Asylum Institute (AI)* a non-profit organization aiming to assist African American asylum-seekers, and founder of the #WeWantToGoHome campaign, has launched a Sponsorship Program to facilitate a move abroad for Black people in the United States who fear continued physical, economic, and psychological persecution and abuse.  For those who have signed the petition for African Americans seeking asylum, we ask that you consider making a contribution to the establishment of a fund to financially assist people who have been left with no choice but to leave the United States. The link to donate is below. Called the Exodus Fund, Asylum Institute’s financial aid and sponsorship program will be an ongoing effort that would allow us to supplement travel costs - for instance, airfare, passports and visas - for asylum seekers in need. This #Exodus Fund is a response to an increasing number of Black people living in the United States that want leave the country to seek asylum and residence elsewhere in the global community. We have already been approached by, and are currently seeking to assist, a network of nearly 5,000 individuals and their families with financial aid and information.  As the situation in the US has reached crisis level, it is vital at this time that those with means support this critical work of aiding in alternative futures for Black people outside of the current violent economy and culture of anti-blackness, manifested most poignantly in the extrajudicial killings by law enforcement agencies in varying capacities of governance.  We Deserve To Live In Peace. Black Americans face conditions all over the country that reinforce oppression.  Life for us in the U.S. has been and is becoming increasingly dangerous. Apartheid-like tactics like “Stop and Frisk”, an outgrowth of failed “broken windows policing theory”, have been shown in studies to grossly target and criminalize Black adults and young adults via racial profiling and have shown to be ineffective in terms of yielding rightful arrests, contraband, and drugs.  The issue of racial profiling and its frequent resulting in too often fatal police  directed at African Americans is well documented and on-going.  It is a problem that has been recognized by both the White House and the United Nations, who recently issued a scathing report on the matter.  Fueled by corporate prison systems that enforce occupancy quotas via threats of legal action against states’ governments, one can easily see how police forces fit into the equation.  It becomes clear that this unconstitutional criminalization of American citizens for profit, and the brutal means employed to maintain such a system of repression has largely been shouldered by Black people in America during its run as a democracy.  Seeking Refuge Is A Valid and Legitimate Right. **Article 1 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, as amended by the 1967 Protocol, defines a refugee as this: "A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it...” About Us. Asylum Institute (AI) is founded on the idea that in a post-democratic era self-imposed exile should automatically become part of the conversation and course of action, especially for those populations in immediate distress, until such a time that democracy and more livable conditions can be positively and stably reinstated. AI actively engage governments and all pertinent governing bodies regarding the ethical treatment of human beings internationally, utilizing and promoting the human right to asylum as an immediate strategy to escape oppression.  As part of our ongoing mission, Asylum Institute seeks to provide financial relief to individuals and families seeking assistance with costs pertaining to expatriation, repatriation and self-exile travel. Asylum Institute also implements and facilitates intercontinental arts and skilled-trade programs in an effort to assist the economic development of underserved countries. Ultimately, we aspire to build bridges between disenfranchised persons and nations in an effort to build a better world through a global community. Website: www.asyluminstitute.org *501c(3) application filed 6/11/15; pending. Donations should be tax-exempt upon final approval. Ask us for more information.