An Ongoing List of Ways to Join the Anti-Racist Fight

Pin It
2088
13th, 2016(Film still)

As Black Lives Matter protests continue, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, a running list of anti-racist resources

Donate: organistations to support financially

  1. Black Lives Matter: With bases in the UK, US and Canada, Black Lives Matter is an organisation dedicated to taking action against white supremacy and encouraging others to do the same. Black Lives Matter’s regional outposts have organised many of the protests happening across the US and the UK
  2. Unicorn Riot: Media organisation Unicorn Riot is dedicated to covering social and environmental issues through its independent platform, funded by grants and donations. Unicorn Riot’s frontline journalists have been reporting daily on protests in the US in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
  3. National Bail Fund Network: The National Bail Fund Network’s directory is a comprehensive list of community bail funds across the US’ 50 states. Created by the Community Justice Exchange, the network is a valuable resource as protests throughout the country will likely mean an increase in arrests.
  4. Color of Change: The US’ largest online racial justice organisation, Color of Change, campaigns for an end to the injustices faced by black people in America, spanning criminal justice, workplace justice, politics, voting freedom and democracy, economic justice and more. The organisation is dedicated to building campaigns based on enacting change and long term solutions.  
  5. George Floyd Memorial Fund: The George Floyd Memorial Fund was set up by Floyd’s sister Philonise in the wake of his death. As Floyd’s family seek justice for his death, a separate petition has been signed by over 10 million people which calls for the officers involved to face criminal charges (so far one officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter). 
  6. Reclaim the Block: Reclaim the Block campaigns for a safer Minneapolis by organising for violence prevention, housing, resources for youth, emergency mental health response teams, and solutions to the opioid crisis to be funded over the police. The organisation also spearheads community initiatives that aim to reduce the reliance on the police across the city. 
  7. Campaign Zero: Campaign Zero’s mission is to end police violence in the US, and outlines actions that local, state and federal officials can take in order to enact change at policy levels. The organisation tracks progress in legislation across cities and states, and encourages people to educate themselves on how their local representatives have acted to end police violence, and to demand action. 
  8. Black Visions Collective: Minnesota-based Black Visions Collective is a black-, trans- and queer-led organisation which campaigns for longterm change in the state’s justice and political systems, by empowering black people on local levels. In the wake of Floyd’s death, the organisation is campaigning for the defunding of the police.
  9. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund: With litigation, advocacy and public education, the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund works across America towards racial justice. Founded in 1940, the New York-based law firm focuses on human and civil rights. 
  10. The Bail Project: Working in cities across America, The Bail Project’s National Revolving Bail Fund helps those who have been arrested by paying bail sums, with the aim of reducing racial and economic inequalities in the incarceration system.
  11. Black Mamas Bail OutsRun by the black-led organisation National Bail Out Collective, Black Mamas Bail Outs works to release women and caregivers who have been arrested but can’t afford bail. Beyond providing bail funds, the collective offers fellowship programmes and employment opportunities to people it works with. 
  12. The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust: The UK-based organisation was set up in the name of Stephen Lawrence, who was killed in a racially motivated attack in 1993. The trust works with young people, aged 13 to 30, from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them into employment, and also helps companies operate in a more diverse way. 
  13. Mutual Aid Project: Organised by Women For Political Change, the Mutual Aid Project raises funds which are distributed across community projects and members of Women For Political Change who are in need of financial support. “Requests for aid are granted to women, trans and non-binary folks under 30 residing in Minnesota, priority given to those who are Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), queer, sick or disabled, undocumented, unemployed, and/or a parent or caretaker,” says the organisation. 
  14. Art Leaders of Color Emergency Fund: Set up by the Art Administrators of Color Network, this emergency fund benefits those financially impacted by the Covid-19 who work in the arts industries. BIPOC artists and administrators based in the US can apply to receive money from the fund. 
  15. The Black Arts Futures Fund: In support of other organisations which promote and strengthen the future of black art, the Black Arts Futures Fund provides grants to small non-profits working in that arena. 
  16. American Civil Liberties Union: The ACLU’s current campaigning is focused on fighting racism, defending the right to protest and reimagining policing in the USA, calling for structural reform that tackles institutional racism throughout the country. 
  17. Anti Police-Terror Project: APTP works to stop police terror in communities of colour in the US, by developing a “replicable and sustainable” model that can be widely applied. The organisation – which is black-led, multiracial and intergenerational – also works with families who have suffered police terror, by fighting for justice and connecting victims with legal aid and resources. 
  18. Minnesota Healing Justice Network: The Minnesota Healing Justice Network is an organisation which counts over 100 community leaders, therapists, herbalists, artists, educators, birthworkers, nurses and more whose focus is the health and wellness of IBPOC families – who are impacted disproportionately by trauma, maternal and infant death – in the state. 
  19. Fashion For All Foundation: The New York-based organisation Fashion For All Foundation strives for more diversity and equality within the fashion industry, and was founded in 2016. As well as events throughout the year, the foundation runs summer programmes which provide information and skills to students who wish to pursue a career in the fashion industry. 
  20. Diversify Photo: Aiming for greater diversity within the world of photography, Diversify Photo works with art buyers, creative directors and photo directors to ensure that more photographers of colour are hired and commissioned. The organisation’s extensive photographer database provides contact details and information on image-makers working today. 
  21. Northside Achievement Zone: Based in North Minneapolis, Northside Achievement Zone works with children and families to end generational poverty in the city, aiming for “all low-income children of colour graduate from high school college- and career-ready”. The NAZ engages with schools and local communities to ensure that young people can achieve success in and after high school. 

