Dear white people:
Listen to Black people. We need to educate ourselves. We need to do the work. All of us. Even if we think we are "progressive" or "liberal" or whatever term we use, we have work to do. There's an abundance of resources. Here are some that I use.
 |
Image Source: Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (2005). Adapted: Ellen Tuzzolo (2016); Mary Julia Cooksey Cordero (@jewelspewels) (2019); The Conscious Kid (2020)
|
White supremacy is not primarily about the things we associate with extremists. The current moment is not about "bad people" versus "good people." It's about racism versus antiracism. Framing the problem (white supremacy, systemic racism, racist policies) as bad people versus good people prevents us from doing the hard work to identify our own complicity and to change the system. Read some of the books listed below to understand this better.
 |
It's not about us and whether or not we're "good people."
Cartoon by Victor Varnado
|
Before you even crack open a book, follow these Black women on Facebook, Instagram, and/or other social media platforms:
Next, read or listen to a book about race by a Black author. Here are some that I have read. There are many others on my to-read list.
Starting points:
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
How to Be an Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi
Digging deeper:
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
Stamped from the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
The Warmth of Other Suns: the Epic Story of America's Great Migration Isabel Wilkerson
Note 1:
Read all kinds of books by Black authors - novels, poetry, memoirs, young adult and children's books, etc. One of the best and most compulsively readable novels I've read this year is Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. Check it out!
Note 2:
In addition to the books by Black authors listed above, I recommend White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.
Note 3:
I know many people learn a lot from podcasts. I'm not a podcast person, but I'm sure there are good podcasts that center and elevate Black voices.
Milwaukee area people, follow & support these local organizations:
Alice's Garden Urban Farm
Black Leaders Organizing for Communities
Leader Igniting Transformation
Love on Black Women
MKE Black
Sherman Phoenix
 |
| If you haven't already, please read Letter from a Birmingham Jail. |
