The fight against any systemic injustice takes more than just talking about it. It goes beyond vocalizing support, retweeting posts, or simply declaring intent. This is a pursuit which requires diligent and determined actions, be they educating, speaking out, protesting, or providing monetary support, and we encourage everyone to do so to the best of their abilities.
Inven Global stands in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, but we have more work to do. Esports has more work to do. Along with several prominent esports organizations, we are announcing a campaign to help our community unite and raise money and awareness in support of the black lives in esports and in our nation.
TL;DR:
- Inven Global is curating a sort of AMA with various esports orgs.
- Any fan who responds to our tweet with a screenshot of a donation they made to any foundation whose purpose is to support the Black Lives Matter movement may submit one question to any pro from one of our partnered esports orgs.
- We will take your questions and forward them to the relevant parties and provide you with their answer.
Inven Global has partnered with five LCS and two OWL teams to help our esports community become more active in combating racial injustice. These teams are CLG, Dignitas, Evil Geniuses, Golden Guardians, and Team Liquid from the LCS; and Florida Mayhem and Philadelphia Fusion from the OWL. (Full list of pros listed below.)
These orgs have agreed to answer questions from fans who donate money to any relevant foundation supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Esports fans and readers of our site can send us a screenshot (to our Twitter thread linked here) of their donation along with a question to a pro or coach from any of these orgs. We will forward the questions to them and respond to your tweet with their answer.
We ask that you keep the questions appropriate, but we are not limiting what you may ask. That said, there is no guarantee that any question you ask will be answered. If a question regards off-limits information (e.g. "How much money do you make?") or is otherwise inappropriate or uncomfortable, the pro may decline to answer. What we do guarantee is that any question sent with proof of a donation will be forwarded to the respective party.
In addition to screenshotting your relevant donation, we ask that you also share any other steps you might be taking to stand against racism and support the lives and careers of BIPOC around us. We encourage you to educate your followers, community, family, and friends so they can follow your example. Every good deed leaves a lasting echo. Help us make a thunder.
To those who will, or have already taken action — we sincerely thank you! The more we share and do, the more this movement grows and becomes successful.
About a month ago, a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over eight minutes, despite his pleas for breath. Protests soon erupted over Minneapolis, Minnesota, followed by the entire United States, and eventually much of the rest of the world in demand for justice.
Derek Chauvin and the three other officers were fired the next day, but protests continued, calling for each officer's arrest. A few days later, they were arrested and charged with third degree murder. Protests continued, elevating the charge to second degree. The protesting was successful in holding those specific officers accountable, but protests also continue because this murder was not an isolated offence.
Police brutality has been an ongoing issue in the United States and the Black Lives Matter movement has been loudly preaching a need for justice since 2013 after George Zimmerman's acquittal for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. This is not a new problem, and it's also not one that has been solved by the protests and subsequential arrests of the four officers involved in George Floyd's murder.
Since then, there have been multiple accounts of police brutality and murder, and other non-police linked killings of black citizens. This is not a solved issue. This is not a one-time thing. There is still a need for justice.
T. Greg Doucette, a criminal defense and 1A attorney, started a Twitter thread marking police brutality since the murder of George Floyd less than one month ago. He has already reached over 650 unique situations where unnecessary force was used by the police onto civilians and bystanders, whether or not any laws had been broken. That's over 20 cases each day. The time to speak up and fight for justice is now.
Though the officers were fired and charged for murder, we still need justice for George Floyd, who was knelt on by three officers for nearly nine minutes, begging for a breath. We need justice for Breonna Taylor, who was murdered while sleeping in her own home after police broke in without a warrant. Tony McDade deserves justice after being shot and killed by police searching for an unidentified suspect. Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed while on an afternoon jog, deserves justice. We need justice for Rayshard Brooks, who was shot and killed while resisting arrest. And after almost a year long fight we still need justice for Elijah McClain, who just like Trayvon Martin, was killed for walking home at night, listening to music, and being black. We need justice for these and so many more.
We encourage you to donate to any foundation that supports the Black Lives Matter movement and send in a question to your favorite pro (whose org has partnered with us) to help contribute and spread awareness of the need for justice. We have gathered a couple resources that we've found helpful over the last few weeks, linked here below.
Here is a link to an exhaustive list of resources for black folks in the LGBTQ+ community, including a list of places worth your donations and tips for attending protests.
Here is a link to more helpful resources, from petitions to sign, more tips for protesters, who to call, FAQs, and much more.
Here is a link to a Twitter thread with a number of funds beyond the Minnesota Freedom Fund (which has more money than it is capable of using right now) that need donations. Thanks!
Here is a link to an incredible article written by Nick Ray about how professional League of Legends and other professional esports have participated - or not - in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Please participate with us at Inven Global as well as the greater esports community in making the United States a more just and safe space for black people. Call your governement and local officials, donate to funds which need it, buy from black businesses, hire black workers, consume black art, speak out against racism, and condemn racial injustice actively.
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