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Author's Note: I'm writing this in hopes that it can be used to lighten the load of marginalized folks, keeping in mind that not all marginalized people want to engage in the ally conversation, and that is perfect as well. For those who do, my prayer is that when someone asks you the question, "how can I be a stronger ally?" you might choose to save your breath/energy and send this in its place.
I have been asked by two dear friends, "how can I be a stronger ally?" Being the slow emotional processor that I am, I wanted to spend some time with this before I answered them. I surely appreciate and love these two individuals, and I appreciate their vulnerability in asking me this question.

I am not going to do much coddling here; I don't know that I believe that love requires coddling. Here are six things you can do to be stronger allies.

1. Listen more; talk less. You don't have to have something to say all of the time. You don't have to post something on social media that points to how liberal/how aware/how cool/how good you are. You are lovely, human, and amazing. You have also had the microphone for most of the time, for a very long time, and it will be good to give the microphone to someone else who is living a different experience than your own.

2. For one out of every three opinions/insights shared by a person of color in your life, try to resist the need to respond with a better or different insight about something that you read or listened to as it relates to their shared opinion. Try just to listen and sit with someone else's experience. When you do share in response to what someone has shared with you, it can sometimes (not always) feel like "whitesplaining" - meaning to explain or comment on something in an over-confident or condescending way. This adds to the silencing of the voices of people of color.

3. Being an ally is different than simply wanting not to be racist (thank you for that, by the way). Being an ally requires you to educate yourself about systemic racism in this country. Read Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow and Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me and Claudia Rankine's and so many other great books and articles that illuminate oppression and structures of white supremacy and white privilege. Use your voice and influence to direct the folks that walk alongside you in real life (or follow you on the internet), toward the voice of someone that is living a marginalized/disenfranchised experience.

Being an ally requires you to educate yourself about systemic racism in this country.

4. Please try not to, "I can't believe that something like this would happen in this day and age!" your way into being an ally when atrocities like the events in Charleston, S.C.,and Charlottesville, Va., happen. People of color have been aware of this kind of hatred and violence in America for centuries, and it belittles our experience for you to show up 300 years late to the oppression-party suddenly caring about the world. Don't get me wrong, I welcome you. I want for you to come into a place of awareness. However, your shock and outrage at the existence of racism in America echoes the fact that you have lived an entire life with the luxury of indifference about the lives of marginalized/disenfranchised folks. Please take several seats.

5. Ask when you don't know - but do the work first. This is nuanced. Some marginalized/disenfranchised folks will tell you not to ask them anything; don't be offended by that. Folks are tired, and that is understandable because it is exhausting to be a marginalized person in this world. However, there is something special that happens within human connections and relationships. In a nutshell, don't expect for people to educate you. Do the work to educate yourself. Ask questions within relationships that feel safe, and do so respectfully.

6. And finally, stop talking about colorblindness. It's not a thing. Colorblindness is totally impossible in a nation whose land was taken from the indigenous inhabitants through an attempt at genocide and horrific colonization. The same nation that enslaved humans and exploited them in every way imaginable built a nation on their backs, hung them, hunted them, and for centuries kept them from their basic inalienable rights and still does. The same nation that exploits and deports immigrants who were promised refuge within the American Constitution. The same nation that incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II and continues to promote bigotry, exclusion, and violence against LGBTQ/gender non-identifying folks. This nation that allows swastika-wearing, Confederate-flag-toting, anti-Semitic racists to have a platform for their hate. The same nation that promised religious freedom, yet targets those who do not believe in a white, capitalist Jesus.

Ask when you don't know - but do the work first.

I love Jesus. And promise, Jesus was not white (literally brown, and wonderfully Jewish) and would have never been a capitalist.

It will never be possible for us to be colorblind, and we shouldn't ever want to be.

I heard a saying once at an Al-Anon meeting that offered me liberation: "We are only as sick as our secrets (and our shame)." Shame can only live in the darkness; it can live within the systems of denial and defensiveness that we use to cover it up. We have to name these things, acknowledge them, and begin to do the deep work of transformation, restoration - and reparation.

Yup, now I'm talking about reparations.

Privilege means that you owe a debt. You were born with it. You didn't ask for it. And you didn't pay for it either. No one is blaming you for having it. You are lovely, human, and amazing. Being a citizen of a society requires work from everyone within that society. It is up to you whether you choose to acknowledge the work that is yours to do. It is up to you whether you choose to pay this debt and how you choose to do so.

Sometimes living with privilege can disillusion us into thinking that being in community with other humans doesn't require work. This is a lie; it requires a great deal of work. And all of that work requires being a human and trying to love other humans well.

You're going to make mistakes - expect this. But keep showing up.

I believe that this is holy work, the work of justice, the pursuit of it. It doesn't need an audience, and it will not always have one. It will happen most days in ways that are unseen. It might mean providing a meal or shelter, listening, using your particular area of expertise to help someone in need of that expertise who might not have access to it otherwise, bailing a protester out of jail, or paying a family's rent one month (if you have the resources to do so), or marching at a rally with marginalized folks alongside other allies. There may not always be a practical, tangible way to pursue this work, but I believe you will know it when you meet it face-to-face.

However it looks, it will be something that you do without needing to be thanked or receive praise - you are not a savior. Marginalized/disenfranchised folks can and will survive without you - we are magic. However, I urge you to pursue this work, knowing that a system of white privilege afforded you access to opportunities while denying them to so many others.

Above all, I urge you keep trying. You're going to make mistakes; expect this. But keep showing up. Be compassionate. Lead with empathy, always. Keep learning and growing. If you do this, I truly believe you'll be doing the work of an ally.
Please keep in mind that self care is hugely important. Take care of yourself and protect your energy before you attempt to care for anyone else. Some additional resources:

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For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies

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Author's Note: I'm writing this in hopes that it can be used to lighten the load of marginalized folks, keeping in mind that not all marginalized people want to engage in the ally conversation, and that is perfect as well.

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1. 1619 (New York Times)

2. About Race

3. Code Switch (NPR)

4. Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw

5. Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast

6. Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)

7. Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)

8. Seeing White

9. The Combahee River Collective Statement

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Equal pay day for a particular racial or gender group marks the extra days someone in that group has to work into the next year to earn what the typical white man earned in the previous year.

Based on income figures from 2018, it would take the median black woman worker 226 extra days into a new year to earn what a median white male worker made in the previous year.

A study by the Department of Education showed that in 2013, Black high school students were only a bit more than half as likely as white students to have any Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit, and only about a third as likely to have AP/IB credit for math.

This chart, based on another study from Opportunity Insights, looks at the likelihood that a child whose parents had only a high school diploma goes on to earn a college degree or higher.

Only 15% of Black students from less-educated households went on to finish college, well below the 25% of white children who earned a degree.

The most recent numbers available on imprisonment rates come from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' analysis of 2018 data, which showed that Black men aged 18-19 were 12.7 times as likely to be imprisoned as their white peers, and Black men of all ages were roughly 5.8 times more likely to be imprisoned than white men.

A Pew Research Center analysis of the data showed that the Black imprisonment rate has actually dropped by 34% since 2006 - the greatest decline across all races.

Yet even still, Black Americans - and particularly Black men - remain more likely than any other group to be imprisoned. For every 100,000 Black men there are 2,272 inmates, whereas for every 100,000 white men there are just 392 inmates.

According to the federal government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, marijuana usage between Black and white Americans is similar. Just 18% of Black people over the age of 12 in 2018 reported using marijuana within the past year, while 17% of white people over the age of 12 reported the same.

But the usage rate is where the similarities end - that same year, Black Americans were arrested 3.6 times more often than white Americans for marijuana possession, according to an American Civil Liberties Union analysis of FBI and US Census data.

According to the ACLU's analysis of marijuana arrest data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, racial disparities in marijuana arrests have continued in every state.

Despite widespread reforms to state marijuana policies, the racial disparity has even gotten worse over the years, not better. For instance, in 2010, Black people were 3.31 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people, and over the years the rate ticked up to 3.64 in 2018.

The marijuana arrests that continue to the present day have disproportionately "caused profound and far-reaching harm on the people arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated for marijuana offenses," the ACLU wrote. "It has been a colossal waste of money and law enforcement resources that has only deepened the divide between communities and their governments and increased public hurt rather than safety."

Research from Columbia University's Justice Lab has shown that Black people are far more likely than white people to be under parole supervision. Though the federal prison system has largely abolished parole, most states still retain the practice of releasing some inmates from prison sentences early in exchange for heavy supervision while they try to get back on their feet.

New York state has a particularly extreme racial disparity when it comes to parole supervision. Black people are 6.77 times more likely to be under parole supervision than white people, the Justice Lab found. They are also 4.99 times more likely than white people to be re-incarcerated due to "technical" parole violations, meaning that they had parole revoked due to minor infractions such as missing an appointment, rather than committing a new crime.

A Justice Lab report said parole supervision has also had an unequal effect on Black people - even though some of the supervision requirements may seem neutral or sensible, they may be far harder for people in Black communities to abide by through no fault of their own.

For instance, one common parole requirement is for parolees to stay away from people who have felony convictions. Yet an estimated one-third of Black men have felony convictions. That means parolees could be ordered to stay away from friends, family members, and neighbors.

"People on parole ... may be forced to choose between obeying the rules on one hand, or, on the other, risking a parole violation by spending time with relatives and friends who could be valuable sources of support, stability, housing, or employment connections," the Justice Lab report said.

The Washington Post has compiled one of the most thorough datasets available when it comes to fatal police shootings, and it has sparked debate over what it means when it comes to racial bias in police killings.

The data show that more than half of the people fatally shot by police in America within the last five years were actually white - but fatal police shootings of Black people were disproportionately high, considering they account for roughly 13% of the US population.

As of June 12, 2,469 white people had been fatally shot since 2015 at rate of 13 per million, whereas 1,293 Black people were fatally shot at a rate of 31 per million.

The database also comes with a number of other qualifiers - namely, that it tracks only fatal police shootings, not fatal police encounters in general. So the deaths of Black men like George Floyd, which occurred after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, have not been included in the dataset, nor have the deaths of Eric Garner in Staten Island, who died from a police chokehold, or Freddie Gray in Baltimore, who died of spinal injuries he suffered in a police van.

It's also worth pointing out that every fatal police shooting included in the database has its own unique set of circumstances that may or may not have justified a shooting. For instance, the database includes Omar Mateen, the mass shooter who killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub in 2016 before police fatally shot him.

The majority of fatal police shootings - 4,037 out of the 5,403 people fatally shot by police in the last five years - occurred when a suspect had either a gun or a knife.

Though the presence of a weapon does not in and of itself mean each of those police shootings was justified (for example, the database includes the fatal police shooting of Philando Castile, who was legally armed and obeyed the officer's commands during a traffic stop), officers are generally permitted to use deadly force when they believe a person poses a serious threat of injury or death.

But even when narrowing the data down to fatal police shootings of unarmed people, it shows a similar story as the aggregate data. Of the 352 instances where police fatally shot unarmed people, 145 of those people were white and 123 were Black (63 were Hispanic and 21 were designated "other" or "unknown.") - that's a rate of 10.7 white deaths per 10 million, and 30.1 Black deaths per 10 million.

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25 simple charts to show friends and family who aren't convinced racism is still a problem in America

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Equal pay day for a particular racial or gender group marks the extra days someone in that group has to work into the next year to earn what the typical white man earned in the previous year.

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During this extremely difficult time, please know that I stand in solidarity with the protests that are happening in New York, Minneapolis, and all over the country (and world). My heart goes out to the friends, families, and victims who have suffered so greatly.

I have much to learn to become an anti-racist and am finding Dr Ibrahim's Anti-Racism (or how to become an anti-racist) adapted chart below with some ideas pulled from Ibram X. Kendi's work (from a COVID chart, original author unknown) very helpful in this regard. I need to not only educate myself, but also take more concrete actions such as speaking out when I see racism in action.

