My heart reaches out to the communities who are suffering deeply at the moment. The murder of George Floyd and the many who came before him are a violation of human rights, an abuse of power, and a symbol of institutionalized racism. I am deeply ashamed about the atrocities that have been committed and are still being committed by people who look like me. Being German, I have been educated my entire life about the horrible history of my ancestors. I was taught to face the severe mistakes we have made and learn from them. And in the light of recent events, I know: I still need to listen and learn more.
Luckily, I have been humbled to see the number of resources that have been shared on social media exactly for that purpose: educating oneself! And since this is what this website is all about, I have gathered some, here, for you:
List of anti-racist resource-lists
Questions we (may) ponder (and some answers)
I am white - what can I do for racial justice?
75 things White People Can do For Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack.
This article has a ton of resources that you can use!
How do we overcome our biases?
How can we reform the US police?
According to experts, this is how police departments can begin to reform: 1) Police need to apologize for centuries of abuse 2) Police should be trained to address their racial biases 3) Police should avoid situations that lead them to use force 4) Officers must be held accountable in a very transparent way 5) On-the-job incentives for police officers need to change 6) We need higher standards — and better pay — for police 7) Police need to focus on the few people in communities causing chaos and violence 8) We need better data to evaluate police and crime
Where to Donate
That fundraising can move mountains shows this campaign for George Floyd's family, that raised already raised 12,354,400 USD - almost 11.000 USD more than they originally asked for.
Personally, I also recommend donating to Embrace Race, whose founder I met last year at a "Preempting Racism" Conference in NYC. The organization aims to educate parents on how to talk about race to their children.
This is a great blog post on where to donate if you want to support the protesters.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund "pays criminal bails and immigration bond for those who can’t afford to as we seek to end discriminatory, coercive, and oppressive jailing". They have received a ton of donations recently and therefore shared a list of other organizations that need your support too.
No money to donate? This youtube video donates 100% of the advertisement revenue to the associations that offer protester bail funds, help pay for family funerals and advocacy. Share this video, make sure to leave the ads running, repeat the video, and let people know about this easy way to help.
Organizations to follow on social media
(source: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES)
Antiracism Center: Twitter
Movies/Videos to Watch
Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)
"How do we overcome our biases?
Warner Bros. made Just Mercy available for free on digital platforms across the US as education on 'systemic racism'
The full 16min docuseries is available for free on Netflix
On Netflix:
13th (Ava DuVernay)
American Son (Kenny Leon)
Dear White People (Justin Simien)
See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol)
When They See Us (Ava DuVernay)
Podcasts to listen to
(source: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES)
Books to Read
Anti-Racist Starter Kit
by Johann Jacob
Stamped from the Beginning - Ibram X Kendi A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn (There is a "young people's" version for elementary and middle school readers) White Fragility - Robin Diangelo So you want to talk about race - Ijeoma Oluo I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness - Austin Channing Brown Me and White Supremacy - Layla F Saad Stamped - Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
Anti-Racist Intermediate Kit
by Johann Jacob
The Burning House: Jim Crow and the Making of Modern America - Anders Walker The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander The Condemnation of Blackness - Khalil Gibran Muhammad Dying of Whiteness - Jonathan Metzl A Different Mirror - Ronald Takaki How to be an AntiRacist - Ibram X Kendi How the South Won the Civil War - Heather Cox Richardson
Anti-Racist Topic Specifics:
by Johann Jacob
Evicted - Matthew Desmond Nobody - Marc Lamont Hill Lies My Teacher Told Me - James W Loewen Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria - Berver Doniel Tatum, PhD The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein Blackballed - Darryl Pinkney Lies My Teacher Told Me - James W. Loewen
Anti-Racist Lit; Bios, Non-fiction, novels, personal narratives: The Warmth of Other Sons - Isabel Wilkerson The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin Malcolm X - Alex Haley Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates Killing Rage Ending Racism - Bell Hooks Becoming - Michelle Obama An American By Marriage - Tayari Jones A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota - The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother - James McBride Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption - Bryan Stevenson The Myth Of Race - Robert Sussman
Anti-Racist Lit - Black Feminism: How we Get Free - Keeanga-Yamhtta Taylor Black Feminist Thought - Patricia Hill Collins Ain't I a Woman Black Women and Feminism - Bell Hooks Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay Eloquent Rage - Brittney Cooper In Search of Our Mothers Gardens - Alice Walker Sister Outsider - Audre Lorde Women Race & Class - Angela Y Davis Assata: An Autobiography - Assata Shakur To Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe - Akwugo Emejulu and Francesca Sobande
Anti Racist List Black LGBTQ+: Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin Zami - Audre Lorde Real Life - Brandon Taylor Unapologetic A black, queer, and feminist Mandate for Radical Movements - Charlene A Carruthers No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies - E. Patrick Johnson Since I Laid My Burden Down - Brontez Purnell The Other Side of Paradise - Staceyann Chin No Ashes in the Fire - Darnell L. Moore The Summer We Got Free - Mia McKenzie Black Like Me - John Howard Griffin Rising Out of Hatred - Eli Saslow Black On Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity - C. Riley Snorton