Today is Juneteenth, and I wanted to share some resources for white people that I’ve found helpful in my own journey of unlearning, growing, and understanding the complexity of racism in our society. If you have other resources to share, or questions not addressed here, feel free to share.
Black History
Black history is American history. It should be taught in schools — and not just in February during Black History Month. Here are some things you may not be aware of:
- Juneteenth
- Black Wall Street/The Tulsa Massacre
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Henrietta, a Black woman, had cells taken without her consent or knowledge. They continue to be used in science labs across the globe.
- Blackface is bad. Here’s why.
- The Confederate flag is also bad: it’s not a symbol of southern pride, but a symbol of slavery. Read the Confederate president’s full speech on why the Confederacy was created. (If you don’t want to read the whole thing, at least process this excerpt: “[The Confederate government’s] corner-stone rests upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.”)
- What was the Jim Crow era?
Black Experiences
- Black hair has been regulated in schools and workplaces for many, many years. YouTube has been a huge resource to me to better understand the care and celebration of Black hair. Start with this video!
- Racial profiling and mass incarceration
- 13th, a film by Ava DuVernay, now streaming on Netflix
- What does defunding the police really mean?
- Black women are at much higher risk of dying during pregnancy — even though most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
- Public schools are largely funded by property taxes, and a history of discriminatory housing policies means many Black neighborhood schools do not have the same resources as those serving majority white students. Read this paper for more.
Things to Read and Listen to
- Savage Inequalities: this book, about school inequities in the US, was a huge aha moment for me.
- White Fragility: how can we, as white people, set our egos aside and do the hard work of changing the status quo that serves us at the expense of others?
- The Ideology of Slavery: slavery was supported by every argument under the sun. Understand how the system was defended and how those arguments can apply to racial inequities today.
- A huge list of lists for diverse kids’ books
- 1619, a podcast from the New York Times
Places to Donate