To assist in the endeavor for myself and my fellow social workers and therapists, I've put together a round-up of various anti-racist resources. Below are several webinars to assist us in taking action!

In addition, this post provides a few resources for people of color such as racial wound healing and therapy/funds dedicated to POC, as well as many recommended anti-racism books, articles, toolkits, YouTube videos, movies/TV shows, podcasts and self care resources for all.

Please feel free to share any additional helpful finds in the comments section of this post. Also check back often because I'm updating it as I find more gems.
Free Anti-Racist Webinars

Treating Mental Health in the Black Community - Simple Practice/June 9 - "current and historical impacts on mental health, including ways that all mental health professionals can listen and respond to the needs of the Black community." Click on link to see recording.

Listening to You about the Ongoing "Racism Pandemic" - APA/June 9 - "opportunity to engage, to provide recommendations, share your thoughts, ideas and questions... click on link for replay... no CE... replay of June 4th talk on this topic"

Race, Police, and Unarmed Civilian Deaths: What Can Be Done? - Pitt Center on Race & Social Problems/June 10 - click on link for

Difficult Conversations with Jelani Memory, Author of "A Kids Book About Racism - TAGT/June 10 at 1:30PM EST - "kids and adults permission to talk about such a difficult topic..."

Drive Real Change in Diversity & Inclusion - NeuroLeadership Institute/June 11 - "join Khalil Smith as he reviews the cognitive science of bias and inclusion... click on link for replay... Take the focus off of difference handout"

"I Can't Breathe: Understanding Cultural Trauma, Grief & Mourning Experienced by African Americans" - BASWC Academy/June 11 - "gain a deeper understanding of African American's history of trauma in America... why African Americans are struggling to breathe and differentiate grieving and mourning... strategies... to help African Americans cope effectively with their justifiable anger and prolonged psychological trauma... click on link for replay and here for powerpoint presentation"

Free Mental Health Webinars for June 2020 - SWC - also check this list for webinars of interest.

Allyship: My Unlearning, Calling Myself Out, & Sharing Actionable Steps - /June 12 - "click on link for .. enter name and email address for access... Come unlearn. Come be better. Come call me out and yourself out. Come give the black and POC communities a break on educating us, they're tired, y'all... resource guide..."

Why Educators Must Be Race-Literate: Developing Mindfulness About Inclusion and Equity in Online Literacy Instruction - Calstate/ERWC/June 22 at 4PM EST - "how educators can use their racial literacy to develop mindfulness about online language arts instructional material, diverse assessment practices, and code meshing as a means to teach standard academic literacies to diverse students..."

Racial Health Disparities - University of Houston/June 23 at 1PM EST - no description provided.

Supporting the Resilience of Black Men: Culturally Affirming and Responsive Approaches - BRSS TACS/June 25 at 2PM EST - "conversation about the experiences of Black men with mental illness, substance use disorder (SUD), or both... current research... best practices and promising strategies for supporting the recovery of Black men..."

Impact of Racism and Trauma on Black Mental Health - NAMI/June 25 - "the historical context of individually mediated and systemic racism towards Black people... mental implications of racism and trauma on Black people within the United States... click link for recording and here for presentation slides"

For July webinars on this topic, please see Free Mental Health Webinars for July 2020.

Anti-Racism Webinars On-Demand

Hey, White Therapist, Here's Where We Start - Clearly Clinical - 1 CE podcast... Practical, compassionate guidance for white therapists wanting to be more effective in their work with people of color..."

How Racism Impacts those We Serve and How We Serve: Are We Meeting Participants Where They Are? - McSilver Institute - 1 CE - "history of racism, how it impacts participants, and what organizations can do to reduce structural barriers for individuals impacted by racism and discrimination..."

Identity, Bias, and Cultural Humility: Connecting to Ourselves and Others - McSilver Institute - "cultural humility...
Understanding one's own identity... Recognizing your biases... Recommendations and practice guidelines, including best practices for cultural humility..."

Legacies of Pain and Resilience: Clinical Implications for Understanding Historical Trauma and Race - McSilver Institute - 1 CE - "Historical Trauma (HT) refers to the psychological distress experienced by survivors or descendants of human initiated acts of oppression... importance of resilience in helping individuals and communities recover and cope with HT..."

Microaggressions and the Therapeutic Alliance: Exploring Ethnically and Racially Diverse Clinician-Participant Relationships - McSilver Institute - 1 CE - "common instances of microaggressions and strategies for how clinicians can challenge racial stereotypes to more effectively work with participants of color..."

Racial Injustice and Trauma: How Therapists Can Respond - Pesi and Psychotherapy Networker - two 1-hr panel discussions...how we can bring issues of race into therapy, and how we can address racial disparities in our field and professional communities..."

Race-based Traumatic Stress and Psychological Injury - McSilver Institute - "race-based traumatic stress, ways of working with participants who have experienced racism, and implications for the assessment of trauma beyond the DSM-5..."

The Role of Racial Trauma in Psychotherapy - McSilver Institute - 1 CE - "role of race and racial identity in the therapeutic relationship, and offer best practices for clinicians working with persons of color..."

Paid Trainings Offered by POC

Healing from Internalized Whiteness - Re-Becoming Human - Sandra Kim's 10-week online training for white allies committed to racial justice and collective liberation... shift from just an intellectual knowing into an embodied understanding - gained from actually doing the practices repeatedly... between $197 to $497 depending on income"
Some Resources for People of Color Healing Racial Wounding

44 Mental Health Resources for Black People Trying to Survive in This Country - Zahra Barnes/Self - "a list of resources that may help if you're looking for mental health support that validates and celebrates your Blackness..."

Black Therapists Rock - "Within the community, members can share their experiences, build relationships, and occasionally vent... Wednesday's at 7PM EST"

Emotional Emancipation Circle is a free biweekly online healing space for Black people, led by Erika Totten, the co-instigator of Black Lives Matter DC.

Ethel's Club - "wellness and workout sessions, livestreamed classes and salons... $17/month subscription... healing spaces that center and celebrate people of color through conversation, wellness and creativity..."

Grounding Gatherings - Sandra Kim's free weekly circle for BIPOC wanting to get grounded and be together during these burning times... Every Tuesday at 7 - 8:30 pm ET..."

How Restorative Yoga Can Help Heal Racial Wounding - "A focus on breath while silently repeating "I breathe in rest, I breathe out resilience" supports balancing the nervous system..."

Academics for Black Survival and Wellness - resources for Black people to heal in community including a week long survival week Friday, June 19 - Thursday, June 25, 2020 < weeklong personal and professional development initiative for academics to honor the toll of racial trauma on Black people, resist anti-Blackness and white supremacy, and facilitate accountability and collective action.

Mending Racialized Trauma: A Body Centered Approach - Resmaa Menakem/Connectfulness - "Resmaa shares that in order to mend racialized trauma we need to move the conversation from race to culture and cultivate a somatic abolitionist mindset and community..."

Racial Anxiety Relief - Tapping Meditation - The Tapping Solution - "resource created with our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community in mind... The pain we are feeling is justified, and our bodies still need a break... we need to take care of ourselves so that we can connect to our own power..."

Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People article - Kelsey Blackwell/The Arrow - "need places in which... can gather and be free from the mainstream stereotypes and marginalization that permeate every other societal space..."

TherapyforBlackGirls Podcast - specifically

Session 21 - How Racism Impacts Our Mental Health

Session 27 - Mental Health and Terrorism

Session 42 - Race-Related Stress

Session 46 - Mental Health Needs of Activists

Session 49 - Angry Black Women

Session 134 - Impact of Racial Trauma

Session 148 - Talking to Kids About Race

Therapy/Funds Dedicated to People of Color Resources For Self-Education About Racism in The US
Recommended Books H/T @janemount [see her above image for more books] (affiliate links)

A few questions to consider after reading H/T to Natalie McCabe Zwerger :
How did [what you read or watched] impact how you engage, relate, react, speak, love? How did it impact how you work, supervise, manage, receive feedback, participate? What did it prompt you to do, read, watch, and learn next? What did it show you that you need to spend more time learning? How are you doing that now?

American-born Foreigner: A Black Woman's Story H/T and by Sherryl Nadine Weston - "part memoir and part social commentary from the perspective of a multicultural Baby Boomer... storytelling toward self-reflection for activist-minded people... ideas for deeper academic research, policy changes..."

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehesi Coates - (from the NYT review: written in the form of a letter to a black teenage boy... Coates emphasizes over and over the apparent permanence of racial injustice in America, the foolishness of believing that one person can make a change, and the dangers of believing in the American Dream..."

Biased: : Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt - "A bias for our own cohort... is a built-in feature of the human brain; it is not in itself a marker of racism, sexism, or any other -ism. The extent to which that bias remains somewhat benign, or instead metastasizes into an active bias against another cohort, is more often a product of the prevailing norms and cultures in which we are raised..." from Washington Independent.

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald - (from Harvard book review: "hidden biases are revealed through hands-on experience... glimpse into what lies within the metaphoric blindspot - the Implicit Association Test... allow well-intentioned people to better achieve that alignment..."

Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination by Alondra Nelson - University of Minnesota Press has made this free to read online... "The Black Panther Party's health activism-its network of free health clinics, its campaign to raise awareness about genetic disease, and its challenges to medical discrimination-was an expression of its founding political philosophy and also a recognition that poor blacks were both underserved by mainstream medicine and overexposed to its harms..."

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein - "We have created a caste system in this country, with African-Americans kept exploited and geographically separate by racially explicit government policies," he writes. "Although most of these policies are now off the books, they have never been remedied and their effects endure." from NYT book review.

Have Black Lives Ever Mattered by Mumia Abu-Jamal - "essays that draw attention to lesser-known victims of police violence, particularly women of color whose stories never reached the mainstream media..." from Publishers Weekly

How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi - "At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value... see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves..." Also listen to Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson - "memoir, aggregates and personalizes the struggle against injustice in the story of one activist lawyer.... evil can be overcome, a difference can be made..." from NYT book review

The Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation (Justice and Peacebuilding) by Thomas Norman DeWolf - H/T STAR training - "Coming to the Table's approach to a continuously evolving set of purposeful theories, ideas, experiments, guidelines, and intentions, all dedicated to facilitating racial healing and transformation..."

Me and White Supremacy: A 28-Day Challenge to Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad - H/T NYU Silver - "stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on black, indigenous and people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too..."

Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out by Ruth King - "Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture... we recognize our thoughts and feelings as they arise. We don't push them away. Or judge ourselves for having them. They are simply what the mind constantly produces. So we allow them to come and go. But we critically investigate them, too..." from book review

Racism in the United States: Implications for the Helping Professions by Joshua Miller - H/T Shimon Cohen - "I cannot stress enough how great this book is. Clear and easy to understand. So great for educators looking for antiracism texts for classes..."

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo - "How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist?... How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?... honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life..."

Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi - "racist thought is alive and well in America - more sophisticated and more insidious than ever... if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society..."

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander - "how the US justice system works against black people... If Jim Crow was an effective means of controlling the black population, then modern mass incarceration, Alexander argues, is its successor... from the Guardian"

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele - "what it means to be a Black woman in America... transformed her personal pain into political power, giving voice to a people suffering inequality and a movement fueled by her strength and love to tell the country-and the world-that Black Lives Matter... from MacMillian Publishers"

Juneteenth Articles

6 Things White People Can Do To Reach Friends and Family Members to End Racism - Kimberly Dark/Everyday Feminism - "o things that make sense for your interests and personality... Learn about the actual circumstances of people of color in the U.S. and then talk about what you've learned..."

