resources for contemplation and action, june 28
Book to read: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Remi Shores says, “The title comes from Tupac’s album THUGLIFE: the hate u give little infants fucks everyone. This is a YA (young adult) book and adults have lots to learn from it. The main character is a Black girl in high school who saw her best friend murdered by police. She goes to a mostly white, private school (because her mom wants her in a safer place) but her Black friends have complicated feelings about that. It’s nuanced and funny and lovely and sad.”
Social media account to follow: Good Black Reads on Instagram, @goodblackreads. Katie Hays says, “Do you read novels, poetry, short stories, biographies, non-fiction, sci-fi, satire, or anything else? This Insta curates all kinds of terrific books by Black authors. It occasionally highlights up-and-coming Black authors for their new work, as well as historic Black authors for their body of work. I’ve learned a ton, and gotten some great recs for my summer reading.”
Podcast to subscribe to: seasons 1 & 2 of “Seeing White” in Scene On Radio. Eleanor Garrett-Grimsley says, “I like this podcast because it explores racism from anthropological and sociological standpoints. It’s hosted by a white guy to help white people understand how we are complicit in sustaining systemic racism (the status quo from which we benefit) even if we can’t see our role in current events.”
Movie or TV to watch: I Am Not Your Negro on Hulu. Nominated for “Best Documentary Feature” in 2016, and based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript, and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, this doc explores Baldwin’s friendships with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. Baldwin was queer and unafraid to write characters at the intersection of race and sexuality.
Playlist or artist to listen to: “100 Essential Songs About the Struggle” by Sean & Kieran Yates. These Galileo co-conspirators (father and son) are connoisseurs of many genres, and they put together this list just for us. Warning: explicit language.
Cause to donate to: Brennan Center for Justice. Mike Perry says, “One major, long-term strategy for achieving social justice is ensuring that we have a real democracy in which all voices can be heard. The non-partisan Brennan Center fights for voting rights, election security, campaign finance reform, electoral college reform, and putting an end to mass incarceration.”
Question or topic for white people to discuss IRL with white friends and family members: Overt (socially unacceptable) vs. covert (socially acceptable) white supremacy. The Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence developed a graphic that looks like an iceberg, where the part you can see above the water line names overt forms of racism that none of us would ever do (we wouldn’t, right?); but the far larger piece of the iceberg is under the water’s surface, invisible (covert white supremacy) and all the more dangerous. Take a look, and talk about it at the dinner table.