Black Lives Matter: Resources

Since the protests that have arose from the murder of George Floyd, I have been actively sharing information and following the national developments on my personal social media platforms, engaging in discussions with those that I live with, donating to bail funds, emailing and calling representatives, and attending protests. I also realized though amidst all of this that so many major cultural institutions and museums were conspicuously silent at the start of the recent uprising, or showed support in a very cautious way. Additionally, I know that as a white woman I need to do more than express outrage.

So, I've come here to my professional platform to be more constructive. I could write for days about systemic racism, white privilege, or on museums not being neutral but pretending that they are, but as a white woman I know that my voice is not the one that needs to be centered and given preference. We are all responsible for our own learning and self-awareness and improvement. With this in mind, I will link below to resources that include nonprofits engaging directly in equity work, as well as books and readings allies can use to become more knowledgeable and mindful activists. I have chosen to focus on organizations that are on the ground right now putting in the work, books centered around race and education for adults, a more general selection of books discussing race, and finally a list of books that adults and young children can read together and use to guide conversation. There are not by any means exhaustive lists, but I hope that it can be a start for you. Additional resources including films and podcasts can be found here: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES.

Activist and Education Organizations:

• American Civil Liberties Union: https://www.aclu.org/

• Audre Lorde Project: https://alp.org/

• Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/

• Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: https://www.naacp.org/

• National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/national-bail-fund-network

• The Conscious Kid: https://www.theconsciouskid.org/

Books on Education and Race for Adults:

• Centering Women of Color in Academic Counterspaces by Annemarie Vaccaro and Melissa Camba-Kelsay

• Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race in School by Mica Pollock

• For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Christopher Emdin

• Lift Us Up, Don't Push Us Out!: Voices from the Front Lines of the Educational Justice Movement by Mark R. Warren and David Goodman

• Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

• The Power in the Room: Radical Education Through Youth Organizing and Employment by Jay Gillen

• We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Dr. Bettina Love

• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Books on Activism, Society, Self-work, and Race for Adults:

• How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• The House that Race Built by Wahneema Lubiano

• Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

• White Rage by Carol Anderson

• Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Books on Race for Children:

• Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi

• I Am Enough by Grace Byers

• Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinso

• Lets Talk About Race by Julius Lester

• Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham

• Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano

• The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

• What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan by Chris Barton