10 Ways Teachers Can Fight Racism and Teach Tolerance - Jeanne Croteau/WeAreTeachers - "get and stay informed... speak up... give your class a diversity audit... bring empathy into your classroom..."

The assumptions of white privilege and what we can do about it - NCR - "understand the difference between being uncomfortable and being threatened... The only reason for racism's persistence is that white people continue to benefit from it...Stay in the discomfort, the anxiety, the guilt, the shame, the anger... only when white people become upset enough to declare, "This cannot and will not be!" - only then will real change begin to become a possibility..."

The Case for Reparations - Ta-Nehisi Coates/The Atlantic - "Having been enslaved for 250 years... In the North, legislatures, mayors, civic associations, banks, and citizens all colluded to pin black people into ghettos... Something more than moral pressure calls America to reparations... All of our solutions to the great problems of health care, education, housing, and economic inequality are troubled by what must go unspoken..."

A Civil Rights Expert Explains the Social Science of Police Racism - Lydia Denworth/Scientific American - "we enslaved people, black people. To hold people in bondage as property, you had to look at them as less than human. You see that continuing to happen today in [what] I refer to as the criminal legal system... I think we all need to admit that it's not a few bad apples; it's a rotten apple tree..."

Code of Ethics for White Anti-Racists - Good Men Project - "Acknowledge our racial privilege (in general and in our anti-racism work)... Develop/deepen our connections to people and communities of color to help maintain anti-racist accountability... Be prepared to alter our approach if and when people of color give feedback or criticism about our methods and practices...

Dear White People: Let's not continue to be our ancestors - Natalie McCabe Zwerger/Everyday Race - "This is the time for our call to, for us to explicitly and intentionally demonstrate to Black people that we understand the weight of our racism, the weight of our privilege, the weight of our ignorance..."

The Difference Between First-Degree Racism and Third-Degree Racism - John Rice/Atlantic - "policing black citizens much differently than whites... calling somebody the N-word to show them who is boss... racism in the first degree... opposing or turning one's back on anti-racism efforts... racism in the second degree..."

Dinah, Put Down Your Horn: Blackface Minstrel Songs Don't Belong in Music Class - Katya Ermolaeva/Gen Medium - ""Oh! Susanna," "Jimmy Crack Corn," and "Camptown Races"... these songs (and many others) have racist roots in the tradition of blackface minstrelsy..."

'Discomfort is part of change': How to be an ally in fighting anti-black racism - Adina Bresge/Canadian Press - "ongoing commitment to educating yourself about anti-black racism and your role within it, listening to and amplifying black voices and speaking up when they go unheard..."

A History of Race and Racism in America, in 24 Chapters - NYT - "the most influential books on race and the black experience published in the United States for each decade of the nation's existence - a history of race through ideas, arranged chronologically on the shelf..."

How Amy Cooper and George Floyd represent two versions of racism that black Americans face every day - The Washington Post - "Few would call themselves racist, and yet we see the inequality all around us... Economic exclusion is the engine of inequality..."

How to Be A Racial Transformer - Youthrex/Colorlines - "helpful infographic... watch out for coded racism and expose it... dig in and do the work - not just talk - of racial justice..."

How to Fight Racial Bias, According to a Stanford Psychologist - Next Big Idea Club - "series of [free] short videos... Dr. Jennifer L. Eberhardt shares the science of how bias really works, and what we can do to overcome it..."

How to Increase Your Empathy - Six Seconds - "5 practical tips to increase your empathy in any situation..."

How to Support the Protests and Fight for Racial Justice - Idealist - "If you're joining the protests, it's important to know how to stay safe and to know your rights... seeking out a mutual aid group near you is a great way to get involved..."

I Don't Need 'Love' Texts From My White Friends - Chad Sanders/NYT - "When you text me and tell me you're "just thinking of me" because this fear is momentarily evident to you after seeing the atrocities depicted on CNN, you create work for me. You invite me to... tell you that it's not your fault and that you are special. That attacks my dignity. That dehumanizes me..."

A Letter To White Women Who Keep Asking What They Can Do To Combat Racism From A Black Woman - Geri Brown - "It's the inwardly "indifferent" racists that scare the living bleep out of me. The ones who tout, online that they support black and brown people but in reality only practice indifference towards them..."

Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener's Tale - Camara Phyllis Jones - "framework for understanding racism on 3 levels: institutionalized, personally mediated, and internalized... allegory about a gardener with 2 flower boxes... how to intervene to mitigate the impacts of racism on health..."

Moving from Cultural Competence to Antiracism - NICABM - "validate your clients' experiences, emotions, perceptions... it is their moment. Its also a moment to review your own emotions , experiences and perceptions- and to take ownership..."

Now Is the Time for a Rights-Based Approach to Social Work Practice - Jane McPherson - "Through a rights-based lens, we see that in many societies access to healthcare, unemployment benefits, housing, social security, education, etc.-the social and economic rights first promised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations 1948)-are actually privileges reserved for some rather than rights guaranteed to all..."

An open letter to my nonblack friends: My life matters more than your comfort - Nicole Ruthmarie Watkins/
The Lily - "Your black friend is tired of educating you... Your black friend is tired of reading status after status about being "shocked and surprised" that racism is still this bad... Your silence, your need to be a devil's advocate, your white allyship without work is no longer acceptable..."

Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here's What to Do Instead) - Holiday Phillips/Forge - "Act with your wallet... Simply "saying stuff" is easy. You know what's hard?... Calling out other white people when they say something clearly racist..."

The Politics of Empathy and Race - Susan Lanzoni/Psychology Today - "Today we are witnessing the unbearable cost of empathy's absence in national politics and in American society... we must translate empathy's moral vision into specific policies to empower those who for so long have endured the evils of racism..."

Race Matters: How to Talk Effectively About Race - SWC - "Kenneth Hardy, Ph.D...10 Underlying Principles to Consider... Power is relational, contextual and inequitably distributed... Draw distinction between intention and consequences..."

Racism: Educate Yourself. Speak Up. Here's How. - Rabbi Jill Zimmerman - "This is the moment to stand up for justice for all and quash systemic racism. Whether you are on the streets protesting, or at home because of Covid19 or other health issues, each one of us can do something..."

Racism is America's Human Stain; Black Lives Matter - Mildred "Mit" Joyner - "learn more about institutional and systemic racism... it will assist you as a social worker to lead meaningful conversations in communities, at the workplace... to effectively advocate for those we have committed to serve..."

A Timeline of Events That Led to the 2020 'Fed Up'-rising - The Root - [strong language alert]... starting in 1619..."

Understanding Racism and its Connection to Sexual and Domestic Violence - "including WCSAP's free eLearning Unit... introduce learners to racial dynamics in the United States..."

What Anti-racist Teachers Do Differently - McKamey/Atlantic - "Anti-racist teachers take black students seriously. They create a curriculum with black students in mind, and they carefully read students' work to understand what they are expressing..."

What it really means to be an anti-racist, and why it's not the same as being an ally - Hillary Hoffower/Business Insider - "Anti-racism is an active and conscious effort to work against [the] multi-dimensional aspects of racism...one is either racist or anti-racist: There is no room for neutrality and there is no such thing as a "non-racist..."

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - Robin DiAngelo/Good Men Project - "Our socialization renders us racially illiterate... While individual whites may be against racism, they still benefit from the distribution of resources controlled by their group... We experience a challenge to our racial worldview as a challenge to our very identities as good, moral people..."

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack - Peggy McIntosh - "whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege...I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me..."

The White Space - Elijah Anderson - "Overwhelmingly white neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, restaurants, and other public spaces remain. Blacks perceive such settings as "the white space," which they often consider to be informally "off limits" for people like them..."

Why Are African Americans Struggling To Breathe? - Dwayne Buckingham/RHCS - "We are struggling to breathe because some Americans are well-intentioned, but are naïve about the stronghold and negative impact of racism..."

Blacks in Academia How to Talk to Our Kids About Racism

CNN/Sesame Street racism town hall - "Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms takes questions along with CNN's Van Jones and Erica Hill about how to combat racism, and shares a message with kids about how to make a change"

Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News - Child Mind Institute - "validate their feelings... don't avoid talking about it... be clear, direct and factual...Even with young children, use clear language... say: "This is about the way that white people treat black people unfairly."... also a talk between two experts"

Raising Antiracist Kids: Ibram X. Kendi with Derecka Purnell.

Talking to kids about race - Heather Greenwood Davis/National Geographic - "Children as young as three years old are aware of race and skin color, and they aren't afraid to ask questions... listen for... any value judgments kids may be unknowingly placing on those differences, and then gently correct them..."

Why white parents need to do more than just talk to their kids about racism - Margaret A. Hagerman/Time - "Rather than focusing solely on what they say to kids about race, white parents should think more critically and carefully about how what they do on an everyday basis may actually reproduce the very racist ideas and forms of racial inequality that they say they seek to challenge..."

Anti-Racism Resources/Guides/Toolkits

Protests, Policing, and Race - Cambridge University Press is offering complete books to download regarding race, protests & civil rights through July 12, 2020.

21 Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge - Debby Irving - "For 21 days, do one action to further your understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity..."

21 Day Racial Equity Habit Challenge - Elisha Goldstein - "In less than 10 minutes a day you'll be given curated content to either watch, listen to, read, notice or act on. This will unlock one day at a time so you only need to pay attention and reflect on one thing a day..."

Afrofuturism - Amplifying Black Futures and Voices: A Resource for Change Workers - Social Work Futures - "Afrofuturism can connect the problems we experience now with the past, our current reality and futures yet to be determined, but vibrant, living and robust..."

Anti-Racist Research Practices and the Value of Teach-Ins - H/T Dan Hirschman - "A group of amazing @BrownSociology grads led a teach-in at @PSTC_Brown, and they produced a fantastically useful list of anti-racist research practices."

Being an Upstander: Racism - Diversity Best Practices - "Speaking Up Against Injustice IQEE... interrupt [Excuse me, can I just clarify what I think I heard?]... question [why do you feel that way?]... educate [I'd like to share a different perspective]... echo [when someone else speaks up, echo and reinforce]..."

Black History Month Library - Charles Preston - tons of pdfs of valuable resources.

Black Lives Matter - list of resources from the library of the University of Buffalo.

Black Lives Matter Translated - crowdsourced repository of materials in Asian & Pacific Islander diasporic languages... to navigate difficult discussions about Black Lives Matter, anti-blackness, Black history, immigration history, and police/state-sanctioned violence with our families and communities."

Black New Yorkers on Their Experiences with Anti-Black Racism - NYC Commission on Human Rights - "Anti-Black racism has been a part of life in New York City for centuries... campaign identified five scenarios- walking while Black, renting while Black, driving while Black, working while Black and shopping while Black-each of which was referenced by focus group participants..."

Calling People in Around "Violence - SURJ toolkit - "best practices, talking points, and lines of conversation to explore with other white folks in your life to bring them into the fight for racial justice and to #EndWhiteSilence" Also Racism 101: Understanding Race and Racism.

Check Your Privilege workbook - Myisha T. Hill - a guided journey that deepens your awareness to how your actions affect the mental health of Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color, or BBIPoC...

The Code Switch Guide To Race And Policing - NPR - "To help explain how the United States got to this point, we looked back at some of our coverage of race and policing, both from the podcast and the blog..."

Critical Race Theory - H/T Kristen Slack - "amazing resource by UCLA students, developed 13 years ago... See p. 37+ for application of critical race theory to social work pedagogy..."

Dismantling white supremacy in social work education - SWCAREs - "learn more about anti racism, white supremacy, and how they show up in social work practice and education... resources for you to use for yourself, your research, or in your classrooms..."

Guide to Being an Ally - Women of Color for Progress... "don't lead, follow... Model and Support /Amplify and Endorse... Being an ally is not an identity to wear..."

