ABOUT
THE FOUNDATION
Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) organization that works to bring about racial justice in Des Moines through mutual aid, community programs and culture building.
OUR STORY
When organizers in DSM first convened, there was an immediate goal to create a Black Lives Matter chapter in Des Moines. After beginning actions and thinking further about the possibility of becoming a chapter, it was decided to not continue with that route and instead become an entity of our own.
Des Moines Black Liberation Movement is a collective of young organizers in Des Moines, made up of various gender identities, cultural backgrounds, and political beliefs - but brought together around the unifying understanding that Black people matter and have been systematically oppressed since the inception of this nation. DSM BLM organizes to elevate awareness around the inner workings of systematic oppression in order to root them out. Des Moines BLM came together following the horrific murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department, and are adamantly focused on abolishing police, starting with the Des Moines Police Department.
DSM BLM was founded on June 2nd, 2020 and established our first community protest on June 3rd, 2020. We now operate under two separate branches, the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Foundation, a 501(c)(3), and the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Collective, a 501(c)(4).
Visit the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Collective website.
MISSION STATEMENT
Des Moines Black Liberation Movement Foundation centers Black voices, leadership, and ideas. We are not interested in reform; we demand radical, revolutionary change.
Every Black life matters, and our movement will recognize and fight for every Black life. Programs produced and piloted by DSM BLM are geared towards improving upon the living experiences of Black folks in our community. We stand in solidarity with groups working to bring about racial justice across the state of Iowa.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe that Black Lives Matter. This ideology is inclusive of all Black lives; trans Black lives, Black differently-abled folks, Black mothers, Black folks living in poverty, Black sex workers, Afro-Latinx folks, Black Queer folks, Afro-Indigenous folks, and all other survivors of the African Diaspora.
Every Black life matters.
We understand that the history of policing in America is directly intertwined with white supremacy. Policing in the USA originated even before police forces were established. Overseers were some of the first agents to enforce free Black labor. Policing roots also included slave patrols to monitor the movement of Black people and to protect property. Municipal vigilantes who protected the property of northern capitalists.
Mutual aid is a form of radical love. This is why we dedicate our time, resources and energy to providing for our community.
