Evaluate the security of your home and your ‘hood:

• Scan your home security - does everything function (locks, alarms, etc)?

• Scan your neighborhood - are there places that are particularly vulnerable (ex. a corner where the street light is out) that you might want to take out of your daily route?

Build a Phone Tree: Create list of people you call and who call you in the event of an emergency or information needs to be shared quickly.

Don't Go It Alone: unless you are certain about the security of your surroundings or it is unavoidable, don’t travel alone.

Don’t Engage: if someone threatens you verbally do your best to ignore and remove yourself to a safer location.

Learn self-defense:

• This can include martial arts or other physical techniques to protect yourself from bodily attack.

• A note on armed self-defense. There is a tradition of armed self-defense in Black communities as Ida B.Wells famously said: “A Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every Black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give.” Personal safety is very personal and so everyone must make their own choices for themselves and in consultation with their households. This includes being educated on and in compliance with all current local laws and guidelines regarding firearms as well as training on their proper use and storage.