Healing the Hidden Wounds of Racial Trauma - Kenneth V. Hardy - "IIt is important for the helping professional to convey a general understanding and acceptance of the premise that race is a critical organizing principle in society... One of the most debilitating aspects of racial oppression is that this is a nameless condition, difficult to describe, quan- tify, or codify..."

How to Be Less Stupid About Race - Crystal Fleming - "resource for discussion groups, book clubs and institutions wanting to begin the work of confronting white supremacy..."

Inclusion Learning - a list of 24 books selected by Sherryl N.Weston, a social worker and author.

List of resources to highlight the experiences of QTBIPOC - H/T Laura Hoge - QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, & Indigenous People of Color)

Pop-Up Book Club for June 2020 - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo - Mindful Living Collective (free membership) - the Book Club is found under Groups... In this area we can connect, share thoughts and questions as we read..."

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome Resources by Dr. Joy DeGruy - "P.T.S.S. is a theory that explains the etiology of many of the adaptive survival behaviors in African American communities throughout the United States and the Diaspora. It is a condition that exists as a consequence of multigenerational oppression of Africans and their descendants resulting from centuries of chattel slavery..."

Racial Equity Resources - NCWWI - "tools, guides, assessments, and curricula which are used to increase understanding, facilitate dialogue, deliver training, analyze current policies, and implement sustainable strategies..."

Racism Articles from the Association for Psychological Science - from Being 'Merely Tolerated' May Put Minority Members at Risk to Children Can 'Catch' Social Bias Through Nonverbal Signals Expressed by Adults to Motivation to End Racism Relies on 'Yes We Can' Approach..."

Resources and Ways to Take Action - @chasevp_15 - "resource guide with mental health resources centering black communities... ways to safely protest... take action and demand justice for the innocent black lives being taken"

Say Their Names - Chicago Public Schools - toolkit to help foster productive conversations about race and civil disobedience.

These resources have been ordered in an attempt to make them more accessible including Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources - comprehensive source of resources for white people wanting to expand their
awareness and accountability.stages of white identity (how to move from one stage to the next) and what to do next.

Stop Hesitating - Elizabeth McCorvey - how to start having real conversations with your clients of color and how to address racial trauma in session.

Talking About Race - National Museum of African American Art and Culture - "tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation..."

Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity Throughout Data Integration - AISP - "Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPoC)4 and/or people living in poverty are often over- represented within government agency data systems, and disparate representation in data can cause disparate impact... we can co-create data infrastructure to promote racial equity and the public good... "

A Toolkit for non-Black Latinxs Who Choose to Address their anti-Blackness - Immigration, Critical Race, And Cultural Equity (IC-RACE) Lab.

Undoing Racism Resources from Mary Pender Greene

Uprooting Whiteness [Supremacy & Domination] - William R. Frey - wide range of resources from places to donate to books on whiteness and education to books for children to organizations to follow to Black ⌇ Indigenous-owned bookstores and more.

Not Much of a Reader? Check Out These Anti-Racist Videos/Movies/TV Shows/Podcasts Ted Talks/YouTube
Movies & TV Shows (H/T to Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein)

13th (Ava DuVernay) - Netflix

American Son (Kenny Leon) - Netflix

Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 - Available to rent

Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) - Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent

Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) - Available to rent

Dear White People (Justin Simien) - Netflix

Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) - Available to rent

I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) - Available to rent or on Kanopy

If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) - Hulu

Invisible Portraits H/T to Laura Nissen, PhD, LMSW - "Beautiful. Powerful. Inspiring... You need to see it and share it and learn!! Celebrating all the Black women and their voices in this gorgeous film, and everywhere..."

Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) - Available to rent for free in June in the U.S. [I just finished watching this movie. It was such a powerful illustration of just how biased our justice system was, and how innocent POC were arrested and sentenced to death row because of "justice" needing a conviction for a crime.] see the discussion guide developed by Just Mercy and Define American.

King In The Wilderness - HBO

See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) - Netflix

Selma (Ava DuVernay) - Available to rent

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution - Available to rent

The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) - Hulu with Cinemax

When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) - Netflix

Podcasts (H/T to twitter and Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein)

Specific Black Men and Boys Podcasts (H/T CTAC)

Addressing Historical Trauma - "Black boys and men are the subject of negative racial and gender-based stereotypes that significantly impact their health and social standing within the U.S..."

Police Brutality and Trauma - Black Men and Boys podcast - "Police brutality and other forms of racial trauma often elicit race-based traumatic stress and psychological injury..."

Raising Our Black Sons: Perspectives From Mothers - "While families come in many forms, we often downplay the role that mothers have in the lives of young Black boys... mothers of Black boys, the unsung heroes are who are more than deserving of our praise..."

Resilience and Steps Forward - "Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It is the characteristic or trait that allows people to thrive despite inconceivable hardship and experiences of trauma

Anti-Racism Organizations to Support:
Poetry/Music

The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed - moving orchestral choral piece... to break our hearts and perhaps to heal them as we consider the racial injustice in this country... Kenneth Chamberlain, "Why do you have your guns out?"
Trayvon Martin, 16 "What are you following me for?" Amadou Diallo, 23 "Mom, I'm going to college." Michael Brown, 18 "I don't have a gun. Stop shooting." Oscar Grant, 22 "You shot me! You shot me!" John Crawford, 22 "It's not real." Eric Garner, 43 "I can't breathe."

Protest poetry and Black Lives Matter Anthology - "Poets have been at the forefront of wielding language to create change for the people. Explore the work of Elizabeth Alexander, Agha Shahid Ali, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Marilyn Chin, Aracelis Girmay, Langston Hughes, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Claudia Rankine, Roger Reeves, Adrienne Rich, and Muriel Rukeyser, to name just a few..."

Self-Care

Build Resilience in Isolation, Master the Art of Time Travel - Adam Grant/NYT - "rewinding to remember the past and fast-forwarding to envision the future. With practice, we can use it to... experience moments of happiness in the midst of sadness and make time feel like it's passing faster or slower..."

Hosting Healing Circles - "In an online space, where people are sitting in their own homes and know that they will probably never meet the people they see on the screen, the deep dive into vulnerability and trust happens more quickly than when people are sitting in the same room..."

Thriving and Making Comfort Conference - Person Centered Tech - June 12 -26... pay what you can...two tracks for delving into caring for both yourself and your practice during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond..."

Here's What the Five Stages of Grief Get Totally Wrong - Charles Duhigg/Slate - "what we say to people when they're in pain isn't necessarily helpful... Instead of saying, "Let me know if you need anything," think about the things that you could offer and what that other person might need..."

Free Mind Matters Online Series - Dibble Institute - on demand recordings - "self-care... develop skills and coping mechanisms to overcome anxiety and build resilience..."

The neuroscience of happiness - 4 minute video with Professor Richard Davidson.

Relaxation Response - 10 minute practice video with Dr. Herbert Benson.

Self-Care A-Z - The Politics of Self-Care: Toward Radical Decolonization - Jalana S. Harris/New Social Worker - "For those who are members of marginalized groups, self-care is wrapped up in our liberation... Decolonized radical self-care means unpacking our personal, generational, and historical trauma and the ways our people have survived..."

ICYMI, 30 Free Self-Care Tools - including "meditations, apps, coloring pages, ebooks, videos, support groups, toolkits to manage anxiety, and online yoga and exercise classes"

Like this post? Please share it!
Last updated July 10, 2020.

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Black Lives Matter: Anti-Racism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists - SocialWork.Career

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During this extremely difficult time, please know that I stand in solidarity with the protests that are happening in New York, Minneapolis, and all over the country (and world). My heart goes out to the friends, families, and victims who have suffered so greatly.

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Parents and other caregivers are seeking resources to help them hold children through the current, terrible wave of racialized violence, which is exacerbated by the tensions and vulnerabilities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As scholars, writers, and parents who use books to connect with our children and spark conversations with them, we've developed this book list to help engage the broad range of emotions and needs of diverse children in our multiracial society. In some cases, we've highlighted worthy, albeit lesser-known titles. Some are older books, some are newer, and a few will publish later this year but are available for pre-order now. This list skews heavily towards #ownvoices books and is arranged alphabetically by title.

Please use these books to help you do the work of making the world a safer, more equitable place for all children.

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20 Picture Books for 2020: Readings to Embrace Race, Provide Solace &...

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As scholars, writers, and parents who use books to connect with our children and spark conversations with them, we've developed this book list to help...

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10 Documentaries To Watch About Race Instead Of Asking A Person Of Colour To Explain Things For You

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It's important now more than ever that Australians engage in important conversations about race.

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If you are a mental health provider that offers telemental health services, add your listing here.

What is virtual therapy?

In virtual therapy, counseling is provided over the internet by a certified professional, making mental health services more accessible to everyone.

While the virtual therapist and the client are in two separate locations, due to legal requirements, they still need to be in the same state.

Please note that a virtual therapist cannot fulfill court orders or prescribe medication.

Every state has its own laws regarding what mediums are approved for virtual therapy. Find out your state's laws here.

How does it work?

Find a therapist within your area (virtual therapists must be licensed in your state to provide care).

During virtual therapy, a therapist provides mental health support to clients through email, video conferencing, phone or online chatting options. Work with the therapist you choose to decide which virtual platform works for you.

Cost of sessions are negotiated directly with the therapist and may be covered under health insurance.

Why have black virtual therapy?

Black people are 7 times more likely to live in areas with limited access to mental health care(1).

There are a shortage of black mental health providers, and only a third of Black people who need mental health services receive treatment(2).

A virtual therapist network can help to bridge the gap to accessible and culturally sensitive mental health care for black people.

Virtual therapy can also address barriers to care such as transportation issues, busy schedules and mobility challenges that people may face.

A virtual therapist network can increases chances of finding a provider who can understand your unique experiences and identities across race, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, and ability.

Are therapists licensed?

Is virtual therapy as effective as in-person therapy?

Is my information confidential and protected?

All technology used for communication with your virtual therapist will be compliant under the Health Insurance Accountability and Portability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) federal regulations. Each jurisdiction is different. Please consult with your therapist. Based on the virtual platform you choose to use with a therapist, secured methods such as encryption or ID verification will be used to protect personal health and identity information.

Disclaimer:

The BVTN is provided as a directory resource. Please note that BEAM does not endorse any mental health providers listed under the network or their services and it is not liable for their services. Competency is determined by the local and national licensing entities. BEAM verifies all licensure and credentials at time of submission. As with any service, consumers are encouraged to do their research and consult with any providers before you begin working with them to make sure it is a good fit.

Footnotes

(1) Denton, N. A., & Anderson, B. J. (2005). Poverty and Race Research Action Council analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. The Opportunity Agenda. Retrieved from http://www.opportunityagenda.org

(2) Dalencour, M., Wong, E. C., Tang, L., Dixon, E., Lucas-Wright, A., Wells, K., & Miranda, J. (2016). The role of faith-based organizations in the depression care of African Americans and Hispanics in Los Angeles. Psychiatric Services, 68(4), 368-374.

(3) Wagner, B., Horn, A. B., & Maercker, A. (2014). Internet-based versus face-to-face cognitive-behavioral intervention for depression: a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial. Journal of affective disorders, 152, 113-121.

(4) Bergström, J., Andersson, G., Ljótsson, B., Rück, C., Andréewitch, S., Karlsson, A., ... & Lindefors, N. (2010). Internet-versus group-administered cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder in a psychiatric setting: a randomised trial. BMC psychiatry, 10(1), 54.

(5) Granholm, E., Ben-Zeev, D., Link, P. C., Bradshaw, K. R., & Holden, J. L. (2011). Mobile Assessment and Treatment for Schizophrenia (MATS): a pilot trial of an interactive text-messaging intervention for medication adherence, socialization, and auditory hallucinations. Schizophrenia bulletin, 38(3), 414-425.

