So you want to be anti-racist. As a wave of protests for black lives sweeps the nation and swells locally, the term “anti-racist” has become the signaling phrase for how white folks and allies should strive to be. Rather than simply being “not racist,” organizers urge folks to be “anti-racist” because the idea is that everyone is racist because we are part of a racist society, a racist world. So instead, we must actively combat racism, be anti-racist. Here are just a few tools to get you started. Some required reading, watching and ways to support local organizations that are doing the work.
WATCH
- 13th (Netflix, Youtube)
- When They See Us (Netflix)
- I Am Not Your Negro (Amazon)
- LA 92 (Netflix)
READ
(Support local bookstores and libraries if you can!)
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas In America by Ibram X. Kendi
- Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century by Dorothy Roberts
- Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by Bell Hooks
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Kid friendly texts:
- The Color of Us by Karen Katz
- The Skin I’m In by Pat Thomas
- Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
LISTEN
- 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah Jones
- Code Switch by NPR
- Yo, Is This Racist by Earwolf
- Throughline by NPR
- Still Processing by New York Times
- Lynching in America by Equal Justice Institute
- Intersectionality Matters! by Kimberlé Crenshaw
BLACK ORGS/BUSINESSES
Greensboro/Guilford
- Black Dollar Blog — list of NC-based black businesses
- Greensboro Rising — a local group of black activists who have been organizing protests and action
- Anti-racist white folks Facebook group — a Greensboro-based group specifically for white people to get involved and learn more about how to be anti-racist
- Guilford For All — a multiethnic advocacy group that fights for racial equality, schools and more
- Greensboro Black Lives Matter — a Facebook group and organization that works to develop action locally
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
- Equity Forsyth’s anti-racist resource guide
- Forsyth County Bail Fund — a fund to people who are unable to afford bail gain their release from pre-trial detention through community donations
- Action4Equity — a community organization fighting for racial justice in schools
- Hate Out of Winston — Grassroots, anti-racist organization
- Forsyth Freedom Federation — Grassroots, anti-racist organization
Want more? Visit here for a more comprehensive anti-racist guide.
Great list! Add “White Rage” by Carol Anderson.