Black Lives Matter.
Stop police brutality and end systemic racism.
Ending racism can only be done if white folx consciously, deliberately, and sincerely look at how we perpetuate and benefit from white privilege.
So, I am adding my voice to what I dearly hope you have heard non-stop (because it must be stated and repeated and acted upon, again and again until racism, sexism, ableism are not embedded in our systems): Dear fellow white people, we must act to end our systemically racist society – silence is complicity which enables racism. It is not enough to merely be not racist; We must be anti-racist.
Do something, now.
Do something, tomorrow.
Do something the next day.
Learn. LISTEN. Learn. Educate yourself. Discuss. Grow.
Be uncomfortable, this is how we grow. While we as white people have the ability to shrink from our discomfort (this is part of white privilege) Black people are dying. So, we must step into the discomfort and dismantle white supremacy and systemic racism.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a really good place:
21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge
Want a one-stop resource?
Building an Anti-Racist Workplace on the Time’s Up website
A Compilation of Anti-Racism Resources For White & Non Black Musicians in She Shreds Magazine
Articles:
The Case for Reparations in the Atlantic by Ta-Nehisi Coates
For Our White Friends Desiring To Be Allies (Ask when you don’t know — but do the work first) by Courtney Ariel
Podcasts:
1617 podcast series by the NY Times. This is an incredibly well-done podcast series that talks about the history of slavery. It would rival any university-level course in its thoughtfulness.
Books:
* Please try to order books from your local brick-and-mortar book store, especially from Black-owned bookshops *
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge – NPR interview
Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals – C-Span interview from 1994
How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Videos:
The Urgency of Intersectionality by Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw on TED Talks
James Corden: It’s Time for Change in the US
Donate:
Urban Triage: Our mission is to foster Black families’ self-sufficiency, community leadership, advocacy, and student success through parent engagement and cultural heritage.
Black Visions Collective (BLVC) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.