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If you are a mental health provider that offers telemental health services, add your listing here. In virtual therapy, counseling is provided over the internet by a certified professional, making mental health services more accessible to everyone. While the virtual therapist and the client are in two separate locations, due to legal requirements, they still need to be in the same state.

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Your 5 Year-Old is Already Racially Biased...

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Your 5 Year-Old is Already Racially Biased...

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Here's what you can do it about it.

By Andrew Grant-Thomas

AC 360° study: African-American children more optimistic on race than whites.

Administrators at Fox Chapel Middle School in Spring Hill, Florida recently fired a teacher who gave her sixth graders an assignment asking them to consider how "comfortable" they would be in the company of various people. Some of the 41 scenarios identified these "others" in terms of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion.
For example:

Your new roommate is a Palestinian and Muslim.

A group of young Black men are walking toward you on the street.

The young man sitting next to you on the airplane is an Arab.

Your new suitemates are Mexican.

Your assigned lab partner is a fundamentalist Christian.

​Many Fox Hill students and parents were upset. "They're kids. Let kids be kids. Why are they asking kids these questions?" one mother to a seventh-grade student wondered. "I just don't think it's something that needs to be brought in school."

Another parent said this: "I just think that sometimes kids are just too young to start that at this age, and in school."

Such sentiments are familiar - and deeply misguided. In the United States, a lot of us believe that children, especially White children, are racial innocents - completely naive, curiously fragile with respect to the realities of race, or both. The truth is that well before their teen years, the vast majority of children are well aware of prevailing biases, and most kids, of all racial stripes, have taken on a bunch of their own.

Researchers have been studying the development of racial and ethnic biases in children for a long time, and we know quite a bit. We know that within a few months of birth, babies prefer own-race faces, probably because most are surrounded by people who look like them. Sometime during the preschool years, however, this relatively innocent pull toward the familiar morphs into something else.

By age five, Black and Hispanic children show no preference toward their own group compared to Whites. On the other hand, White kids remain strongly biased in favor of whiteness. By the start of kindergarten, "children begin to show many of the same implicit racial attitudes that adults in our culture hold. Children have already learned to associate some groups with higher status, or more positive value, than others."
​
So, with reference to the doubtless well-meaning mom quoted earlier, the crucial question isn't "Why bring issues of racial, ethnic, religious and other kinds of bias into our schools?" It's "how do we constructively engage the harmful biases we know pervade our schools and just about everywhere else? And what can we do to shape our children's racial attitudes before and as they emerge?"

Twin girls with different skin tones. How different will their experiences be?

In that regard, research and experience offer some promising guidance to parents, guardians, teachers, and to all of us who care for or about children. These guidelines were developed by members of the EmbraceRace team, and we'd love to hear your feedback.

1. Start early.

Let your child know that it's perfectly okay to notice skin color and talk about race. Encourage her to ask questions, share observations and experiences, and be respectfully curious about race.

2. Realize that you are a role model to your child.

What you say is important, but what you do - how diverse your circle of friends is, for example - will probably have an even bigger impact on your child. If he doesn't attend a diverse school, if you're able, consider enrolling him in activities such as sports leagues that are diverse. Choose books, toys, and movies that include people of different races and ethnicities. Visit museums with exhibits about a range of cultures and religions.

3. Let your child see you face your own biases.

We're less likely to pass on the biases we identify and work to overcome. Give your child an example of a bias, racial or otherwise, that you hold or have held. Share with your child things you do to confront and overcome that bias.​

4. Know and love who you are.

Talk about the histories and experiences of the racial, ethnic, and cultural groups you and your family strongly identify with. Talk about their contributions and acknowledge the less flattering parts of those histories as well. Tell stories about the challenges your family - your child's parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and great grandparents, others - has faced and overcome.

5. Develop racial cultural literacy by learning about and respecting others.

Study and talk about the histories and experiences of groups we call African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Whites, among others. Be sure your child understands that every racial and ethnic group includes people who believe different things and behave in different ways. There is more diversity within racial groups than across them.

6. Be honest with your child, in age-appropriate ways, about bigotry and oppression.

Children are amazing at noticing patterns, including racial patterns (who lives in their neighborhood versus their friends' neighborhoods, for example). Help them make sense of those patterns, and recognize that bigotry and oppression are sometimes a big part of those explanations. Be sure your child knows that the struggle for racial fairness is still happening and that your family can take part in that struggle.​

Every big story of racial oppression is also a story about people fighting back and "speaking truth to power." Teach your child those parts of the story too. Include women, children and young adults among the "freedom fighters" in the stories you tell.

8. Teach your children to be "upstanders" for racial justice.

Help your child understand what it means to be, and how to be, a change agent. Whenever possible, connect the conversations you're having to the change you and your child want to see, and to ways to bring about that change.​

9. Plan for a marathon, not a sprint.

Make race talks with your child routine. Race is a topic you should plan to revisit again and again in many different ways over time. It's okay to say, "I'm not sure" or "Let's come back to that later, okay?" But then be sure to come back to it.

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Your 5 Year-Old is Already Racially Biased.

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In the days since the nationwide protests over George Floyd's death and police brutality the Book Industry has been overwhelmed with book orders concerning Race & Racism.
Continue to make your order with us, but please be patient as we will fulfill them as soon as possible. Click Here to Get an Update On Your Order
Thank you for your support & consideration,
Jeffrey & Pam

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Biggest African American Children's Bookstore - EyeSeeMe

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In the days since the nationwide protests over George Floyd's death and police brutality the Book Industry has been overwhelmed with book orders concerning Race & Racism. Continue to make your order with us, but please be patient as we will fulfill them as soon as possible.

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Prior to and during COVID-19, communities across the country and state have been coping with various social injustice consequences. This includes, but is not limited to: racism, poverty, violence, isolation, and inequity. As school psychologists and educators, we have an ethical and moral obligation to support students who are especially marginalized and disenfranchised, and be change agents to help dismantle systemic and oppressive systems. Further, school psychologists must acknowledge that social justice, of course, is both a goal and a process (adopted by NASP Board of Directors, 2017).

Throughout our services, we support students with intersecting identities, which include, but are not limited to those with: disAbilities, limited English proficiency, LGBTQI2-S, BIPOC, immigrant or refugees, and other racial and ethnic minorities. In conjunction with our own personal, professional development with a goal of cultural competency, through the lens of cultural humility, we also have a role to support students, families, and educators through psychoeducation and consultation. To support these efforts, we have curated a resource library that will be continuously updated. While we do this work, it is important that we take good care of ourselves and each other.

Resources for Parents and Educators on How to Talk to Children:
Specific to Race and Racism: Catalog of resources, including a book list and how to engage children in discussions about race and racism Specific to Racial Incidents:
Additional Parent Resources:

Resources for Educators on How to Support Students and Address Inequities:
Resources on Mental Health, Cultural Considerations, and Other Resources: Immigrant and Refugee Students:
Resources for School Psychologists for Professional Development around Social Justice:

Intersectionality: NASP

Multiculturalism- APA- Suite of Professional Development Resources

Cultural Humilty- Ted Talk

Video- 5 Tips on Being an Ally

Race & Ethnicity Resources- APA

Understanding Race & Privilege: NASP

Smithsonian- 158 Resources to Understand Racism in America

Microaggression Examples- Chart with common microaggression themes

Forms of Microaggressions: Microinvalidations, Microinsults, and Microassaults

Video from PBS- with classroom examples of microaggressions (Includes microinvalidations, microinsults, and microassaults)

NPR LifeKit Podcast: Microaggressions are a Big Deal--How to Talk Them Out and When to Walk away

Navigating Difficult Conversations: Expert Advice for Talking About Race (by UPenn)

Center for Healing Racial Trauma

Racial Trauma is Real: The Impact of Police Shootings on African American

Racial Battle Fatigue: What it is and what are the symptoms

21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge- Created by Dr. Eddie Moore, Debby Irving, & Dr. Margeurite Penick-Parks

Racial Healing Handbook

Uprooting Whiteness (Supremacy & Domination)- ongoing Google Doc of Resources

Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources (Google list with Helm's White Identity Development Framework)

Video- Why White People Are So Bad at Talking About Race w/ Dr. Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility

Podcast- 'Interrupt the Systems': Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility and Anti-Racism

Implicit Project: Harvard Implicit Bias Test

Position Statement and Information About Students Who are Displaced Persons, Refugees, or Asylum-Seekers- NASP

Position Statement- Action to End Racism & Violence Against People of Color- NASP

Best Practices in Supporting Indigenous Students- NASP

Professional Self-Care- from the School Psychology Self-Care Website (Dr. Lisa Kelly-Vance & Dr. Lauren Mangus)

Organizations:
Michigan-Based Organizations:

National or Regional Organizations:

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Michigan Association of School Psychologists - Social Justice

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Prior to and during COVID-19, communities across the country and state have been coping with various social injustice consequences. This includes, but is not limited to: racism, poverty, violence, isolation, and inequity.

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Learning about race and racism on Netflix

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Protests against police brutality have erupted across the country following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Documentaries

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Using never-before heard recordings, rare archival footage and her best-known songs, this is the story of legendary singer and activist Nina Simone.

The documentary also includes interviews with Simone's daughter and friends, and chronicles her life as an artist and becoming a civil rights activist.

DuVernay's distribution, arts and advocacy collective, Array, has also just launched an education platform to accompany the Netflix series, to help viewers learn more about the case and offer episode breakdowns.

This seven season series Orange Is the New Black begins when Piper Chapman, a white woman, goes to jail for money laundering, and has to cope inside an American female prison.

This historical drama follows two World War II veterans, one black, one white, who return to rural Mississippi, and confront the realities of prejudice, racism, PTSD and friendship in the divided World War II era.

It most notably stars Carey Mulligan and Mary J. Blige. It also broke some records at the 90th Academy Awards, where it got nominated for Best Cinematography, making Rachel Morrison the first woman ever nominated in the category.

The Sun Is Also A Star

A good film for a younger audience to watch, this film is an American teen drama film based on the young adult novel by Nicola Yoon.

Natasha lives in New York City with her parents Samuel and Patricia, and her brother Peter, all of whom are illegally in the country. Natasha and her family are set to be deported back to Jamaica.

Natasha then unexpectedly crosses paths with Daniel, while in the process of avoiding deportation to Jamaica, and the pair fall in love. As well as a love story, it depicts the struggle immigrants face in an often hostile environment.

Blindspotting

Nearing the end of his probation, ex-convict Colin, who lives in Oakland, just wants to avoid prison - but the reckless behaviour of his white best friend Miles doesn't make it easy.

Following a scene early on in which Collin witnesses a white police officer shoot a black man with no provocation, the film expresses the mental toll it takes on him, and how it almost comes between his and Miles's friendship.

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19 Netflix movies, shows and documentaries about race and racism

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Protests against police brutality have erupted across the country following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. As Black Lives Matter protests continue across the US and beyond, it's become even more important to make sure we are educated about the injustices in our society.

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ACTIVISM. SOCIAL JUSTICE. CULTURE. POLITICS.

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What does "white anti-racist" mean? How can guilt get in the way? And what's all this talk about being "colorblind"? Learning for Justice, then Teaching Tolerance, asked community activists to share their thoughts on these questions, and others. Their answers shine light on the concepts of comfort, power, privilege and identity.

Perspective:

This Q & A delves into the "finer lines" of white anti-racism and should be used with older students and adults.

The Participants:

Diane Flinn, a white woman and managing partner of Diversity Matters.

Georgette Norman, an African American woman and director of the Rosa Parks Library and Museum

Sejal Patel, a South Asian American woman and community organizer in South Asian immigrant communities

Yvette Robles, a Chicana and Community Relations Manager in Los Angeles

What does "white anti-racist" mean to you?

