null

The cookie settings on this website are set to 'allow all cookies' to give you the very best experience. Please click Accept Cookies to continue to use the site.

×
close

Black Lives Matter

Recent events have exposed racial inequity in the United States for the world to view. The continued murders of unarmed Black Americans by police officers and private individuals have brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets in peaceful protest. As millions lift their voices against police brutality, police officers around the country have responded violently to demonstrators.

We are adding our voice to this symphony. The lives of Black people matter. This should not be a radical statement. It is up to all of us, most especially non-Black people, to work to make this simple fact become an accepted reality nationwide. Black lives matter. We support community efforts to change the infrastructure of social systems in order to provide better emergency response systems that do not disproportionately put Black and Brown lives at risk.

At MBZ Parts we have always prioritized people over profits. This has certainly made it harder to achieve financial success, but this commitment is vital to not lose sense of why we are doing this. Our team of dedicated employees always comes first. Every year we close on May 1st for International Workers' Day, and every year when we send out the notification to our email list we lose a few customers. If anyone does not believe that the people who work at our company are valuable, then they can shop elsewhere. Without our team we cannot do what we do.

While I have always supported the Black Lives Matter movement in my private life, I was on the fence about whether to issue a public statement from the business stating as much. MBZ Parts is making donations to several Black-led organizations and was planning to do so quietly.

Then, I was inspired by this letter issued by the CEO of FCP Euro, a seller of European auto parts. He rightly pointed out that this is a human rights issue, and we cannot stand idly by in this moment and watch as the world changes for better or for worse. As humans who believe in freedom and equality, it is our duty to speak out and support this movement. As an online business with thousands of eyes on our website, we must utilize this opportunity to take part in changing our country to be more livable by all Americans. Black people should not have to live in fear of people who are supposed to protect them.

In addition to these words, we'd like to put our money where our mouth is and ask our customers to join us in doing so. Below is a list of Black-led organizations that are working towards community empowerment and systemic change. For any of our customers who donate to these organizations, we will offer a $20 store credit for every $100 that you donate--up to $200 per customer. Just email us your receipt and we will add the credit to your account.

Thank you for reading,

Sheila Heaney
Owner
MBZ Parts

 

List of Organizations Supporting the Black Community

This list is by no means exhaustive, but is a milieu of local and national organizations, with a diversity of approaches towards community empowerment.
You may notice that the latter half of the list is comprised of food and land justice organizations. Food sovereignty is a survival need for many Black Americans who live in "food deserts"-- urban areas with few or no grocery stores. Urban farming is a key tool for building healthy and resilient communities. Additionally, lack of access to healthy food can lead to many of the pre-existing conditions that make Black Americans more at risk of death from Covid19.

 1. National Bail Fund Network
A directory of bail funds in over 30 states, which free unfairly detained people from jail and fight to end the cash bail system. Donations to local and national bail funds support jailed protesters who are not only at risk for being prosecuted unfairly, but who are also at risk for contracting COVID-19 while detained.

 2. National Bail Out
A Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration.
DONATE: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/freeblackmamas2020

A global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
DONATE: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019 
 
4. Women With a Vision (New Orleans)
A community-based non-profit, founded in 1989 by a grassroots collective of Black women in response to the spread of HIV/AIDS in communities of color.  
 
5. Black Visions Collective (Minneapolis)
"We aim to center our work in healing and transformative justice principles, intentionally develop our organizations core “DNA” to ensure sustainability, and develop Minnesota’s emerging Black leadership to lead powerful campaigns."
 
6. Brave Space Alliance (Chicago)
The first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago, dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ individuals on the South and West sides of the city.  
 
7. Anti Police-Terror Project (Oakland, Sacramento)
A Black-led, multi-generational coalition of people working to end police terror in communities. They are building a sustainable model for justice that can be replicated around the country.
DONATEhttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=CZSMFVAEWKP38
 
8. Fair Fight
Aims to end voter suppression, make sure everyone can access their constitutional right to vote, and fight for fairer elections. One of the most impactful ways to participate in democracy is by voting, but many people, particularly in minority communities, face structural barriers against having their voices be heard. DONATEhttps://secure.actblue.com/donate/fairfight-2020-dtd
 
9. Reclaim the Block (Minneapolis)
Works to reallocate city money away from police and instead toward community-led health and safety initiatives. They have assembled an extensive digital toolkit to help communities in all cities and states advocate for divestiture from police. You can support them via donations or by signing their petition encouraging the Minneapolis City Council to redirect police department funding toward resources for Black and Indigenous communities.
 
10. Black Church Food Security Network (Baltimore, national)
Aims to support gardening and farming within Black churches. They establish agricultural projects on church land, connect farmers to congregational markets, and create asset maps of Black churches and surrounding neighborhoods to help better use resources.
DONATEhttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=65LJX65N6VFT6&source=url
 
11. Dreaming Out Loud - Washington D.C.
Works to create healthier, more equitable food systems in low-income communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they partnered with Little Sesame restaurant to provide free meals for people of all ages every weekday afternoon.
DONATEhttps://donatenow.networkforgood.org/covid19response
 
12. Soul Fire Farm (New York)
Conducts training programs to raise the next generation of activist-farmers and support food sovereignty for future communities.
DONATEhttp://www.soulfirefarm.org/support/
 
13. National Black Food and Justice Alliance
A coalition of Black-led organizations, the National Black Food and Justice Alliance builds Black self-determination around food and land sovereignty. They accomplish this through community organizing and increasing visibility of Black narratives, visions, and achievements.
DONATEhttps://www.blackfoodjustice.org/supportaction
 
14. Planting Justice (Oakland)
Teaches gardening skills to people while in prison and offers them paid positions after release. Planting Justice has planted over 500 gardens in the Bay Area, offered reentry employment opportunities to over 40 people, and helped people reconnect with the land.
DONATEhttp://weblink.donorperfect.com/PlantingJustice
 
15. Soil Generation (Philadelphia)
A Black- and Brown-led coalition with a vision for "a people's agroecology"—a combination of environmental and food justice with a focus on community self-representation, anti-racism training, education, and advocacy. Soil Generation has successfully worked with the city council to amend a bill that would have put urban gardens at risk and continues to actively campaign for rights to vacant lots.
DONATEhttps://soilgeneration.org/support
 
16. Urban Growers Collective (Chicago)
Operates eight urban farms on 11 acres of land in Chicago's South Side and works with 30+ partner organizations to create economic opportunity and boost access to healthy food. Each farm uses organic methods and integrates education, leadership training, and food production.
DONATEhttps://urbangrowerscollective.salsalabs.org/donate/index.html

 

Need help? For assistance please Contact Us.
to top