Read: books to educate yourself with

  1. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo: From anger to fear, guilt, denial and silence, DiAngelo’s 2019 book explores the ways that white people react when it is pointed out to them that they have said or done something racist and how this “white fragility” serves to uphold the system of white supremacy.
  2. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge: What started as a blog post in 2014, which went viral, Eddo-Lodge’s book explains why she decided to no longer engage with white people (specifically those who refuse to accept the legitimacy of structural racism and its symptoms) on the topic of race and is an essential read about what it is to be a person of colour in the UK today.
  3. Killing Rage: Ending Racism by bell hooks: Written from a black feminist perspective, hooks’ 1996 publication brings together 28 essays tackling the bitter difficulties of racism – from psychological trauma among African-Americans, friendship between black women and white women, and internalised racism in movies and the media.
  4. Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde: Bringing together 15 essays and speeches from the self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”, Sister Outsider represents an “incisive, unflinching, and lyrical” exploration of sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, which – though it reflects struggle – ultimately offers messages of hope.
  5. How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi: Combining ethics, history, law, and science with Kendi’s own personal story of awakening to anti-racism, How To Be An Antiracist invites us to imagine what an anti-racist society might look like and to think about how we can play an active role in building it.
  6. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: One of Morrison’s most celebrated novels, The Bluest Eye tells the story of a young African-American girl called Pecola who grows up in the aftermath of the Great Depression and, seen as “ugly”, develops an inferiority complex and a desire for blue eyes which she associates with whiteness.
  7. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcom X: Written in collaboration with Alex Haley, the author of Roots, this autobiography recounts the life and work of American Muslim minister and civil rights pioneer Malcolm X, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
  8. Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala: The latest book from the London-born rapper, intellectual and writer, Natives explores race and class in the UK, debunking the British myth of meritocracy.

Follow: people to follow on social media

  1. Reni Eddo-Lodge: Eddo-Lodge is the author of previously mentioned Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, who has paused a social media hiatus in order to speak out. She is asking everybody who buys a copy of the book to make a donation of the same cost – better yet, she says, borrow a copy from a local library and donate the money you would have spent. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
  2. Mireille Harper: The assistant editor of Square Peg Books and a freelance writer, Harper has created a graphic explaining 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship – ways to be an longtime ally to the black community after posting messages of support on social media. You can find (and share) the graphic on her Instagram or Twitter.
  3. Indya Moore: The former AnOther cover star has become a voice for change on their Instagram account, providing a wealth of resources for those who are taking part in protests, as well as continually highlighting the importance of remembering and fighting for the queer and trans POC who have lost their lives due to white violence. You can follow Indya on Instagram and Twitter.
  4. Clint Smith: Smith is a writer, poet and educator, whose work focuses on incarceration and inequality. It feels a more relevant time than ever to revisit his work – whether the powerful poetry anthology Counting Descent, one of his TED Talks, or simply follow him on Instagram where he has posted his own book recommendations.
  5. Rachel Ricketts: The racial justice educator and activist has compiled one of the most comprehensive anti-racism resources on her own website. This includes an introduction to the anti-racism movement, articles on racism and spirituality and wellness, and numerous open-source workshops you can take part in.
  6. Ijeoma Oluo: The American writer’s So You Want To Talk About Race is a vital book about race politics – from police brutality to mass incarceration – in an age of virulent white supremacy. On her social media channels she is providing her own advice about protest self-care and tangible ways allies can help the cause of black liberation.
  7. The Conscious Kid: Educating the next generation feels more important than ever; The Conscious Kid provides resources for parenting and education through a critical race lens. Find lists of children’s books which support conversations on race, racism and resistance and ways to take action for all non-black people.
  8. Jelani Cobb: Cobb is an award-winning staff writer at the New Yorker, where he writes about race, politics, history, and culture, and a professor at Columbia University, as well as the author of The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress. Recent – and must-read – pieces on the New Yorker have included Minneapolis, the Coronavirus, and Trump’s Failure to See a Crisis Coming and The Death of George Floyd, in Context.