Diane: I associate this terminology with action and behavior more than an identity or subject position. Anti-racist, for me, is more indicative of a process of coming to a healthy and functioning sense of a white racial identity.

One of the functions and privileges of racism is that white people don't, as a whole, carry race as an identity -- you get to be individual, you get to be "yourself," you get to be the norm, you get to be whole and not partial or hyphenated. You do not have to make "adjustments" or "modifications" to know or name yourself.

I also think my discomfort [with the term anti-racist] is fueled by it being based on what I am not. It is the proverbial "I'm not a racist" disclaimer used by whites to separate themselves from the realities of racism and race-based privilege.

What are common mistakes white activists make when trying to be allies to people of color?

Yvette: Not acknowledging that they have power and privilege by the mere fact that they are white. That is not to say that other parts of their identity can't lead them to feel powerless, for example, being white and gay, or being white and working class. Another mistake I see is when white activists try to emulate a different culture by changing how they act, their speech or style of dress. It's one thing to appreciate someone else's culture; it's quite another to adopt it.

Georgette: The most common mistakes white activists make are 1) setting an agenda with the illusion of inclusion, and 2) having to have a franchise on comfort. God forbid a person of color says or does anything to make white activists feel uncomfortable. That means there can be no discussion of race and no challenge to their privilege, which means no challenge to their power.

Sejal: White anti-racists make a mistake when they shut out the poor and uneducated and keep in those "in the know" to decide what's good for people of color. No movement can work where there is divisiveness.

Also, if people of color want to have their own space and place in certain aspects of society -- say for a weekend or a month -- they shouldn't have to feel like they are being exclusive for doing this. White activists need to understand that society is their space and place every single day, and they shouldn't feel threatened or left out.

When attempting to be allies to people of color, is there a point when white people "get it" (and what does "getting it" mean)?

Sejal: "Getting it" is the biggest point, I feel. Getting it means many things: the ability for white activists to understand that they have a space and place of privilege. It really is up to white people to give up their privilege and be okay with that. Giving it up will make white people truly sensitive to the issues of racism, classism, sexism and homophobia.

White activists need to understand that they can't completely understand or "get" the experience of a person of color. They should trust that their allies, people of color, are not being too sensitive or complaining. Everyone, especially U.S. citizens, has some sort of privilege in their lives, and, as a person of color, I make sure that people have space to express themselves in a way they feel is right. I need to trust that my white allies will do the same for me when I need it.

Diane: I believe that white allies can "get it" if we define "getting it" as becoming attuned to the subtle effects of racial bias in everyday interactions and environments. We can "get it" if we recognize the systemic presence of racism and how race-based oppression is allowed to continue. If we identify and own racial privilege and, as white people, have our own experiences of exclusion so we can authentically empathize, then we are "getting it." We "get it" when we value equity, human rights and social justice.

How would you describe the stages of becoming a white anti-racist/ally?

Sejal: 1) Realize the meanings behind privilege, racism and whiteness. 2) Look within before you look outward. How do you relate to the definitions? Pinpoint the ways in which you experience privilege as a white person. 3) Look outward, find out the historical, global and social patterns of the effects of racism and other forms of oppression. 4) Act. Realize that you want to do something about this system, and come at it with a sensitivity and understanding that you come from a privileged background whether you like it or not.

How does guilt affect white anti-racism?

Diane: Guilt allows white people to maintain the status quo. Guilt creates paralysis. Guilt transfers the responsibility to people of color. Guilt continues the aspect of racism wherein white people put people of color in a situation of taking care of us.

By saying, "I feel so guilty, so bad," it puts the other person in a position of comforting. The other person is then silenced, must reposition or restate their truth. Or worse -- maintain their truth and risk being viewed as mean, insensitive and angry.

Guilt is where most white people get stuck. Guilt is the ultimate obstacle in the personal journey to being a white ally.

How can white privilege get in the way?

Georgette: Privilege and power perpetuate and maintain the hierarchy in our society. It defines 'being' by virtue of skin color. It also defines the kind of relationship you have or are allowed to have and with whom. While many white activists won't admit it, a black person would only have to call them on any issue, and they will promptly remind you of your place and your guest status at the table.

The question, then, becomes how does one get knowledge and access to that power? How does one rise above powerlessness and dependency? Self-determination is one component, but equally important is for white people to yield access to power.

Diane: It is challenging to recognize how my way of doing things and the rules of conduct that I understand are informed by privilege.

Privilege, by its very nature, will "get in the way" as white people move toward and work as allies.

Unfortunately, the more a white person works through his or her whiteness and toward being an ally, the more difficult it becomes to self-identify privilege. You usually can't see it when you are in it; in other words, do fish know they're wet?

What do you think of the concept of being "colorblind"?

Yvette: I hate it. While I think I get the "intention" behind the comment, the reality, when applied, is that a whole segment of the community -- people of color -- are disregarded. When I hear that we should strive for a colorblind society, I hear that we should all adopt to one norm, which may be the most familiar or comfortable for American culture. American culture in the U.S., in my opinion, translates directly to white mainstream culture.

There is no room for diversity in that statement. As a person of color, a Latina, a woman, it means that I need to let go of all that makes me who I am in order to blend into what is acceptable. A colorblind society reminds me of the melting pot theory. I would rather be a part of a "tossed salad," where all different types of people can coexist and live together while maintaining their own personal identities.

Diane: To be "colorblind" implies the invisibility of race, something we all know to not be invisible. My experience of the world is informed by being white; other people experience and interact with me informed by my whiteness so, for me, colorblindness feels like an erasure. To be colorblind is to not see my family, where we come from, our history, and our ways of being. "Colorblind" avoids difference rather than recognizing and valuing it. I do not see how a white activist can be an ally from a position of colorblindness. I understand that many people use this term to challenge racial stereotyping, to not see people "as" their color and the associated racial stereotypes, but it functions as assimilation. If we become "colorblind," than to which worlds and ways of being are we being blinded? What are we not "seeing?" And in which "hue" will we be operating?

Georgette: I personally find it offensive. The largest organ I have is skin, which happens to be brown and rather than accept it, some who call themselves allies want to be blind to it.

Sejal: Of course we have differences and its okay. Let's be realistic -- as much as it would be nice to have a colorblind society, that's not the way it is given our historical landscape. That's not the way we are socialized to think.

Discussion Questions

Diane says: "Anti-racist, for me, is more indicative of a process of coming to a healthy and functioning sense of a white racial identity." Why is the word "functioning" important?

Sejal says: "If people of color want to have their own space and place in certain aspects of society -- say for a weekend or a month -- they shouldn't have to feel like they are being exclusive for doing this." Why might people of color sometimes want their "own" spaces? Are there ever instances when white people should do anti-racist work in isolation? Why?

Guilt and white privilege, these activists say, can sometimes get in the way of white people being effective allies in the struggle against racism. What qualities or actions can help white people be effective allies?

The activists all reject the idea of "colorblindness." Many people contribute the "goal" of colorblindness to a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Was Dr. King advocating that people ignore color? Ignore racism? Why?

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What does "white anti-racist" mean? How can guilt get in the way? And what's all this talk about being "colorblind"? Learning for Justice, then Teaching Tolerance, asked community activists to share their thoughts on these questions, and others. Their answers shine light on the concepts of comfort, power, privilege and identity.

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Multicultural and Social Justice Books - Social Justice Books

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Curated Booklists Carefully selected multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators on 90+ topics. Reviews of Children's Literature Critical reviews of children's and young adult books from a variety of vetted sources, consolidated here for easy access. Articles & News Articles about selecting children's literature and news about Kid Lit.

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Listen to this episode from The goop Podcast on Spotify. "What part do I play?" asks Robin DiAngelo, academic and author of White Fragility. DiAngelo's critical, urgent work asks us to question what we thinkwe know about racism, the conversations we avoid having about racism, and the roles we might (unintentionally) be playing in upholding inequality.

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Now more than ever before, we must come together and stand for what is right. Use your privilege to support those that are being oppressed. I've complied a list of resources for white people to educate themselves and find a way to get involved. Note - all links to resources for purchase will be links to small business, preferably black-owned when possible. I do not profit from any of these links.
Black Lives Matter. Black Voices Matter.
Please feel free to add more resources in the comments!

Non-Fiction Books

Topics of Racism, Oppression, Police Brutality, Minority Experiences, etc.

The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin

Minor Feelings - Cathy Park Hong

America's Original Sin - Jim Wallis

The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander

- Manzarin Banaji

Me and White Supremacy - Layla Saad

So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo

How to Be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi

Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Fire This Time - Jesmyn Ward

White Fragility - Robin DiAngelo

I'm Still Here - Austin Channing Brown

An African American and Latinx History of the United States - Paul Ortiz

- Claudia Rankine

Mindful of Race - Ruth King

- Bryan Stevenson

Tears We Cannot Stop - Michael Eric Dyson

Stamped from the Beginning - Ibram X. Kendi

The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein

The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson

This Book is Anti-Racist - Tiffany Jewell, Aurelia Durand

Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? - Beverly Daniel Tatum

- Carol Anderson

- Patricia Williams

This Will be My Undoing - Morgan Jerkins

Divided Sisters - Midge Wilson and Kathy Russell

They Can't Kill Us All - Wesley Lowery

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

Fatal Invention - Dorothy Roberts

Locking Up Our Own - James Forman

The Miner's Canary - Lani Guiner and Gerald Torres

The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon

Another Day in the Death of America - Gary Younge

Fiction Books

The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston

An American Marriage - Tayari Jones

The Wedding Date (series) - Jasmine Guillory

Halsey Street - Naima Coster

Parable of the Sower (series) - Octavia E Butler

Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi

Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

Children's and Young Adult Books

Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly

Children of Blood and Bone (series) - Tomi Adeyemi

The Hate U Give / On the Come Up - Angie Thomas

A Kids Book About Racism - Jelani Memory

All American Boys - Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

How it Went Down - Kekla Magoon

Tyler Johnson Was Here - Jay Coles

A Good Kind of Trouble - Lisa Moore Ramee

- Breanna J. McDaniel and Shane W. Evans

- Lupita Nyong'o and Vashti Harrison

Daddy, There's a Noise Outside - Kenneth Braswell, Joe Dent, and Julie Anderson

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History - Vashti Harrison

Documentaries, Shows, and Movies
Netflix
13th

American Son

Dear White People

See You Yesterday

When They See Us

LA 92

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Strong Island

Teach Us All

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

Becoming

Moonlight

Mudbound

The Black Godfather

The Force
Hulu
If Beale St. Could Talk

Whose Streets?

Black Stories Presents: Your Attention Please

Monsters and Men

Sorry to Bother You

Blindspotting

Crime + Punishment

King in the Wilderness

Atlanta's Missing & Murdered

The Hate U Give
Amazon Prime
Get Out

I am Not Your Negro

Fruitvale Station

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross

Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

Just Mercy

Crips & Bloods: Made in America

Do the Right Thing

Clemency

What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?

Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Loving

Rat Film

Selma

The Prison in 12 Landscapes

Organizations to Donate to, Sign Petitions for, and Support
Black Lives Matter Organization
George Floyd Memorial Fund - Official gofundme to support the Floyd Family

Black Visions Collective - A Black, Trans, Queer-Led organization that is committed to dismantling systems of oppression and violence, and shifting the public narrative to create transformative, long-term change.

Reclaim the Block - Coalition that advocates for and invests in community-led safety initiatives in Minneapolis neighborhoods

Campaign Zero - Online platform and organization that utilizes research-based polity solutions to end police brutality in America

Unicorn Riot - A non-profit organization that is dedicated to exposing root causes of dynamic social and environmental issues

National Bail Out - Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration

The Bail Project - Organization that is focused on ending cash bail-outs, end pre-trial detention, return people to their communities and support those that cannot afford their bail payments on their own.

