Magic for BLM by Nathan Colwell

Magic for BLM: A Pay-What-You-Can Collection of Magic to Raise Funds for BLM, NAACP, and NLG

The What

This book is a collection of theatrical magic routines, moves, and essays. There are thirty-nine entries from thirty-five magicians across five countries. Each entry was chosen by its author and contributed to this collection. The book is 282 pages with 110 photos, illustrations, and tables.

In the book there’s magic with cards, coins, candy, and measuring tape. The scale and venue of the magic spans from close-up and parlor, to restaurant and digital performances. The difficulty is just as broad. There’s magic that’s completely self-working, semi-automatic tricks, and technically demanding routines. The magic uses normal objects, standard magician’s props, and unusual custom-made gaffs. Some of the routines/moves/essays are previously unpublished or were written specifically for this project, some are excerpts from their author’s critically acclaimed books, and others are reprinted gems from old magazines. There are card tricks that can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck, routines using custom stacks, and, also, magic with a memorized deck. The material in this book spans out into all kinds of niches in magic. If you do magic or enjoy reading magic books, it is certain there is something in here you will enjoy.

The Why

Right now there is national momentum to address racist policing and police violence in America. The organizations cultivating and maintaining that momentum for change need our financial support. With additional financial support they can continue to apply the political pressure necessary to enact this change. This book was made as a fundraiser for three of these organizations: Black Lives Matter, the NAACP, and the National Lawyers Guild. All profits from the sale of this book will be donated to these three organizations.

The When

This book will be kept available until the evening of July 3rd, 2020.

The Accountability

It’s important to make sure that your donation goes to the right place. Something you could do to ensure this is to skip the purchase of this book altogether and donate directly to the organizations. This book exists to fundraise, but if you feel compelled to contribute to the organizations then by all means you should donate directly. It's 3.5% + 30 cents better for these organizations if you donate directly to them instead of doing it through this project on Gumroad—which takes that percentage. To donate directly, you can use these links below.

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/naacp-1

https://www.nlg.org/donate/nlgf/massdefense/

Also, I advise donating to local orgs over national ones and setting up a recurring donation if you can.They welcome and need every donation, no matter how small. You can also check which organizations the activists in your city recommend.

In the interest of transparency once I am able to access the funds generated from this book (Gumroad pays out on Saturdays) I will publish a free PDF containing the report showing (1) what proceeds were made on the project, (2) screenshots of the donation receipts for each organization, and (3) screenshots of my relevant bank records. I will do this twice, for each of the two payouts within the book’s availability.