Energizing Words of Insight and Hope From Alicia Garza, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter

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After this marathon week of fireworks, and last week’s, and those of every week and minute, the inspiring words of Alicia Garza are both timely and timeless. Garza co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement when she wrote “Black lives matter” in a Facebook post almost seven years ago, and she’s featured in an insightful, wide-ranging interview this week by NatGeo’s Rachel Hartigan. Since launching the Black Lives Matter Global Network with Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, Garza has rallied and amplified the voices and lives of countless people who drive change, bearing witness to what has changed and what still needs to. Her interview touches on the construction of the phrase “Black Lives Matters,” the basis for maintaining hope, the ways a movement for change can stay its course, and the unifying threads of collective action. Catch it here, and have a safe, healthy, strengthening weekend. Let us know how you plan to, and stories you’d like boosted, at recharge@motherjones.com.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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