Today is Juneteenth, a time to recognize the end of slavery in the United States. For white people, this is a time to educate ourselves about the ways in which black people are still not free in this country. Truthfully, no day should go by without white folks acknowledging the injustice endured by our black siblings. As long as it exists, we should be constantly working to undermine and dismantle the system of white supremacy that we have benefitted from since day one.
We are in a historic uprising, with strength in numbers like there has never been in this country before. People of all races are occupying the streets to stand behind our black leaders with fists raised in the air, demanding an end to the white supremacy woven into every aspect of this system, starting with, but not limited to, the police.
Today, Bandcamp is starting a new annual Juneteenth tradition where they will be donating 100% of their share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. This is huge and Bandcamp is doing their part to promote independent music as well as raise much needed funds for an important effort. We encourage everyone to support this cause by buying music on Bandcamp today, especially from black artists.
In the spirit of fundraising efforts and awareness, I’ve chosen today to release "The Patrol Car", a song originally written in 2014 in immediate response to the cold-blooded murder of Michael Brown at the hands of the police. Since the day he was killed, there have been more than 5,000 (reported) fatal shootings by on-duty police officers. At the time of this release, 463 of those lives have been lost to police this year alone.
We will donate and match any amount made from this release, both today and any time it is purchased in the future, to the organization, Color of Change, whose campaigns include Justice for Breonna Taylor, Defund the Police and more. This song is also backed with a humble cover of enigmatic black artist, Q Lazzarus’ iconic classic, “Goodbye Horses”.
Here are a few amazing artists we love that you should purchase from today on Bandcamp, and continue supporting beyond this campaign. Some of these artists are not on Bandcamp, so I’ve included links to support them by streaming their music, watching their videos, subscribing, liking, and sharing their content.
Please support these brilliant minds. Do your part in the struggle against white supremacy in every aspect of your lives. White people, learn the true history of slavery read about Juneteenth, talk to your other white friends, your white relatives, call your representatives, join the protests and march in support of black lives. Together we can dismantle this system, demand not just equality but equity, and remind the powers that be that they should fear the people, not the other way around.
-Monty O’Blivion