The Innocence Project - The Innocence Project's mission is to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment. African-American men are 50% more likely to be wrongfully convicted than men of any other race.

Run with Maud - Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed by two white men while he was on a jog through the neighborhood. The attackers were Gregory McMichael, a former police officer and retired investigator for the DA's office, and his son Travis. Sign the petition to bring justice to Ahmaud's case.

Justice for Breonna - Breonna Taylor was an award-winning EMT and first responder in Louisville, KY. On the night of March 13th, the Louisville Metro Police executed a warrant, looking for drugs they never found, reportedly trafficked by a person who did not live with Breonna or in her complex-and whom they already had in custody. They sprayed her home with 20 rounds, shooting Breonna 8 times, killing her in her bed. Sign the petition to fire the officers who killed her.

Joyce Preschool - A Preschool in Minneapolis. This is an emergency fund for families who had to evacuate their homes near Lake Street last week, and who are now coming back to a devastated neighborhood with no grocery stores within walking distance.

Du Nord Riot Recovery Fund - Du Nord Craft Spirits is a Black-owned distillery with a building that was damaged. They've "received a tidal wave of love and support from across the nation and many have asked how they can help... Therefore, Du Nord is establishing this fund to support black and brown companies affected by the riots."

Black Girl Health Foundation - Their mission is to improve the health of minority women and girls through education, engagement, and empowerment.

- the largest public health nonprofit for African-American women and girls in the United States. With nearly 100,000 neighborhood walkers, GirlTrek encourages women to use walking as a practical first step to inspire healthy living, families, and communities. As women organize walking teams, they mobilize community members to support monthly advocacy efforts and lead a civil rights-inspired health movement.
Harrisburg/Central PA Specific
Dauphin County Bail Fund - Dauphin County Bail Fund is a non-profit community organization dedicated to freeing our community members from cages and ending the practice of Cash Bail.

African American Chamber of Commerce of Central PA - The Chamber is professional network of business owners and supporters that provide and share business resources, leads and best practices while bringing more connections, commerce and diversity to the Central PA Region.

Young Professional of Color Greater Harrisburg - Their mission is to create community for the black and brown professional collective in the Greater Harrisburg Area, and to empower professionals of color to identify what they need to thrive within the community.

Harrisburg Area Black-Owned Businesses to Support
High Maintenance Cleaning Service Next Home Capital Realty
- Harrisburg's only event space for Black and Brown entrepreneurs, artists, and startups

Next Step Performance - Gym on 2nd Street

Dirty Dog Hauling - Junk removal service

- Designer Boutique in Strawberry Square

Harris Family Brewery - PA's first Black-owned brewery

TW3 Designs - Custom Screen-printing

Sweet Confections Cakes - Bakery in Colonial Park

True Story Events/That Cupcake Lady - Y'all she makes some of the best cupcakes I've had in my life.

Onlygirl4boyz - Family/Parenthood Blog

- Boutique on 3rd Street

Black Mermaids - Julia Mallory is a writer, poet and creative in Harrisburg.

Raising the Bar - Bakery within the Broad Street Market

Mel's Rock N' BBQ - BBQ restaurant within the Broad Street Market

Zai's Sweet Treats - Custom cakes, chocolate-covered strawberries, and desserts.

Actions to Take

-Register to Vote.

-Vote in ALL elections, including primaries and local office elections.

-Continue to educate yourself on what it means to be anti-racist.

-Screenshot, share, repost resources to educate those around you.

-Screenshot, share, repost first-hand experiences, art, businesses, words, and ideas from black people on social media.

-Do not center the narrative around you.

-Identify white privilege and condemn it.

-Stop supporting organizations that promote hate, or who are silent during this time. Silence is violence.

-Advocate even after the outrage and protests end.

Topics of Conversation/Self-Reflection Questions

-What can I do to support black people in my community?

-What are my local politicians' policies on ending police brutality?

-What was I taught about race and culture growing up, and how does it differ from what I know now?

-How can I/We help the fight to end racial discrimination and systematic oppression?

-How can I/We use anti-racist knowledge to change and progress conversations with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors?

-How can I be actively anti-racist instead of simply "not racist"?

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, but it is a good place to start. Keep fighting for justice, y'all.

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Resources for White People #blacklivesmatter

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Now more than ever before, we must come together and stand for what is right. Use your privilege to support those that are being oppressed. I've complied a list of resources for white people to educate themselves and find a way to get involved.

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EmbraceRace supports parents to raise children who are brave, informed and thoughtful about race. Join the movement!

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Why You Should Stop Saying " all lives matter"

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Why You Should Stop Saying " all lives matter"

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It's a common conversation these days: One person says, "Black lives matter." Then another responds, "No, all lives matter."

It's also a complete misunderstanding of what the phrase "black lives matter" means. The person on the receiving end interprets the phrase as "black lives matter more than any other lives."

But the point of Black Lives Matter isn't to suggest that black lives should be or are more important than all other lives. Instead, it's simply pointing out that black people's lives are relatively undervalued in the US - and more likely to be ended by police - and the country needs to recognize that inequity to bring an end to it.

To this end, a better way to understand Black Lives Matter is by looking at its driving phrase as "black lives matter, too." So all lives do matter, obviously, but it's one subset of lives in particular that's currently undervalued in America.

But if that isn't good enough, here are nine other ways the response "all lives matter" has been rebuked.

1) "All houses matter"

2) A Reddit user's explanation

3) "All plates matter"

4) "There are other diseases too"

5) "I too have felt loss"

6) A Unitarian Universalist minister's explanation to a church member

Taken from the Unitarian Universalist Association's website:

Of course all lives matter. Central to Unitarian Universalism is the affirmation of the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Sadly, our society has a long history of treating some people as less valuable than others. Study after study has confirmed that in equivalent situations, African Americans and Latinos are treated with deadly force far more often than White people, and authorities held less accountable. Unfortunately, racial bias continues to exist even when it is no longer conscious-this too is confirmed by multiple studies. A lack of accountability in the use of force combined with unconscious bias is too often a deadly combination - and one that could place police officers, as well as the public, in great danger.

To say that Black lives matter is not to say that other lives do not; indeed, it is quite the reverse-it is to recognize that all lives do matter, and to acknowledge that African Americans are often targeted unfairly (witness the number of African Americans accosted daily for no reason other than walking through a White neighborhood-including some, like young Trayvon Martin, who lost their lives) and that our society is not yet so advanced as to have become truly color blind. This means that many people of goodwill face the hard task of recognizing that these societal ills continue to exist, and that White privilege continues to exist, even though we wish it didn't and would not have asked for it. I certainly agree that no loving God would judge anyone by skin color.

As a White man, I have never been followed by security in a department store, or been stopped by police for driving through a neighborhood in which I didn't live. My African American friends have, almost to a person, had these experiences. Some have been through incidents that were far worse. I owe it to the ideal that we share, the ideal that all lives matter, to take their experiences seriously and listen to what they are saying. To deny the truth of these experiences because they make me uncomfortable would be to place my comfort above the safety of others, and I cannot do that.

I very much appreciate you writing to me, and am glad that we share the goal of coming to a day when people will not be judged, consciously or unconsciously, on the basis of their race. I believe that day is possible, too, but that it will take a great deal of work to get there. That work begins by listening to one another, and listening especially to the voices of those who have the least power in society. If nothing else is clear from the past few weeks, it is painfully evident that a great many people do not believe that they are treated fairly. Healing begins by listening to those voices and stories.

7) A simple video explainer

8) A law professor's response to a student

Taken from the law professor's much longer letter to the student:

9) "If all lives matter ... prove it!"

If all lives matter... SHOW US!!! Prove it! Show us our bodies hold the same value. There is no excuse for the slaughter. None.
- Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) July 7, 2016

Watch: Why recording the police is so important

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Why you should stop saying "all lives matter," explained in 9 different ways

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It's a common conversation these days: One person says, "Black lives matter." Then another responds, "No, all lives matter." It's also a complete misunderstanding of what the phrase "black lives matter" means. The person on the receiving end interprets the phrase as "black lives matter more than any other lives."

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Representation Matter! How many books do you have that feature black girls?

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“Stamped” for Youth, or Remixed for abridged version... check out the free discussion guide too!

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“Stamped” for Youth, or Remixed for abridged version... check out the free discussion guide too!

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I am a white mother and educator. For decades in school I have taught "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Unfortunately, for many of my students, the suffering often seems abstract and they falsely believe these are stories from a distant past. But, racism didn't end with the Civil Rights Movement. It is an ever present, persistent evil that impacts us all in every aspect of our daily lives. Wishing and hoping that systemic racism will just go away--or believing that it doesn't exist in our own communities--is its own form of violence. And recently I have been asking myself if I've made this point clearly enough in my teaching practice.

It should not have taken the recent brutal murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, at the hands of police, to spark our consciousness. But it has, and this is now the time for me, and for other white parents and educators like me, to sit up, take notice, listen to Black communities, talk to our children and demonstrate anti-racist actions. This is not a time to be dismissive, but instead it's time for us to reach out, support in every way possible and take meaningful action. I am taking action to build a better future for my children and the children in my care. As a parent and educator I can help dismantle systemic racism. As I continue my own journey of learning about, and committing to, anti-racist action, here's what I believe we can do as educators to support meaningful change.

Our words must match our actions
Frankly, what we have done in the past has not worked. If our society had dismantled systemic racism, then we would not be seeing the necessary unrest that we see today. Our rhetoric needs to match our actions. As I think about what I do as an educator and as a parent, I am not 100 percent confident that my rhetoric and actions have always matched. But when I know better, I do better. I have friends, writers and public figures whose words I listen to, whose words I reflect on, and whose words I take to heart in order to support the change that needs to happen in our society. But it's not enough to read and reflect on those words, I must put those ideas into action.

We must broaden representation in classroom reading
When I reflect on my teaching practice and consider the words that I teach - the novels I use in my classroom, the authors whose works I use on a regular basis--it is clear that I have not had enough Black, Indigenous, or People of Color representation in my curriculum. On reflection, I have not ensured that every student who sits in a seat in my classroom has felt that their experiences were reflected in what we read. As a high school English teacher, I know that the white savior trope dominates our canon of American literature. I need to do a better job of including more writers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. People like Maya Angelou and Zora Neale Hurston, people like Amy Tan and Ta-Nehisi Coates, people like Jason Reynolds and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, people like Sandra Cisneros and Junot Díaz, people like Celeste Ng and Ted Chiang, Langston Hughes and Cleo Wade, Sherman Alexie and Leslie Marmon Silko.

We must embrace tough conversations
First, we must be better listeners. It is time to de-center myself, my stories and my experience, especially when talking about race and racial justice. This is not about me; it's about my friends, colleagues, and community. We must be disciplined and listen to the stories and experiences of others. Listening means not interjecting my point of view or saying anything that might invalidate the experience of others. I listen to People of Color on the news, I read their words in books and on social media. I listen with the intention of hearing what they have to say so I can create a connection and an understanding. I listen to the conversations students have when they are in my classroom and I find teachable moments when the conversation needs to change. I do not pretend I don't hear it. Even if this may feel uncomfortable, we need to have these conversations. I listen to the questions my own children have about race and I answer truthfully and transparently. I acknowledge the mistakes I have made as well as the mistakes others make, and we talk about ways to actively change hearts and minds.

We must explore different ideas, and listen with intention to change
I talk openly about race issues, not just on social media but with people in real life. I initiate conversations (but only if they want to talk) with non-white friends, colleagues, and students, and I actively participate by asking questions to gain understanding. Not everyone in a cultural group feels the same way and by asking questions I can explore different ideas. Again, this requires being present in the conversation, and listening to learn. I talk to my students about racial stereotypes, about how so much of what we read in class overwhelmingly has white characters and about how literature supports learning empathy for others. As a parent, I talk to my children about current events, about historical events, about implicit bias and overt racism. I talk to them about the importance of speaking up, listening, and learning.

