday.

Damage

Hello Mayor,

I am a citizen of the nation's capital. I am writing you this letter to ask you to defund the police. Many states are beginning to defund the police and I hope D.C. will be next. Over the past few years, police brutality has been a rising issue in America. It is not fair to people who look like you and me to pay taxes creating the salaries of the police, and, in return, have police attack them. They are trained to protect and serve. When police are around, I do not feel protected; I feel fear.

Stand With Us

#StandWithUs
This message is intended for the police department at 3101 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408. Every white person is not racist and brutal, no. If I can understand that, why can’t racists take the stereotypes away from my people? A single story is dangerous & menacing. I use that choice of words because not a single story is incomplete . #Saytheirnames is a powerful movement. I feel it's more powerful than it’s been in years. I personally believe that not every white police officer is not bad, but if I encounter police, I would be scared out of my mind.