Yesterday, a Kentucky grand jury failed to indict the officers who killed Breonna Taylor for her wrongful death.

Like so many folks around the country, when I heard the news, I felt a lot of things. Heartbroken for her family. Frustrated at the lack of accountability. Disgusted by a justice system that could find any reason to justify her death.

Breonna’s life mattered. By the millions, every act of protest, every petition signed, and every phone call made reaffirmed that truth. The fierce advocacy seen around the globe has helped earn a civil settlement for Breonna’s family, widespread bans on “no-knock” warrants, and acknowledgment of the pain and trauma caused by racism in this country. Breonna Taylor has already changed the world, and this movement doesn’t end here. Learn more about what’s happened and what you can do in our rapid response guide.

The fight for racial justice continues, and it’s stronger than ever — starting with local organizers working on the ground to drive change. Keep scrolling to read about how young people took action to disrupt racism in their own communities this summer. Then, learn how you can do the same.

Let’s Do This,
Jackie

How These DoSomething Ambassadors Spent Their Summer Disrupting Racism

They hosted panels, led advocacy campaigns, and raised funds for racial justice.

This summer, DoSomething welcomed our first ever cohort of DoSomething summer ambassadors -- a group of 151 amazing young people from all over the country participating in our 8-week career and community development program to make an impact on the causes they care about.

The summer also brought with it a powerful wave of protests fueled by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among others, that highlighted racial injustices that Black Americans face every day. For the summer ambassadors in our racial justice cohort, this fight for racial equity and change became the focus of their eight-week program.

“I think with everything going on with police brutality and race relations in America right now, it’s easy to feel like your voice doesn’t matter,” says Jerica, 25, one of our racial justice cohort captains. “The program allowed me to kind of have my power back, and I hope the campaign helps others feel that way as well.”

Jerica, a graduate of Hampton University (Hampton, Virginia), led a team of her fellow summer ambassadors in creating and executing the #BeHeard social media campaign. Their goal was to amplify Black stories, educate others, and spark conversations about race to disrupt racism. Through an Instagram challenge, young people shared videos about their experiences with race in America and were entered to win $50 for themselves and a Black education organization of their choice.

The group also organized an Instagram Live panel about activism and education, hosted by DoSomething Summer Ambassador Zaire Goodwin. Among the panelists was Jerica’s former high school teacher, who she says helped sparked her activism.

“Kids are going back to school in the middle of a pandemic and at the height of racial tension. Our team wanted to create resources for kids to bring back to their campuses and for them to demand more of what they wanted from their academic institutions,” says Jerica. “Our team was made up of college students and recent grads, so I think this was something truly on our hearts.”

Other summer ambassador cohorts also tapped into the power of social media for their campaigns, including one led by cohort captain Daniel, 22. His group set out to raise funds and drive volunteers for local Black-led organizations, whose work often goes unnoticed and underfunded.

“While so much of the conversation surrounding social and racial justice tends to revolve around national, well-known organizations, we have amazing groups that are doing crucial work in our own communities,” says Daniel. “Social media is the biggest way that Gen Z builds community online, so we decided to take the conversation there.”

Their posts encouraged folks to donate their “coffee cash” and “swipe up to learn more” about the organizations they’d be helping. Summer ambassador Megan, 18, activated her fellow college students to support ACE, an organization that supports African refugee and immigrant students academically, just 10 miles from their campus at College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Massachusetts).

“During a time when none of us could be physically together, I figured that other students were also looking for a way to feel more connected with their college community,” says Megan. “Together, my community and I raised $567 for ACE, which will be used to fund field trips, healthy lunches, and homework help for children involved with the organization.”

Cohort members amplified organizations in their communities addressing racial justice and its intersections with issues like LGBTQ health disparities, climate justice, and immigrant rights. Together, the summer ambassadors raised over $1,000 and signed up around 20 volunteers for local Black-led organizations.

“The coolest part of this campaign was seeing how someone with a simple Instagram post and not the biggest internet following was able to raise a substantial amount of money for a good cause,” says Daniel.

“We often fall into the trap that we don’t have enough influence or community around us to make change, but if we don’t at least try, we will never know what could’ve been.”

Over the course of the summer, our ambassadors showed us the different ways that you can take feelings around current events and turn them into action and impact -- and they’d recommend you do the same!

“Think big. The possibilities are endless. We had a short turnaround time, and at times it felt impossible. However, I think when you’re really passionate about something you can do anything,” says Jerica.

Sometimes your impact can even be as simple as reaching out to those around you. Through DoSomething’s Disrupt Racism campaign, young people are using our step-by-step guides to have conversations with friends and family about how to actively be anti-racist and disrupt racism in their communities.

“Change starts within you and those around you,” says Daniel. “Start the conversation in the groupchat or at the dinner table. You might be surprised at what you find out.”