Recommended Racial Justice Resources? Here Are A Few Of Ours.

Black people are leading us toward a better humanity—will we follow?

Friends, we are witnessing a global uprising, a groundswell of racial justice, but simply witnessing it isn’t enough. We must deepen our commitment to practicing anti-racism, and one great step is to make a commitment to educating ourselves.

As an organization, we’ve worked for nearly four decades to advance the cause of justice in our community, but have we publicly committed ourselves to being anti-racist? We’re in process and growing, we have so much to learn (and unlearn), and we commit ourselves as a staff and community to work at this, starting with dedicated time of education and new learning.

This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive or seminal list. Many of those lists already exist and are amazing. This is just a simple list of black creatives, leaders, scholars, wordsmiths and their work.

These are resources our staff are currently learning from, and please take a minute in the comments to share your own!

1) Activist and author Kimberly Jones cuts through the discussion on rioting, looting, and protesting to get to what we consider the heart of the matter: a systemic history of foul play, unfairness, and oppression. Please watch!

2) Looking for creative ways to discuss racial justice with your friends or family? Or maybe just a different way to reflect and consider tough concepts like prejudice, fragility, privilege, or bias? This ‘card game’ is a stellar resource, and it’s free to download! Click below to get the entire PDF.

3) The Kalief Broder Story is a docuseries available on Netflix about a young man whose life is forever impacted by a deeply flawed justice system, racial inequality within that system, and particularly how the juvenile justice system failed him on every level. It is heavy, powerful, and absolutely worth watching.

4) There are so many video teachings and trainings by black experts worth watching, but this one is exceptional. If you enjoy a conversational approach to learning, this is a great resource. The speakers are high energy, brilliant, and compelling.

5) Ijeoma Oluo’s work is characterized by hard-hitting honesty, first-hand stories, and an uncanny ability to put tough concepts ‘on the bottom shelf’ for people. If you’re new to these conversations and eager to find language and ideas in an easy-to-understand-form, this book is a great start.

6) Tupac Shakur would have turned 49 last week. There’s a lot that could be said about his life, legacy, and unique voice—not to mention his music—but perhaps some of his most compelling and underrated work was his poetry. In “The Rose That Grew From Concrete,” Tupac offers very real, vivid, and humanizing insights into struggles shared by all, and particularly black Americans.