Anti-Racism Resources and BIPOC Stories

Jun 26

Jun 26 Anti-Racism Resources and BIPOC Stories

Currently Reading, Books, Documentary, Learning, Podcasts

Back in the beginning of May, which seems like years ago, the worst thing in the collective consciousness and the world was the pandemic. I was mostly content staying busy at home. Even though my day to day hasn’t changed much since May my mindset has permanently shifted. I am reading and learning from others about the systems of inequality and racism baked into our country, its foundational structure and the steps needed to change or dismantle them.

The fact that protests against police brutality and for Black Lives Matter came to my fairly docile suburb and the surrounding towns filled with people of privilege, money, status and skin tone, made it real. Even more than seeing groups of protesters in solidarity across the nation.

My voice doesn't need to be elevated right now so I’m providing a list of resources for continued learning. I'm currently delving into all of the below and revisiting some with the majority found from similar lists. Many of the resources below are books which are my preferred way of learning since I love being consumed by stories and narrative. Nothing is stopping you from searching and exploring on your own and the list below is not definitive by any means. Hopefully you’ve found and seen resource lists already but this is just my small compilation.

Change is happening. Let's get to work and hope it continues past the initial stage of outrage for real, permanent and lasting change.

Podcasts and Articles: 1619 | Uncivil | Armchair Expert Episode with Ibram X Kendi | Small Doses with Amanda Seales | The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates | The Power of Empty Pedestals by Michael Dickinson and Gregory Smithers | The Slowdown- Episode 408: The Emperor’s Deer | Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness- How Can Democrats Be Anti-Racist? with Alicia Garza | 97 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice | White Entrepreneurs Need to Stop Capitalizing on Black Culture by Rachel Cargle | 5 Things I Want to Tell My White Friends by Christine Pride | What It Means To Center Ourselves In Conversation—And How To Practice Decentering Instead | How to Build a Monument by Roxane Gay

Books: I’ve read, am reading or plan on reading the books below. Of the ones in my to be read pile I’ve put many of them on hold at my local library. It gives me a small amount of solace that these books are accessible, available and have accumulated so many holds. People are ready and willing to learn.

Curated Book Lists: Elizabeth's Bookshop & Writing Centre | Fulton Street Books and Coffee | Loyalty Bookstores

Nonfiction and Memoir: The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison | A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn | White Fragility by Robin Diangelo | How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi | Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates | Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad | So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo | The Terrible by Yrsa Daley-Ward | Heavy by Kiese Laymon | The Toni Morrison Book Club | My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem | Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell