Have you ever made a successful change in your life? Perhaps you wanted to exercise more, eat less, or change jobs? Think about the time and attention you dedicated to the process. A lot, right? Change is hard. Creating effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of power, privilege, supremacy and leadership is like any lifestyle change. Setting our intentions and adjusting what we spend our time doing is essential. It’s all about building new habits. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. The good news is, there’s an abundance of resources just waiting to empower you to be a more effective player in the quest for equity and justice.
We will post resources here each week. We encourage you to work through the list during the course of the week, perhaps choosing two items each day to look at. Take time each day to engage in the resources; take notes, write down how they make you feel, and reflect on what next steps you are compelled to do.
Additionally, if you would like the weekly resources to be divided up into daily challenges, please sign up here
Resource List
Southeast Addiction Center – 2023’s Top 50 resources for Black men who are struggling with substance use and/or their mental health
Southeast Detox – An updated resource guide to help Black women rise and thrive in 2023
Live Another Day – Extensive information on mental health and substance use resources for People of Color. Their mission is equal access to life-saving resources.
Detox Local – An excellent resource that features abundant information including mental health and substance use resources specifically for the AAPI (American Asian and Pacific Islander) community.
African American Health Disparities guide
Mental Health Issues facing the Black Community
Deconstructing White Privilege by Dr. Robin DiAngelo
Watch these videos to hear first hand accounts of what our Black brothers and sisters live. Then read everyday people’s experiences through the hashtag #realizediwasblack. Watch the rules Tik Tok user @skoodupcam’s mother makes him follow just so he comes home each night. Share with others.
Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup from Pretty Good
When people say that Black Lives Matter is a violent/terrorist group, explain to them that there are fringe groups that are being misrepresented as part of BLM.
Watch Dear White People (Justin Simien) on Netflix
Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
The Conscious Kid: follow them on Instagram and consider signing up for their Patreon
”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)
“Bloomberg and The Legacy of Stop-and-Frisk” (The Daily Show)
How to learn about another culture
A Prayer: Turning to God in times of Trouble
Freedom is Coming: A Juneteenth Reflection
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Find out if your school, workplace, or faith group has an Equity Committee. What can you learn from them? Are they open to new members? Join if you can. Support in other ways if you can’t.
“Walking While Black” (Garnette Cadogan)
“Well Meaning White People” (Smartest Person in the Room)
White Privilege (Kyla Lacey)
Think about the country that you live in. What are some of the national racial stereotypes–spoken and unspoken, historic and modern–associated with Black women? Black men?
“Why Seeing Yourself Represented on Screen Is So Important” (Kimberley Lawson)
Consider
Does your solidarity change the way you spend your money?
Does your solidarity make you a disruptive presence in white spaces?
Does your solidarity challenge your country’s values?
Watch “When They See Us” (Ava DuVernay) on Netflix
The Legacy of Racial Injustice
Confronting Symbols of Segregation and Racial Inequality
“Why is this happening?” — an introduction to police brutality from 100 Year Hoodie
Watch In The White Man’s Image
Young Adult Resource – I am Alfonso Jones
Mary Bassett: How Does Racism Affect Your Health?
You Cannot Divorce Race From Immigration
Don’t buy from companies that use prison labor. Find a good list here. Stand outside of these stores with a sign that reads “[Company] uses prison labor” even if for 30 mins a few times a month. Others will take a shift.
‘Intergroup anxiety’: Can you try too hard to be fair?
The Disturbing History of the Suburbs Video
Read up about mandatory minimum sentences and watch videos about this on Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM’s) website. FAMM’s website includes work being done at the federal level and state level. Call or write to your state legislators and governor about reducing mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug crimes.
Hip hop, grit, and academic success
Things to pay attention to this week
What is the racial mix of the main characters in your favorite TV shows? Movies?
What is the racial mix of people pictured in the photos and artwork in your home? In your friend, family, and colleagues’ homes?
Who is filling what kinds of jobs/social roles in your world? (e.g. Who’s the store manager and who’s stocking the shelves? Who’s waiting on tables and who’s busing the food?) Can you correlate any of this to racial identity?
Neil Degrasse Tyson on being Black, and Women in Science
Donate to anti-white supremacy work such as your local Black Lives Matter Chapter, the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, the NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, United Negro College Fund, Black Youth Project 100, Color of Change, The Sentencing Project, Families against Mandatory Minimums, A New Way of Life, Equal Justice Initiative, and Dream Defenders. Join some of these list-serves and take action as their emails dictate.
Support black businesses. Find them on WeBuyBlack, The Black Wallet, and Official Black Wall Street. Another great list is here.
Join your local Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) group. There is a lot of awesome work going on locally — Get involved in the projects that speak to you.
Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
“Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin (June 1, 2020)
- Read White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (Peggy McIntonsh)
Listen to NPR episode about Whistling Vivaldi
Read 50 states, 50 different ways of teaching America’s past video
Read How White People got Made
Things to pay attention to:
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- What percentage of the day are you able to be with people of your own racial identity?
- Notice how much of your day you are speaking about racism. Who are you engaging with on these issues? Who are you not? Why do you think this is?
- What are the last five books you read? What is the racial mix of the authors?
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Listen to Parenting Forward podcast episode ‘Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt’
Read “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)
Listen to “Lament” words by Mark Miller & Adam Tice, music by Mark Miller
Read Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (Beverly Tatum)
Take the Racial Bias Test – this will help you understand what your biases are for yourself
Prepare yourself to interrupt racial jokes. Click HERE for some advice about how.
Checkout this Soudtrack4justice playlist
Follow Racial Justice activists, educators, and organizations on social media. Here are some ideas to get you started. A good way to widen your circle of who you follow is to check out who these organizations follow, quote, repost, and retweet.
Privilege to Progress Black Minds Matter
Conversations with White People: Talking about race (Facebook Group)
Race Forward Racial Equity Tools
Watch How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them, TED Talk by Vernā Myers, encourages work vigorously to counter balance bias by connecting with and learning about and from the groups we fear.
United Methodist Church Social Principles – Rights of Racial and Ethnic Persons
United Methodist Church General Commission on Religion and Race Response to George Floyd’s Death
United Methodist Church General Commission on Religion and Race Response to Ahmaud Arbery’s Death
Sometimes we don’t see Racism in the world because we aren’t looking for it. Check out this video on awareness
Things to pay attention to this week
– Who is and is not represented in the ads you see?
– Who are your ten closest friends? What is the racial mix in this group?
– As you move through the day, what’s the racial composition of the people around you? On your commute? At the coffee shop you go to? At the gym? At your workplace?
A Special Essay from Andrew Young
Children’s book list for conversations on race
The Danger of a Single Story Ted talk
How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion Ted Talk
Read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and join the St. Paul UMC book study
Watch The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax (good for teens)