by Sarah Morrison
As a Black woman, the events of recent days have stolen strength in ways not thought possible—at every level, and from every fiber of my being. As a writer, today, the words I seek to articulate these feelings fail me just as severely.
I know I am not alone in this pain.
The national outrage from the death of George Floyd is beyond the realm of just palpable: it’s impenetrable, all-consuming and every bit justified. This sweeping, collective consciousness, emerging in stark daylight before our very eyes, is the culmination of decades-long, deep-seated systemic racism, perpetrated at the hands of entrenched structures of power. For African-Americans, it’s a tale as old as time, and now, it’s a tale destined, and ever-deserving, to be rewritten.
The historic protests of the past few days are a dark example of how the African-American community, tragically, remains uniquely marginalized in our society. Police brutality, just one constant in the collective challenge that is life as a Black American is a flagrant disregard, not just for the pillars of our justice system, but most importantly, for the value of human life, African-American, or otherwise.
While dismantling cruel structures of power is pivotal to the plight of African-Americans specifically, society also owes it to this community to advance yet another critical reform: anti-racism awareness. The understanding of how to actively practice and advance anti-racism in one’s own life will encourage the needle is rightfully moved for African-Americans, and, by extension—society as a whole. It is time to forge a positive and sustained path forward for a community that has suffered for far too long. Here, 36 resources that will help in the fight for an anti-racist society.
Books to Read:
Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
Black-Owned Businesses to Follow:
BROTHER VELLIES, Founded by Aurora James
Briogeo, Founded by Nancy Twine
Cushnie, Founded by Carly Cushnie
Mented Cosmetics, Founded by KJ Miller & Amanda Johnson
Beneath Your Mask, Founded by Dana Jackson
Links to more Black-owned businesses here
Podcasts to Subscribe To:
The Stoop by Leila Day and Hana Baba
Seeing White by John Biewen
Intersectionality Matters! by Kimberlé Crenshaw
1619 by New York Times
Code Switch by NPR
Organizations to Follow:
Color of Change
The Conscious Kid
NAACP
RAICES
Films & Shows to Watch:
Netflix
Dear White People by Justin Simien
13th by Ava DuVernay
When They See Us by Ava DuVernay
See You Yesterday by Stefon Bristol
Hulu
If Beale Street Could Talk
Rent
Selma
Black-Owned NYC Restaurants to Support:
More Black-Owned Restaurants:
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