Racial Justice: How to Take Action & Learn More

Racial Justice: How to Take Action & Learn More

The time to show up is now. We don’t claim to be experts, but we can use our platform to share resources and amplify the voices of the leaders at the forefront of dismantling racism. The great educator, Rachel Cargle noted "to show up you must come forward boldly with three things: Knowledge, Empathy, and Action". This list is our attempt to share resources with our community on how to gain more Knowledge and Empathy, and how to take real Action.

Reminders before you start:

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be antiracist” - Angela Davis

“Anti-racism is not an identity or a checklist; it’s an ongoing decision to uproot the ways white supremacy resides within you, your relationships and the systems you navigate each day”- @andrearanaej 

Systemic racism is not going to be dismantled overnight. But you can help now, learn now, do now. 

Your voice matters. Staying silent because you don’t know how to speak up perfectly is not what is needed. Change happens with lots of imperfect people doing things imperfectly. 

Optical allyship is a thing. Don’t just make a statement and not do the deep, sometimes uncomfortable work. Allyship is also not done solely online, doing the work offline is just as important. 

Share this with your friends, with your family, with your community.

Actions you can take, from the most immediate to the more long term. If you’ve already done or come across these great! If not, it’s never too late: 

  • Text FLOYD to 55156 and sign the petition.
  • Go to Justice for Big Floyd and sign that super petition. You can also easily call the County Attorney through the website, they provide instructions.
  • Don’t forget to sign the petitions for Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
  • Contact your congressional representative and demand national criminal justice reform.
  • If you are able, here is where you can donate
  • Here’s a comprehensive list of 75 Things white People Can Do for Racial Justice.
  • Start with yourself and your community. Have these conversations at the dinner table. We must address the overt and covert racism in our Arab & Muslim communities. Encourage your community to learn about structural racism and how to be an anti-racist with you. Watch movies together, form book clubs, create space to have these sometimes difficult discussions. Read on for re-education resources.
  • Support efforts in your community to get people out of jails and detention centers. Follow organizations that are leading on this issue like Color of Change.
  • Fight to protect our elections. You can help by getting involved in your local progressive campaigns.
  • Keep sharing resources, using your voice, and taking action long term. Emotions are high now, but this is an issue that requires continuous commitment to the work.

Re-Educate yourself and your community with these resources:

  • Join Noor Tagouri’s AYS Hour this upcoming week on IG Live and learn from black voices and educators about racism & allyship. 
  • Use this great list of Anti-Racism resources, which includes: podcasts, books, movies and organizations to follow.
  • Learn about Prisons, Police & Abolition from Because We’ve Read, an international book club challenging understandings of the status quo. 
  • Follow the leaders in this movement, and more importantly read their books, listen to their podcasts, and take their workshops. There is following to passively consume and following to actively learn, be a mindful social media user: 

    Once again we give full credit to the activists, educators and journalists who have been doing this work for years. We stand by our black brothers and sisters, will continue to do so, and hope that you do to. If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you. 

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