When Will the Violence Stop?

Once again, another senseless act of White supremacy, another violent act has struck in America. On May 14th a racially motivated man attacked a Tops Friendly Supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The individual travelled approximately 200 miles to a predominantly Black neighborhood. He described himself as a White supremacist and ethno-nationalist. He live streamed the shooting on the online platform Twitch, but due to the horrible and brutal content, the live stream was removed within minutes of being posted. To make matters worse according an Associated Press article "He graduated from high school in June 2021 — two weeks after state police took him to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after he said he planned a murder-suicide. The gunman was released from the hold over 24 hours later. Officials said there was no specific threat or basis for criminal charges to hold him and let him go free." An act that left many dead. 

We continue to have the same problems with gun violence in our country, and we see little change to gun regulations. Every year during the heavy political climate of voting we talk about addressing these problems yet we continue to consistently see mass racist acts of violence happen in this country, and then offer practically zero resolutions. The scariest part is that these acts are now being performed by 18 year-olds, who we hoped were better than the generations that raised them.  Unfortunately, the far right has created a platform for these individuals which makes for some stormy days ahead for this country's future and the fight to end gun violence as well as create better gun laws and regulations. 

 

Celebrate Pride

The Committed Collective celebrates another Pride Month to honor the LGBTQ community. The history of Pride Month dates back to the "Stonewall Uprising" in New York City on June 28,1969, a series of protest against laws targeting the LGBTQ community. Since 1970, parades and celebrations have taken place through June and July to commemorate those events. The rainbow flag, the symbol for LGBTQ pride, was created by San Francisco activist Gilbert Baker and was flown for the first time at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day celebration. Since then, the flag has been updated to highlight diversity. For example, in 2017, Philadelphia added a black and brown stripe to the flag to highlight LGBTQ people of color. For more about Pride Month: Click Here and celebrate Pride everyday!

​

TCC wants to see your photos at celebration events. Please post and tag (@thecommittedcollective) as we #ChampionChangeNow.

​

Collective Contributions

The Committed Collective is devoted to making major change in all U.S. communities. Each month we will be highlighting our work with one an organization to donate, promote, sponsor or collaborate with. 

This month, in honor of Pride month and Juneteenth The Committed Collective board members have taken the streets in each of our respective communities to celebrate the LGBTQ community as well as educate those in our communities on the important history of Juneteenth.

Check out Pride celebrations happening nationwide here and our Juneteenth recommended reading list. 

​

Happy Freedom Day from TCC!

June 19, 1865 commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans in the United States. This year marks the first year in the United States that Juneteenth is recognized as a federal holiday.

To Celebrate Juneteenth, this year The Committed Collective is encouraging everyone nationwide to take the extra day off educate themselves on the meaning and history of Juneteenth.

 

Check out our suggested reading list and remember the meaning of Juneteenth!

• Freedom’s Gifts: A Juneteenth Story by Valerie Wesley

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

• On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed