Building Bridges of Hope
We are not only in defense of Black Lives
We are in care of Black Lives."
Tiara Cooper, Director
Our Story
We were born in a moment of fire.
In May 2020, the world watched in collective horror as George Floyd was murdered at the hands of police. That moment didn’t just spark grief—it sparked action. Here in Dallas, we rose up, not as individuals, but as a community determined to fight for justice and demand more than empty reform. From the very beginning, In Defense of Black Lives Dallas was about more than protest—it was about building.
Over 100 days, we helped sustain a local defund movement that carried the spirit of the national racial justice uprising into the heart of Texas. But what truly makes us who we are is how we organize.
We are a Black Queer, Trans, femme, and non-binary led abolitionist organization rooted in community, care, and collective vision. We aren’t here to ask for change—we are here to create it. Every action we take is guided by our belief in a liberatory future free of state-sanctioned violence, policing, and racial terror.
Our work is about abolition—not just of systems, but of the mindset that tells us oppression is inevitable. We believe in alternatives: community accountability, mutual aid, healing, and transformative justice. We believe in building power outside the systems that were never meant to protect us. And we believe that everyone deserves to live with dignity, safety, and freedom.
This isn’t a moment. It’s a movement.
We’re building from the ground up—right here in Dallas—with eyes on statewide power. We know our fight doesn’t end at city lines. That’s why we’re growing toward a Texas where Black lives are defended, centered, and celebrated. Where our leadership—often erased or ignored—is recognized as not only valid, but vital.
Everything we do is rooted in love for our people and belief in what’s possible. We don’t organize out of fear—we organize out of vision. We know a better world is not only necessary—it’s within reach.
We invite you to join us.
Whether you’re showing up in the streets, donating to support mutual aid, attending a teach-in, or just beginning your journey in this work—there’s space for you here. Together, we are building a new world, and every one of us has a role to play in defending Black lives.
We are In Defense of Black Lives.
And we’re just getting started.
Our Mission
In Defense of Black Lives exists to build power, defend our people, and dismantle every system that thrives on our oppression. We are rooted in the belief that Black liberation is not a dream to be delayed—it is a necessity to be realized by any means necessary.
We are not here to reform what was built to cage us. We are here to abolish it. We challenge the legitimacy of state-sanctioned violence, reject the false promises of policing, and confront the structures that feed off of our struggle. In their place, we are building systems of care, accountability, and protection that come from the people—for the people.
We believe safety will never come from the state—it comes from solidarity. Our mission is to organize, educate, and agitate with clear purpose: to create a future where our communities are equipped, connected, and free. We move not in isolation, but in collective strength—grounded in radical love, guided by revolutionary clarity, and driven by the urgent need to survive and thrive.
This is not charity. This is not reaction. This is revolution.
And we are committed to seeing it through—right here in Dallas, and across every corner of this state where Black lives are under attack. Until liberation is a living, breathing reality, we will not stop. Because the struggle for justice is not over, and the people will not be silenced.
Snapshots of Connection
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