Black Lives Matter

Hi all,

First things first. Let us be perfectly clear: we unequivocally support the Black Lives Matter movement.

These past weeks have been a stark reminder of the fact that racial discrimination against People of Color (POC) is real and horrifying, and it's not just limited to police brutality. It happens in the US, in our home country of Canada, and in every corner of the world. At ATA, we stand in support with those against police brutality and racial discrimination of all kinds - wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head.

As for how the company is going to act, ATA is going to focus on supporting anti-racism organizations, along with two weeks of dedicated support to LGBTQ organizations within the black community in support of PRIDE month.

For those of you who may not know, ATA has been making weekly donations to various organizations who are working to support our community during these trying times, beginning with efforts to combat COVID-19 back in March. If you'd like, you can also check out previous weeks' posts on our Facebook page for details on our approach to these donations.

This week, our donation was made to Hogan’s Alley Society. We are also matching all employee donations to anti-racism efforts and organizations.

If you would also like to help directly, you can donate too! There are a great many places and ways you can do this. Below we will include plenty of links to get you started.

This is also the right time for us to amplify the voices of POC, and to spread information that will help more people understand what's happening, learn from it, heal, and work towards a better future.

To that end, we are also providing links to resources for information and education.

To continue fostering support and change going forward, you can also find and support businesses run by POC in your area. To get you started, here's a handy site for this for cities all around Canada: https://www.afrobiz.ca.

It all comes down to this: black people deserve better. People of colour deserve better.

We can create a better community, a better society, if we try. But it has to start here - with you.



Donate
US/General
- https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate (Tons of helpful places and ways you can help #BlackLivesMatter)
- The Minnesota Freedom Fund (https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/) has, as of today, put a temporary hold on donations, and has instead shared the following list from Reclaim the Block of local organizations to donate to: https://docs.google.com/document/d/...review?pru=AAABcpUiX3k*Y6Q4I6UBtkH3lLz9GVLg0A
- For those in Louisville, this site is dedicated to Breonna Taylor and the fight for justice: https://justiceforbreonna.org/

Canada
- https://www.hogansalleysociety.org/
- https://bcblackhistory.ca/
- https://www.gofundme.com/f/blmvan (Black Lives Matter - Vancouver fundraiser)
- https://blacklivesmatter.ca/ (Black Lives Matter - Toronto)



Information and Education
Here are some quick articles to get you started
- https://mashable.com/article/justice-for-george-floyd-minneapolis-support-protesters/
- https://www.oprahmag.com/life/a32714899/how-to-help-george-floyd/


Here are links to resources for further learning
- http://bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES (lots of resources for learning about the nuances of racism and how to fight it, especially for people new to anti-racism work)
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hpub-jkm9cLzJWqZSsETqbE6tZ13Q0UbQz--vQ2avEc (more in depth guide on anti-racism resources)
- https://lettersforblacklives.com/ (An open letter project about anti-blackness, translated into multiple languages)


Other
Here is a list of resources for bail funds and legal help in the US, organized by city
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X4-YS3vFn5CLL9QtJSU0xqmTh_h8XilXgOqGAjZISBI