Now is the time to educate ourselves to the issues that Black and Brown people face, everyday, for more than four centuries. Becoming aware of our white privilege and taking suitable action is of utmost importance in this time of unrest due to the social, political, and financial inequality of people of color. Listed below are good books, articles, podcasts and documentaries to learn about the issues of BLM. There is also a list for different places you can donate. Get active in voting rights, a critical issue for our democracy and to level the political field.
Books (please consider purchasing from your local Black-owned book store)
Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
How To Be An AntiRacist by Ibram X. Kendi
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Oddo Lodge
Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World by Layla Saad
Dear White America by Tim Wise
Eloquent rage by Brittney Cooper
Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison
They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, And A New Era In America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other
Conversations About Race by Beverly Tatum
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First
Century by Grace Lee Boggs
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing
Brown
Anything by bell hooks, including “Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and \
Feminism” or Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Articles
• “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)
• "The Case for Reparations" Ta-Nehisi Coates
• How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change by Barack Obama
• “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh
• Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay — Chances Are They’re Not
• How Amy Cooper and George Floyd represent two versions of racism that black Americans face every day
• Column: We are all horrified, but only white people have the luxury of being shocked
• George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery deaths: Racism causes life-threatening conditions for black men every day
• The Antiracism Starter Kit
• The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine
• “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)
Documentaries
• 13th
• I Am Not Your Negro
• The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975
• When They See Us
• The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax
• Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
• Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent
• Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
• Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
• If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
• Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent
• See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
Podcasts
• 1619 by The New York Times
• Code Sw!tch by NPR
• The United States of Anxiety by New York Public Radio
• Seeing White by Scene on Radio
• Come Through with Rebecca Carroll by WNYC Studios
• Racism at Work by Binna Kandola
• About Race
• Intersectionality Matters! (hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw)
• Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
• Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
• Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
Sign Petitions
Nation-wide
Justice for George Floyd (biggest change.org US petition of all time)
• #JusticeforFloyd
• Justice for Breonna Taylor
• Justice for Ahmaud Arbery
• Justice for Tony McDade
COVID-19 specific
• Minneapolis Needs to Invest in Community Led Safety Initiatives
• Demand Racial Data on Coronavirus
• Demand Better Government Response to Coronavirus
State-wide
Minnesota
• Minneapolis Needs to Invest in Community Led Safety Initiatives
Donate:
To the victims
George Floyd Memorial Fund Proceeds directly support George Floyd and his family.
I Run With Maud Proceeds directly support Ahmed Aubrey and his family.
Breonna Taylor Memorial Fund Proceeds directly support Breonna Taylor and her family.
In Memory of Tony McDade Proceeds directly support Tony McDade and his family.
Others: blacklivesmatters.com/#victims
Donate:
To the protestors
Know Your Rights Legal Campaign - The Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative has identified and teamed up with top defense lawyers nationwide to provide legal resources for those in need. When there is an injustice within our community, it is our legal right to address it, by any means necessary.
Donate:
To Community bail funds - Various local community bail out funds
Brooklyn Community Bail Fund - is committed to challenging the racism, inequality, and injustice of a criminal legal system and immigration and deportation regime that disproportionately target and harm low-income communities of color.
National Bail Out Fund - Free Black Mamas. The National Bail Out Collective coordinates the Mama’s Day Bail Outs, bailing out as many Black Mamas and caregivers as they can so they are able to spend Mother’s Day with their families where they belong.
Minnesota Freedom Fund - The Minnesota Freedom Fund pays criminal bail and immigration bond for those who cannot afford to as we seek to end discriminatory, coercive, and oppressive jailing.
Donate:
To BLM organizations
Black Lives Matter - Black Lives Matter supports the movement and ongoing fight to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever.
Campaign Zero - Campaign Zero works to provide a comprehensive package of urgent policy solutions - informed by data, research and human rights principles - can change the way police serve our communities. For more information, please visit their website or their umbrella organization, We the Protesters.
Color of Change - Color Of Change designs campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward.
Reclaim the Block - Reclaim the Block began in 2018 and organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.
Black Visions Collective - Black Visions Collective (BLVC) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.
Equal Justice Initiative - The Equal Justice Initiative is a non-profit organization, based in Montgomery, Alabama, that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial.
American Civil Liberties Union - The American Civil Liberties Union is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States".
Southern Poverty Law Center - Southern Poverty Law Center monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the U.S. and exposes their activities to law enforcement agencies, the media
Unicorn Riot - A source of independent media based in Minneapolis dedicated to covering environmental and societal issues and amplifying the voices of people marginalized by dominant society.
Northstar Health Collective - Northstar Health Collective works in alliance with mainstream and anti-authoritarian organizations to create a safe and healthy events. They stand in solidarity with the need for diverse strategies and tactics.
Black Voters Matter - "Our goal is to increase political power in Black communities. Effective voting allows a community to determine its own destiny."
Until Freedom - is an intersectional social justice organization rooted in the leadership of diverse people of color to address systemic and racial injustice. At Until Freedom, we believe that those closest to the pain are closest to the solution, therefore, we focus on investing in those who are the most directly impacted by cyclical poverty, inequality, and state violence.
Loveland Foundation - The Loveland Foundation was established in 2018 by Rachel Cargle in response to her widely successful birthday wish fundraiser, Therapy for Black Women and Girls. Her enthusiastic social media community raised over $250,000, which made it possible for Black women and girls nationally to receive therapy support. Black women and girls deserve access to healing, and that healing will impact generations.
Donate:
To Black-owned businesses
Pimento Relief Fund - Pimento provides black businesses without insurance relief after white supremacists set them on fire during the protests.
Black Owned Businesses Atlanta - This is in support of the Black businesses that have been affected during the recent protests that took place in Atlanta, Ga
Others: blacklivesmatters.com/#business
Donate:
To rebuilding communities
The Lake Street Council (501c3) will donate 100% of funds to help rebuild Lake Street, starting with direct support to small businesses and nonprofits to help them rebuild their storefronts, reopen their businesses and serve our neighborhoods.
Donate:
To Black-led LGBTQ+ organizations
Black AIDS Institute - Our mission is to stop the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV.
Trans Justice Funding Program - The Trans Justice Funding Project is a community-led funding initiative founded in 2012 to support grassroots, trans justice groups run by and for trans people.