Seek Community: Resources for Anti-Racist Action
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” ~Desmond Tutu
The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others, are part of a horrific legacy of systemic racism and violence against Black lives in this country. Bottom line is that Black Lives Matter. In the fight for justice and equality, we must do better; to be silent is to be complicit, especially for those of us who are not people of color. Educating ourselves and becoming action-oriented allies is essential. Below are some resources for how to begin to take action, including books to read, podcasts to listen to, and movies to watch to be better informed. If you have additional recommendations we would love to hear them, and you can leave them in the comments section.
Action:
-If you’re able to show up to protest, remember to do so safely (see tips from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez here) and do not post or publish the faces of protestors to protect their identity.
-Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley introduced a resolution to condemn police brutality. Call your congressperson to urge them to sign this. Find your member of Congress and contact him or her. 202-225-3121 (U.S. House of Representatives) and 202-224-3121 (U.S. Senate)
-Vote!!!
Donate:
Antiracist Research & Policy Center
Justice For Breonna Taylor Petition And Fundraiser
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
Equal Justice Initiative (EJI)
The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
National Domestic Workers Alliance
Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
Podcasts:
Intersectionality Matters! Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
Pod For The Cause from the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
Pod Save the People by Crooked Media
Videos:
Public Address on Revolution: Revolution Now, Rachel Cargle
Black Feminism & The Movement for Black Lives, Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, and Charlene Carruthers
How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion, Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlane Schools
Books:
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Good Talk by Mira Jacob
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji
Me And White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F Saad
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
How Does It Feel To Be a Problem? Being Young and Black in America by Moustafa Bayoumi
The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Cullors
An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
Citizen by Claudia Rankine
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Mindful of Race by Ruth King
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson
This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on how to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell
Stamped; Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds
Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria? By Beverly Daniel Tatum
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? By Mumia Abu-Jamal
Stamped From The Beginning, The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
A Peoples’ History of the United States: 1462 to Present by Howard Zinn
Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Y. Davis
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Articles:
“America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer, Atlantic, May 8 2020
“My Life as an Undodumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, NYT Mag, June 22 2011
“The Intersectionality of Wars” by Jane Coaston, Vox, May 28, 2019
“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh
"Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups" by Craig Elliot PhD
"Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?" by Ibram X. Kendi, The Atlantic, May 12 2020
“What Does Justice Look Like Without Prisons?” by Oonagh Ryder
"Black Feminist Thought in the Matrix of Domination" by Patricia Hill Collins
Films:
13th, Ava DuVernay
American Son, Kenny Leon
Dear White People, Justin Simen
See You Yesterday, Stefon Bristol
When They See Us, Ava DuVernay
If Beale Street Could Talk, George Tillman Jr.
Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975
Clemency, Chinonye Chukwu
Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler
I Am Not Your Negro, James Baldwin Documentary
Just Mercy, Destin Daniel Cretton
Selma, Ava Duvernay
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
1 comment
Thanks 🙏