Before the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe, structural racism, capitalist exploitation of workers, patriarchy, heterosexism, and ableism debilitated low-income communities of color, forcing them to struggle just to survive, let alone thrive. A major reason the pandemic has crippled our lives and economy so completely, is the intention of those in power to maintain their wealth and privilege at the expense of workers’ lives.

The global capitalist system has also been shown, time and again, not only unable to navigate disasters and crisis in a way that protects the lives of the majority of people, but also to be part of the cause of so-called “natural” disasters. This oppressive system will be with us once this discrete crisis passes, or becomes the new normal, and the organizations that have come together in this fund will be there to organize, create, and set the example for a new system and a new world that puts all people’s lives above the wealth and privileges of a few.