June 01, 2020

We must DO better

While we usually keep things light here, our hearts have been heavy with the devastating evidence of racism displayed in the US. We need to do better and be better. On a positive note, I feel a swell of recognition, discussion, and action, stronger than ever before. Hopefully, this will be the tide of change. We have rounded up some of the best resources we've found on
what we can DO to heal our human family.

Where to begin
Cleo Wade

Understanding White Privilege

"White Privilege doesn't mean your life hasn't been hard, it means your skin tone isn't one of the things making it harder. There's plenty of other privileges (socio-economic, male, heterosexual, cisgender, Christian, able-bodies) but White Privilege is perhaps the most enduring throughout history."
A Guide to White Privilege - an infographic by Courtney Ahn, quoted above.
Understanding Privilege - a teacher explains privilege with $100 race.

Donate

One of the many ways to donate is by buying Cleo's 'Where To Begin' print (above) - 100% of the proceeds are going to the Antiracist Research & Policy Center, an organization that strives "to figure out novel and practical ways to understand, explain, and solve seemingly intractable problems of racial inequity and injustice."

 If you're able and inclined to donate, we also recommend the following organizations: 

 NAACP - A legal organization helping to "win landmark legal battles, protect voters across the nation, and advance the cause of racial justice."

Black Lives Matter - You can become a "Global Member" by donating $5 to support their campaigns to bring justice and healing to black people worldwide. 

Black Visions Collective - "BVLC is committed to a long term vision in which ALL Black lives not only matter, but are able to thrive."

Sign

You can also seek justice for George Floyd by signing the following petitions:

Change.org 

Color of Change

We Can't Breathe

NAACP

or by texting FLOYD to 55156.  

Journal prompts and conversation starters 
Lisa Olivera

'Exploring privilege and whiteness is challenging and confronting, but doing the inner work of getting to know our own stories and experience around this is illuminating and needed. It's what allows us to show up not from a place of needing to feel good about ourself or get kudos, but from a place of valuing Black and Brown lives. We are often quick to ask other people for help on how to show up. but starting within creates a foundation to do so from a place of integrity. When we more deeply understand, we are usually more empowered to then do something with our understanding. 
Here are some prompts to use for journaling our conversation.
What is your earliest memory around skin color? Race? Difference? Hierarchy?
How did your parents talk to you (or not talk to you at all) about whiteness, privilege, and racism?
What narratives did you learn (or not learn at all) in school about whiteness and white privilege?
What have you been taught about power? What have you witnessed about power?
What have you not had to worry about because you are white?
What media do you consume? Who is represented in that media and how are they represented? 
How do you feel when you witness blatant racism? What about less obvious racism and biases?
What comes up for you when you hear the phrase White Supremacy?

How has wanting to be good, nice, and likeable kept you from engaging in discussions of racism?
What do you want the world to look like for all humans?' 

A powerfully stunning image of TK Wonder, Cipriana Quann & Franchesca Ramsey

Anti-Racism Resources 

We cannot ask our black brothers and sisters to teach us. We have to do the educating ourselves. I urge you to take the time to absorb them, discuss them, and continue the dialogue. What I've done is set up an accountability WhatsApp group - we are all listening or reading to Me & White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad (listed below). There are 40 chapters, so we'll do one chapter a day for 40 days.

Read

ARTICLES
“America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” - Adam Serwer
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists
"My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant" - Jose Antonio Vargas, NYT Magazine 
“Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” - Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Atlantic
BOOKS
How To Be An Antiracist - Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad

For even more book suggestions, check out this thorough and insightful list compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein.

    Watch

    YOUTUBE
    Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives - Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett & Charlene Carruthers
    "How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion" - Peggy McIntosh at TED x TimberlaneSchools
    The House I Live In -  Eugene Jarecki

    NETFLIX
    13th - Ava DuVernay
    American Son - Kenny Leon
    Dear White People - Justin Simien 
    When They See Us - Ava DuVernay
    See You Yesterday - Stefon Bristol
      HULU
      If Beale Street Could Talk - Barry Jenkins
      The Hate U Give - George Tillman Jr.
        RENT

        Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975
        Clemency - Chinonye Chukwu
        Fruitvale Station - Ryan Coogler
        I am Not Your Negro - James Baldwin doc
        Just Mercy - Destin Daniel Cretton
        Selma - Ava DuVernay
        The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution 

        Listen

        1619 (New York Times)
        About Race
        Code Switch (NPR)
        Intersectionality Matters! - 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 Combahee River Collective Statement



        We'd like to end with this poem...

        Take it Further
        Mustafa the Poet

        "Now that you've made your statements &
        reposted those stories, how will you take it
        further? Are these words you strung
        together reflective of your lifestyle offline?
        Who are you offline? Do you listen to the
        black community? Make space for them? Do
        you protect black women from the
        relentless attacks they survive in your
        workplace? Your neighbourhood? Do you
        address the colourism, the
        microaggressions? You joined a choir of
        people online, echoes chants of freedom
        and justice. Does your voice still carry when
        you break away from this crowd? Do you
        still use your voice & stand by your words
        when you don't have a protective liberal
        bubble that repeats your thoughts?
        Take it further."

          Written by Alexia Gilbert

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