If you’re reading this, it means you’re here to learn more about how to fight entrenched racism and become an ally to the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community. We’ve put together a list of resources that our team has found helpful to understand the true extent of systemic racism, and how we can become better allies for the BIPOC community. The resources below are a compilation from various experts, authors, and members of the community. By no means is this comprehensive, but it has served as a valuable starting point to spark discussions and facilitate awareness and action.
Books to Read:
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Tatum
I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
Whistling Vivaldi by Claude Steel
White Awake by Daniel Hill
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Why I No Longer Talk to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Loge
The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The End of Policing by Alex Vitale
Articles to Read:
Walking While Black by Garnette Cadogan
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Why Seeing Yourself Represented On Screen is So Important by Kimberly Lawson
Podcasts to Listen To:
I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
‘Whistling Vivaldi’ and Beating Sterotypes – NPR
Well Meaning White People – Smartest Person in the Room with Laura Tremaine
A Decade on Watching Black People Die – Code Switch/NPR
Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist – Unlocking us with Brené Brown
Kaepernick – Still Processing/NYTimes
White Lies – NPR
Videos and Documentaries to Watch:
White Awake by Daniel Hill
Why Are White People So Bad at talking About Race by Robin DiAngelo
Bloomberg and the Legacy of Stop-and-Frisk – Between the Scenes/The Daily Show
How Can We Win by David Jones
13th by Ava Duvernay (Available on Netflix)
American Son by Kenny Leon (Available on Netflix)
Dear White People by Justin Simien (Available on Netflix)
When They See Us by Ava Duvernay (Available on Netflix)
I Am Not Your Negro – a James Baldwin Documentary (available on Amazon Prime)
The Hate U Give by George Tillman Jr. (Available on Hulu)
Other Actions you can take:
Initiate conversations with friends and family about racism, police brutality, social injustice, and white privilege. If you’re unsure where to begin, use the above resources as talking points to help begin a conversation.
If you are a parent or legal guardian, talk to your children about racism and inequality. These conversations may feel strange to have with a child, but it’s important to draw their attention to experiences that may differ from their own and to broaden their awareness.
Get active in your local community. Attend city council meetings and write to your local politicians, councils, and police to demand change and adopt resolutions condemning police brutality and use of force.
Exercise your right to vote to ensure that officials, measures, and propositions that will uplift BIPOC are not ignored. If you need to register to vote, you can do so here: https://www.vote.org/register-to-vote/
Donate to organisations support BIPOC. We are currently donating to the ACLU foundation. Alternative organisations to support include: the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defence and Education Fund, The Bail Project, National Bail Out, the Equal Justice Initiative, the BLMP, the Legal Rights Center, the Black Voters Matter Fund, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Black Lives Matter, and the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. These are just a few of the many organisations doing powerful work to advance BIPOC that could use your help.
This is just a start, and it’s important to remember that it doesn’t end here. This is just the beginning.
