Black Lives Matter. And we all must first reflect deeply, listen carefully, research widely, and then do everything we possibly can to dismantle the systemic racism present in almost every aspect of current society so that our reality better reflects the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER. Pop Press INTL. has been planning a return to activity in the recent months, but it has never been more clear that even with the (very) small platform we have, it’s more important than ever to speak up clearly in the face of racism and oppression and to insist on change in American society. So, we didn’t see any reason to delay any longer.
We encourage you to seek out resources on being a better ally. You could start with this very solid list assembled by Swaay. We were also impressed and commend Do512 for their list of resources, which also lean toward work you can do locally in Austin. To save you just a little time, at the top of the list of places to donate is the Austin Justice Coalition and the Austin chapter of the NAACP. Black Lives Matter, is another great place to put your dollars.
Today, Bandcamp is waiving their usual fees and expenses and all money will go directly to artists. In light of that, here is a short list of five Austin artists of color to patronize today on Bandcamp. Though Pop Press INTL. has always been concerned with the music community at large, we have historically looked first to musicians right here in our own back yard. There are, of course, many more artists of color in our city, and we encourage you to reflect on your media consumption habits and examine your own potential biases. This is a small sampling of artists we know and love who have active Bandcamp pages.
Lastly, as we work on a relaunch, we want to encourage writers, especially writers of color, to get in touch with us if they are interested in contributing to our media outlet, and make clear that we would love to receive submissions for coverage from artists of color everywhere, not just Austin.
