Advocate for black lives

In order to create lasting change, we must dismantle the systems of white supremacy our country was built on. Right now, we're focusing on:

1. Education: learning from Black educators, writers, and leaders about how we can deconstruct white supremacy, become better anti-racists, and further the Black Lives Matter movement. 
2. Action: demanding change to eradicate white supremacy and the structures that support police brutality.

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We've created a list of resources below that we're using as a starting point for educating ourselves and taking action, but it is just a start. We look forward to being able to also put this into practice when we open again.  Please let us know any suggestions for additional actions or resources, and we will add them to this list.

Let's GET EDUCATED

We're checking out...

• These Anti-Racism Resources from racial justice educator Rachel Rickets, that includes focus areas areas like healing for women of color and spiritual activism
  • ​We got a lot out of her Spiritual Activism 101 & 102 courses
• This shareable anti-racism guide from Tasha K. Ryles, that includes suggested pre-reading, memoirs, essays, and resources on immigration, indigenous studies, Latinx studies, and more.
• Elizabeth's Book Shop from activist, author, and educator Rachel Cargel has many book lists, and a percent of all sales go to The Loveland Foundation to support their mission of making mental healthcare accessible for Black women and girls. 
• This guide on anti-racism for beginners, from Tiffany Bowden, PhD, with articles, definitions, terms to understand, books to read, Black educators and leaders to follow, and other ways you can take action.
• Medium's list of 75 things white people can do for racial justice. 
• A few thought-provoking reads on Medium: 
  • ​From Yawo Brown: The Subtle Linguistics of Polite White Supremacy
  • From Real Talk: WOC & Allies: ​Holy shit, being an ally isn’t about me!
• And, we are following and learning from these organizations: Black Lives Matter, Black Visions Collective, Campaign Zero, Color Of Change, Equal Justice Initiative, Movement for Black Lives, Momentum Alliance, NO WHITE SAVIORS, Showing up for Racial Justice, We the Urban

Books we've been reading:

• Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y Davis
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
• So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo 
• Combahee River Collective Statement
  • How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor 
• Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
• Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Anniversary) by Michelle Alexander
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
  
• Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
• Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge 
• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper  
• Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y Davis
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (with this caveat in mind)
• I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
• Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers
• White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson 
• Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets by Feminista Jones
• A Black Women's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
• Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Let's Take action

Here are some ways to take action:

• Demand Justice for Breonna Taylor 
  • Sign this petition 
  • Send an email  to the Asst. Chief of Police and Prosecutor in Kentucky (link from Luvvie Ajayi)
• Tell Congress to protect Black-owned businesses
• Support Black-owned Bay Area restaurants (curated by Solei Ho) and BIWOC owned businesses (curated by Rachel Ricketts)
  • If you're utilizing resources from educators and authors and have the means to do so, support them financially by making a purchase.
• People of privilege (we're looking at you, White people): Check yourself.  Take some time today and every day to unpack your privilege so you can actively make decisions that no longer uphold racist systems.
• Get involved with organizations dedicated to the cause.  If you're able, you can volunteer with or donate to organizations; consider checking out Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP),  Black Lives Matter, Black Visions Collective, Black Women for Positive Change, Black Youth Project 100 (BYP 100),  Movement for Black Lives, The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The National Bail Fund Network, NorCal Resilience Network, and Say Her Name 
• Mobilize voters to fight White supremacy and defeat Trump. Sign up here to join SURJ’s #CollectYourCousins community to mobilize voters across the country.
• In Person: Those with White privilege can protect Black people from the police at demonstrations. Here's a guide from Vice on how to protest safely.
• Support on the ground efforts:  Here are ways we can contribute to on the work in the Twin Cities, Louisville, and Georgia.