After the murder of George Floyd, people took to the streets and social media to demand action. Black business owners, authors, and leaders urged the world to take the first step in supporting them through buying their products, reading their books, and learning about Black history being made every day. But after the protests and hashtags stop going viral, what are the next steps?

That’s what we asked Senior BLM Advisor and current Congressional candidate Angela Angel (she/her). In celebration of Juneteenth’s first anniversary as a national holiday, here’s her guide on how to keep moving towards equity. Take it away, Angela!

Now, I could really go on for a while, but I’m going to focus on 3 areas:

Professional: The first step was to shop Black businesses. A necessary next step is leaving a great review and telling your social networks about the store/restaurant/etc. However, you can truly level up by thinking about how you can invest in that business and/or connect them with others in your network to build their clientele. (Ex: If it’s a hair and skincare company like @HairBrew, use them as gifts for your next company event. If it’s a service-based business like @trap.tarot, connect them with friends hosting a get-together.)

Personal: Reading Black authors and tuning into Black leaders was a great start. Now, let’s turn it up and put some of the knowledge you gained into action. One of the greatest tools I teach in my Allies to Accomplices training is using your privilege to create and hold space for Black voices. That requires introspection on how you use intentionality to create space—not occupy it. Take a moment and list all of the places you visit: School, work, church, social clubs, organizations. How many Black folks are in those places? How often do they voice their opinion? Are they given leadership opportunities? Look into ways you can help create openings for them, then look at ways to support them and help them succeed once those opportunities are created.

As a customer, you can say to the owner of a business you frequently visit, “Hey, I noticed you don’t have any Black managers. Have you thought about steps you can take to recruit and train Black talent for leadership positions here?” I can see how it may feel too direct, but helping to create true equity as an accomplice should push the boundaries of comfort just a bit. That suggestion offered in passing could help highlight to businesses that their customers care about these things, and hopefully will spark something in them.

Political: Our government and political institutions are where the greatest inequities lie. Yet, they are the most difficult places for Black folks to gain a foothold. One of the simplest and most impactful ways to change these systems is to support Black folks as they run for office. Not just on large scale elections like Congress and Governors, though. Look at down-ballot races and find Black candidates that align with your beliefs and support them directly. Whether it’s donating or doing volunteer work—every bit helps. Also, data shows Black, female candidates especially face uphill battles. If they could get early support to build strong campaigns, Stacey Abrams and Kamala Harris could become the standard and not the exceptions.

These are but a few things you can do to help move us towards equity for Black Americans. Uplifting Black folks makes us a better, stronger, more prosperous society as a whole. Choose one action today, get up, and get to it!