BLACK LIVES MATTER.
I’m exceptionally clear that my white, privileged voice is not the one you need to hear right now. Instead, we need to amplify melanated voices, listen deeply, learn and unlearn, and ally (as a verb, not a noun).
To that end, here are some resources to support your journey towards waking up, getting educated and taking action. I am by no means an expert on these topics, and I am walking this educational path to awareness right alongside you.
I urge you to see these select few resources as only a starting line. As with any marathon, pacing is important. Find your own rhythm, but keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Finally, I’ve included Brené Brown’s Manifesto of the Brave and Brokenhearted. (Yes, she is a white woman of privilege and I acknowledge that I am highlighting her voice here. I’m doing so very intentionally because I believe that her research around shame, vulnerability and courage is foundational to white people leaning into the hard conversations we must have right now.) This manifesto reminds me that there is no rising without first rumbling and reckoning. I hope it will be a reminder to you too.
Stay in the rumble. Don’t numb out, opt-out or check out.
Stay open. More listening, less defending.
Stay accountable. Do the damn work.
- Do Not Resist:a stunning look at the current state of policing in America with a glimpse into the future
- 13th: a Netflix documentary exposing racial inequality within the criminal justice system
- Racism Has a Cost for Everyone: TED Talk by Heather C. McGhee
- The Racial Wealth Gap: Explained S1:E1 on Netflix, also on YouTube
- Brené Brown with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist: Unlocking Us Podcast discussing a groundbreaking approach to understanding uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves
- Code Switch: NPR Podcast featuring fearless conversations about race in politics to pop culture, from history to sports and everything in between
- 1619: New York Times Podcast on how slavery has transformed America, connecting past and present through the oldest form of storytelling.
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Biased by Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (National Book Award Winner)
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
- Coursera: a curated collection of courses for anyone seeking to learn more about social justice and racial inequality
- @rachel.cargle: Rachel Cargle’s activism and academic work are rooted in providing intellectual discourse, tools, and resources that explore the intersection of race and womanhood.
- @ajabarber: Aja Barber’s expertise is in race, intersectional feminism and … fashion.
- @jessicawilson.msrd: Jessica Wilson is a dietitian, consultant and activist. Centering those most marginalized in the eating disorder field.
- @blackandembodied: Alishia McCullough: Licensed mental health therapist, social justice warrior.
- @laylafsaad: Layla F. Saad is the NYT bestselling author of Me and White Supremacy
- @ckyourprivilege: Check Your Privilege walks with those seeking to dismantle their relationship with systems of domination
- @ibramxk: Ibram X. Kendi is one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices.
- @renieddolodge: Reni Eddo-Lodge is an award-winning journalist whose writing primarily focuses on feminism and exposing structural racism.