Do: articles to read, podcasts to listen to and films to watch

  1. The Black Power Mixtape 1967–75: The Black Power Mixtape 1967–75, directed by Göran Olsson, is a documentary that examines the evolution of the Black Power movement in American society, featuring archival footage of Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale and Abiodun Oyewole. The film is available to watch on NOWNESS
  2. Intersectionality Matters!: Hosted by the scholar and civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw (who coined the term intersectionality in 1989), Intersectionality Matters! is a podcast which explores the significance of its title topic in relation to civil rights and race theory today. 
  3. Code Switch: NPR podcast Code Switch offers “the fearless conversations about race that you’ve been waiting for”, delivered by a team of people of colour. From making pop culture connections to looking at how what is happening today echoes history, the podcast shows how racism affects everyone. 
  4. BOLD: Conversations About Race: Produced by White People 4 Black Lives, BOLD: Conversations About Race is a collaborative podcast from Small Beans and Showing Up For Racial Justice, a network and organisation which educates white people on how they can fight racial injustice in the US. 
  5. Welcome to the Anti-Racism Movement, Here’s What You’ve Missed: Published in 2017, the Medium article by Ijeoma Oluo is a comprehensive list of “things you’re going to need to catch up on” when it comes to anti-racism. The article aims to inform white readers with knowledge that will help to make their fight against racism more effective. 
  6. What Should We Do With Videos of Police Brutality?: Writing for gal-dem – which is run by women and non-binary people of colour – journalist Kemi Alemoru unpacks the difficulties of sharing clips of police violence against people of colour in her article What Should We Do With Videos of Police Brutality?. “When it comes to something as viscerally distressing as a video of a person being murdered, perhaps there need to be more ground rules and decorum around their dissemination,” she writes. 
  7. 13th: Ava DuVernay’s Academy Award-nominated 2016 documentary 13th is available to watch on Netflix. The film explores how, despite slavery being abolished in the US in 1865, a society built on white supremacy and continued oppressions against black people have resulted in the mass incarceration of people of colour in the country today. (DuVernay’s drama series When They See Us premiered last year and is also on Netflix; the series is based on the 1989 case of five black men falsely accused, charged, and prosecuted for raping a woman in Central Park.) 
  8. I Am Not Your Negro: The 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro is based on an unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin entitled Remember This House. Available to watch on Amazon Prime, the film traces a history of racism in the US through Baldwin’s personal accounts of civil rights leaders Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr and Medgar Evers. Actor Samuel L Jackson narrates the film with Baldwin’s searing and enduring words. 
  9. What It's Really Like To Be Black and Work in Fashion: Lindsay Peoples Wagner’s 2018 feature for The Cut (Peoples Wagner is now editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue) saw her interview over 100 individuals who work in the fashion industry, providing eye-opening first-hand accounts of racism they have faced at work. 

Protest: ways to show solidarity in real life

Protesters have gathered across America in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, demanding the end of police brutality and institutionalised white supremacy in the country. Mashable has provided a comprehensive resource of how to find protests in your area if you are in the USA – find it here.

Protests in Europe are taking place, too, in support – as well as to protest racism in their own countries – with protesters gathering at Trafalgar Square and the American Embassy in London yesterday. Further protests are set to take place on Wednesday and Saturday this week in London.

Before you join, it is worth reading this infographic by @practicalmyth which addresses protesting during a pandemic, encouraging those who wish to protest to rethink traditional forms of protest in the UK, from socially distanced walk-outs to keeping your children out of school. If you do still wish to protest, though, Dazed has compiled an article on How to Protest Safely During a Pandemic, and legal advice from the Green and Black Cross can also be found here.