Committing to being antiracist.

Last week was rough. My heart was heavy. But then again, this isn’t about me and never was about me. This week (as in the past) was about the fear, anger, hurt, tiredness of Black people.

Black Lives Matter.

Today I wanted to continue to share some resources that I will be using to continue to commit to being antiracist and doing the work that entails everyday. I addressed in my Instagram post things that I am doing to support the BLM movement as an ally. Still, I know that I have so much more to do as a white woman with white privilege.

Since I have a platform (albeit a small one), I wanted to share some of these resources that I have come across via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Google. These resources are geared towards how white people can better understand the history of racism in our country and how we can be better allies to Black Americans. If you have any other resources to share that align with this, please drop them in the comments below and I’ll update this post. I’ll also try to update this post as I find more and will commit to doing updated posts in the future of what I’m reading, watching or listening to in order to better educate myself as well as what I’m doing (whether that be donating, volunteering etc.).

(as an aside: I will also be linking this blog post to both of my book review blogs in case you see this content from me multiple times).

How to Respond and be an Ally

• SoSheSlays – an Instagram post on what you can do to support BLM
• Anguish and Action from the Obama Foundation
• “5 Ways to Take Action for all non-Black people” by The Conscious Kid on Instagram.
• “Why Saying ‘All Lives Matter’ is not helpful” by Blessthemessy on Instagram.
• “Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism” by Nicola Carpenter for Fractured Atlas
• “Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide” by Tatiana Mac

Talking to Children About Racism

• “Are Your Kids Too Young to Talk About Race?” by PrettyGoodDesign.org
• “Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: A Resource Roundup” by Katrina Michie
• 31 Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism and Resistance by EmbraceRace.org
• 9 Children’s Books About Police Brutality from Feminist Books for Kids
• A reading list for children
• Affirming Black Boys Outside the Context of Police Brutality – a booklist by author Ryan Douglass

Book Lists

• Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books lists on How to Be an Ally 101 & more. This is a Philadelphia based, Black-owned bookstore. Please think about supporting them by purchasing from them.
• Harriett’s Bookshop is a Black woman owned bookstore in Philadelphia. Please consider ordering from this store as well. Here’s a link to some book recommendations from the shop.
• “An Antiracist Reading List” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi for The New York Times
• Living and Learning at the First Annual Antiracist Book Festival – Books from these panels: “On Christianity,” “On Women,” “On White Supremacy,” “On Slavery,” “On Democracy,” “On Incarceration,” “On Freedom,” and “On Liberating Education”
• Anti-Racism book list by Ideal Bookshelf on Bookshop.com
• An Anti-Racist Reading List by Book People bookshop
• Raven Book Store’s Antiracist Reading List on Twitter
• Red Balloon Book Shop’s Black Lives Matter book list.

Articles & Websites

• “Becoming a Parent in the Age of Black Lives Matter” by Clint Smith for The Atlantic
• “The Rioters Aren’t Here to Convince You” by Zak Cheney-Rice
• “Reverse Racism Isn’t Real” by Millennial_for_Millenials on Instagram
• “Being Antiracist” by the National Museum of African American History & Culture
• “Talking About Race” by the National Museum of African American History & Culture – This one gives options for Educators as well as Parents & Caregivers wanting to talk to their kids.
• Erica Buddington’s Twitter thread on the history of racial violence in the U.S.
• “How White Parents Can Use Media to Raise Anti-Racist Kids” by Common Sense Media
• “The Death of George Floyd, In Context” by Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker
• The 1619 Project from The New York Times Magazine
• “George Floyd Could Have Been My Brother” by Rita Omokha for Elle
• A Detailed List of Anti-Racism Resources by Katie Couric on Medium
• Anti-Racism Resources – a Google Doc
• “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice” by Corinne Shutack on Medium
• “In 1919, the state failed to protect black Americans. A century later, it’s still failing” by Carol Anderson for The Guardian
• “The American Nightmare” by Ibram X. Kendi for The Atlantic

Podcasts

• 1619 (New York Times)
• About Race
• Pod Save the People (Crooked Media) with DeRay Mckesson
• Code Switch (NPR)
• Akilah Hughes speaking on her podcast ‘What a Day’ for Crooked Media – Episode “Racism Cont’d”
• Interview with Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds on Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You via Booklist’s Shelf Care Podcast.
• (this is a bit out there but I still think important: Running from Cops – this podcast explores the harms of the TV show Cops).

Films, Docuseries et.

• TED Talks Playlist: “Talks to help you understand racism in America”
• Selma
• Let It Fall
• Hate U Give – I think this might be on Hulu?
• National Film Board of Canada’s Playlist of Anti-Racism Films
• The Detroit News – “Black history movies that tackle racism” by Betsy Bozdech from Common Sense Media
• YouTube Playlist from vlogbrothers – “Black Voices / Black History”

Netflix:

• 13th
• American Son
• Dear White People
• See You Yesterday
• When They See Us
• Becoming

Where to Donate & Take Action

• George Floyd Memorial Fund – Go Fund Me
• Sign the Justice for George Floyd petition calling for all the officers to be arrested and charged.
• Donate to one of these Organizations – a list from Reclaim the Block
• Sign the Petition asking Minneapolis City Council to Defund the Police
• Here is a full Google Doc of resources & petitions from @ambivalcnt on Twitter
• Nationwide Bail Fund
• Philadelphia Bail Fund
• Black Lives Matter Philly
• ACLU PA
• Philly Black Giving
• Innocence Project Pa
• Buy from Black Owned Businesses: Here’s a thread & another one on Twitter.
• Black Voters Matter
• Campaign Zero – working on finding data-driven solutions to police brutality

I know that this isn’t an exhaustive list, but I hope it’s a start for you to propel off of on your journey to working towards being anti-racist. As Jason Reynolds said, “there is no finish line to being anti-racist; we should be striving in each moment to be anti-racists.”

xx Nicole Lynn