I, like so many others, am shocked, saddened and outraged by the senseless acts of brutality which have resulted in the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, as well as countless numbers of other Black Americans in months and years past.
Black lives matter.
Where do we, as allies and advocates, turn for helpful solutions to combat systemic racism in the weeks and months ahead?
There is no easy answer to this question.
However, as with all important advocacy work, I believe we must be better informed about the key issues at hand, and then we must be actively involved to help bring forward effective options, strategies and solutions.
I also believe that raising awareness, collaboration, civility and compassion must be at the heart of any actions and responses.
Furthermore, I believe a critical step in our efforts to combat racism and to achieve healing is to have a greater understanding of racism so we can then become more knowledgeably and consistently involved in the anti-racism efforts that must be undertaken.
To that end, below is a list of anti-racism resources which can possibly help with these efforts. I have compiled the list based on the suggestions of a few different leading advocates and activists. I am pleased to share it in hopes that it may be useful.
| Resources for parents to educate children about racism: Books: Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: books for children and young adults Podcasts: Parenting Forward podcast episode: ‘Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt’ Fare of the Free Child podcast Articles: PBS’s Teaching Your Child About Black History Month The Conscious Kid: follow them on Instagram Articles to read: “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020) Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists) ”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011) The Combahee River Collective Statement “The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston – Vox (May 28, 2019) Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD” White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020) Videos to watch: Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers (50:48) “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” | Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26) Podcasts to subscribe to: 1619 (New York Times) About Race Code Switch (NPR) 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 (Crooked Media) Seeing White The Diversity Gap Books to read: Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold Redefining Realness by Janet Mock Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi Blindspot: The Hidden Biases of Good People by Anthony Greenwald & Mahzarin Banaji Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out by Ruth King Race Matters by Cornel West Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates The Souls of Black Folk – W. E. B. DuBois Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race – Daniel Tatum Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought – Beveryly Guy-Sheftall (Ed.) A Pledge with Purpose: Black Fraternities and Sororities and the Fight for Equality – Gregory Parks & Matthew Hughey America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America – Jim Wallis Films and TV series to watch: Do The Right Thing – Available to rent Eyes on the Prize – DVD Free Angela & All Political Prisoners – Available to rent Higher Learning – Available to rent 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent King In The Wilderness — HBO See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix Organizations to follow on social media: Antiracism Center: X (formerly Twitter) Audre Lorde Project: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook Black Women’s Blueprint: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook Color Of Change: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook Colorlines: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook The Conscious Kid: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook Families Belong Together: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook MPowerChange: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook Muslim Girl: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook NAACP: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook National Domestic Workers Alliance: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook RAICES: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook SisterSong: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook United We Dream: X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook More anti-racism resources to check out: 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice Anti-Racism Project Jenna Arnold’s resources (books and people to follow) Rachel Ricketts’ anti-racism resources Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac Showing Up For Racial Justice’s educational toolkits “Why is this happening?” — an introduction to police brutality from 100 Year Hoodie Zinn Education Project’s teaching materials“ |
In closing, I want to mention three promising initiatives planned by my professional organization, the American Psychological Association (APA), to address police violence and racism:
1. COMMUNICATING BROADLY. APA will make psychological science and its applications to real-world bias, discrimination, and trauma highly visible, communicating the Association’s position regarding the specific incident involving George Floyd, as well as our stance on racial bias more broadly. This will include articles in publications, blogs, podcasts, and media interviews, as well as opportunities to solicit input and feedback around our approach.
2. REDUCING POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST AFRICAN AMERICANS. APA plans to appoint a Presidential Task Force to develop science-based recommendations aimed at reducing the incidence of police killings, particularly of unarmed Black men. To be both relevant and timely in its recommendations, the task force would work under an expedited timeline. APA would then work with the appropriate partner organizations to implement the proposed recommendations.
3. ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL RACISM. With the understanding that racism dates back hundreds of years in this country, APA is making a long-term commitment to use psychological science to reduce racism and discrimination. Because of the immense nature of these issues, we are giving careful thought to the aspects on which APA can have the greatest unique and positive impact. For instance, one of the key roles that we see APA playing is to change the nation’s narrative about race.
Here’s a question: What other anti-racism resources do you recommend? Please leave a comment. Also, please subscribe to my blog and feel free to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram, “like” my Facebook page, or connect on LinkedIn. Finally, if you enjoyed this post, please share it with a friend.