We must commit to constant self reflection and admit our own bias
I'm still learning. I am learning how much words matter. I love To Kill a Mockingbird but it is one of many books that uses the White Savior trope - as a society we have so much exposure to this idea that white people have to step in and save Black people. This reinforces that idea that Black people need to be saved by white people. Through my own reflection, I understand how this trope is harmful. True allies don't seek to "solve and save," instead we stand beside our Black friends and colleagues, build empathy, amplify their voices, and stand up alongside them. I now constantly check my thoughts, and question even those that are fleeting: are my ideas influenced by bias, white supremacy and racism? I recently read this from Greater Good Magazine, and it stayed with me: "Admitting that we are all subject to biases creates a safer space to examine them more carefully and take steps to fight them..."

We must use media to strengthen understanding
I'm still learning about cultural appropriation, implicit bias and the historical events that have gone largely ignored, but which have inevitably led our country to this moment. Education plays a role in change. My own learning has been shaped by I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Invisible Man, and more recently, titles like Stamped, Just Mercy, The Hate U Give, Monster, and Dear Martin. These are books I can pass along to my colleagues, my high school students and to my own sons. I watch movies with my family like Akilah and the Bee, Raising Dion, See You Yesterday, Hidden Figures and BlacKkKlansman. I'm learning from podcasts such as Code Switch and Seeing White and my children and I listen to them at home and in the car.

I'm learning why and how Black communities are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19. I'm learning how and why Black people, especially Black men, are disproportionately killed by police. I'm learning and sharing the names and circumstances of the deaths with my children. I'm learning that I need to support organizations like the NAACP that actively support change. I'm learning that I need to show up.

We must keep doing the work
There is no quick fix for systemic racism. It requires continued, ongoing effort to dismantle white supremacy. But I also have hope. With our combined voices and our combined intelligence, we fight for racial justice and usher change. My Black students, colleagues and friends are in pain. As a white person, as a mother of white sons, as a white educator, it is incumbent on me to be more aware, to learn more, to empathize, to listen and to support others as we work to dismantle white supremacy and forge a new way forward.
More Resources

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a call to action for white educators who seek to be anti-racist

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A Call to Action for White Educators Who Seek to Be Anti-Racist | PBS Education

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I am a white mother and educator. For decades in school I have taught "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Unfortunately, for many of my students, the suffering often seems abstract and they falsely believe these are stories from a distant past.

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Stamped- Educator Guide

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Allyship Definition

Allyship is a process, and everyone has more to learn. Allyship involves a lot of listening. Sometimes, people say "doing ally work" or "acting in solidarity with" to reference the fact that "ally" is not an identity, it is an ongoing and lifelong process that involves a lot of work.

A white ally acknowledges the limits of her/his/their knowledge about other people's experiences but doesn't use that as a reason not to think and/or act. A white ally does not remain silent but confronts racism as it comes up daily, but also seeks to deconstruct it institutionally and live in a way that challenges systemic oppression, at the risk of experiencing some of that oppression. Being a white ally entails building relationships with both people of color, and also with white people in order to challenge them in their thinking about race. White allies don't have it all figured out, but are deeply committed to non-complacency.

Articles

Frances E. Kendall, How to Be an Ally if You Are a Person with Privilege

Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack

Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations

Ali Michael Org, 10 Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books For Racism and Sexism,

Allan Johnson, Excerpt from Privilege: Power and Difference

Margaret Biser, I used to lead tours on a plantation. You wouldn't believe the questions I got about slavery.

Holy shit, being an ally isn't about me!, Voices of WOC & Allies

Levana Saxon, Allyship and Accountability Glossary

Ryan Struyk, Blacks and whites see racism in the US very very differently

Matthew Hughey & W. Carson Byrd Born that Way: Scientific Racism is Creeping Back Into Our Thinking

NPR: Michael Martin, Fear of the Black Man, How Racial Bias Impacts Crime/Labor

Ernest Owens, 10 Messages of Wisdom We Need to Give Black Youth Right Now

Alexis Madrigal, The Racist Housing Policy that Made your Neighborhood

Goyette and Scheller, 15 Charts that Prove We're Far From Post Racial

Julie Turkowicz, A 'Historic Moment' for Native Americans

Nicholas Kristof, When Whites Just Don't Get It, Parts 1-7

Joy Sewing, Marrianne Williamson Asked White People To Apologize. She Got It Right

Tara Bahrampour, They Considered Themselves White, But DNA Tests Told a More Complicated Story

Books

Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools, 2nd Edition (2015) Glenn Singleton

Race Amity: A Primer on America's Other Tradition, Natl Center for Race Amity

White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism, Paula Rothenberg

Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injustice, Eric Mason

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo

Privilege: Power and Difference, Allan Johnson

Privilege: A Reader, Michael Kimmel & Abby Ferber

Raising Race Questions, Ali Michael

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander

Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson

America's Original Sin : America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, Jim Wallis

Slavery By Another Name, Douglas Blackmon

When Affirmative Action Was White, Ira Katznelson

So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo

The Color of Law: The Forgotten Story of How Government Segregated America, Richard Rothstein

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, Ibram X. Kendi

How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi

White Awake: An Honest Look at What it Means to be White, Daniel Hill

Empire of Cotton: A Global History, Sven Beckert

Slavery's Capitalism: A New History of American Economic Development, Sven Beckert and Seth Rockman

The Business of Slavery and the Rise of American Capitalism, Calvin Schermerhorn

The History of White People, Nell Irvin Painter

Films

13th, Ava DuVernay

When They See Us, Ava DuVernay

The Color of Fear, Lee Mun Wah

I'm Not Racist Am I?, Andre Lee

BOSS: The Black Experience in Business, PBS documentary

Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans From the Civil War to World War II, PBS based on book by Douglas Blackmon

Reconstruction, PBS based on book by Eric Foner

Videos

White Lies We Tell Our Children, Colin Stokes

The Enduring Myth of Black Criminality, Ta-Nehisi Coates via The Atlantic

How to Have a Voice and Lean Into Conversations on Race, Amanda Kemp

The Future of Race in America (on The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander

A Conversation with Black Women on Race, New York Times Op-Docs Series

A Conversation with White People about Race, New York Times Op-Docs Series

How Race Settled the Suburbs, Upworthy (Adam Ruins Everything)

Equity vs Equality, Carneades

Newsletter

For more resources, tips, and upcoming announcements, don't forget to sign up for our Dismantle Collective newsletter!

Support

You can also click here to donate to support our work.

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Resources for White Allies - Dismantle Collective

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Allyship is a process, and everyone has more to learn. Allyship involves a lot of listening. Sometimes, people say "doing ally work" or "acting in solidarity with" to reference the fact that "ally" is not an identity, it is an ongoing and lifelong process that involves a lot of work.

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This post was written by guest author Ryan Douglass. This blog post is part of Build Your Stack,® a new initiative focused exclusively on helping teachers build their book knowledge and their classroom libraries. Build Your Stack® provides a forum for contributors to share books from their classroom experience; inclusion in a blog post does not imply endorsement or promotion of specific books by NCTE.
I recently put out a call on Twitter for recommendations for books starring Black boys in stories without police violence and got an outpouring of suggested titles.

While police brutality disproportionately affects the lives of Black youth, it's important to affirm Black boys outside the context of this trauma, so they may feel represented in stories of joy, triumph, and escapism. Books, as tools of empowerment, can strengthen the self-esteem, morale, and cultural education of kids who feel limited by the harsh realities of racism.

The following books center Black boy heroes in a variety of genres and highlight the immense diversity of their experiences.
MIDDLE GRADE
Clayton Bird Goes Underground
by Rita Williams Garcia

Clayton feels most alive when he's with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen. He can't wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Clayton's mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. Clayton knows that's no way to live. Armed with his grandfather's brown porkpie hat and his harmonica, he runs away from home to journey through New York City subways and to Washington Square Park, in search of the Bluesmen, hoping he can join them on the road. Rita Williams-Garcia crafts a powerful and heartfelt novel about loss, family, love, and the power of music.

The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away
by Ronald Smith

This story of an alien-obsessed biracial boy growing up in a military base is a perfect intro to sci-fi horror for kids aged 8-12. On a camping trip with his parents, Simon goes through an experience that he believes to be an alien abduction, which may be real, or just the product of the overactive imagination of a kid who loves fantasy, role-playing games, and is the target of bullies and his father's scorn. The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away is a poignant look at mental health and toxic masculinity wrapped up in a story about aliens.

The Great Greene Heist
by Varian Johnson

Jackson Greene assembles a crack team to ensure the school president election is won fair and square, and not by Keith Sinclair's connections with the principal: Hashemi Larijani, tech genius; Victor Cho, bankroll; Megan Feldman, science goddess and cheerleader; Charlie de la Cruz, point man. Together they devise a plan that will bring Keith down once and for all. Yet as Jackson draws closer to his ex-best-friend and Keith's opponent, Gaby de la Cruz, he realizes the election isn't the only thing he wants to win. The Great Greene Heist has political intrigue, a motley team of supporting characters, and a charming and clever hero.

King and the Dragonflies
by Kacen Callender
Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure that when his brother unexpectedly passed away, he shed his human skin to become a dragonfly, and live by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. As grief transforms his family, King finds it hard to talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. Days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship on suspicion Sandy might be gay. Then Sandy goes missing, and King finds him hiding in a tent in his backyard. He agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two reignite their friendship as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou among the dragonflies, forcing King to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death. King and the Dragonflies takes a poignant look at a boy coming to terms with his sexuality in the aftermath of his brother's death.
YOUNG ADULT
Fake ID
by Lamar Giles
Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight. In fact, his name isn't really Nick Pearson. He shouldn't tell you his real name, his real hometown, or why his family just moved to Stepton, Virginia. And he definitely shouldn't tell you about his friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy Eli was uncovering when he died, or about how Nick had to choose between solving Eli's murder with his sister, Reya, and "staying low-key" like the Program said to do. But he's going to tell you-unless he gets caught first. Fake ID is a fast-paced mystery thriller that explores the complicated family dynamics of a clever, resourceful kid living in the witness protection program.

Opposite of Always
by Justin A. Reynolds
When Jack and Kate meet at a party, Jack knows immediately he's falling-hard. But then Kate dies, and her death sends Jack back to the moment they first meet. Jack isn't sure if he's losing his mind. Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate's death, he'll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, Jack learns his actions are not without consequences. Author Justin A. Reynolds delivers a heartfelt contemporary time travel novel about the choices we make, the people we choose, and the moments that make a life worth reliving.

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
by Ben Phillippe
Norris Kaplan is a clever, cynical French-Canadian teen who just moved to Austin, Texas. Faced with a new high school, Norris begins cataloging everyone he meets-Cheerleaders, Jocks, Loners, and the Manic Pixie Dream Girl-just to amuse himself. But then those labels become actual people. Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, Madison, who is so nice it must be a trap, and Aarti, who might be a real love interest in the making. Soon Norris realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life-along with the people who have won his heart. This quirky, hilarious tale is about finding friendship and belonging where you feel like a fish out of water.

All Boys Aren't Blue
by George M. Johnson
Journalist and activist George M. Johnson's YA memoir-manifesto All Boys Aren't Blue takes stories from his childhood, adolescence, and college years to show readers how they can fight for themselves or be allies for others in the struggle for equity and equality. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea-marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young adult memoir weaves a powerful narrative about the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys today.
Ryan Douglass is an author, freelance writer, and former writing tutor from Atlanta, Georgia. He has written about race, literacy, toxic masculinity, and media representation for The Huffington Post, Atlanta Black Star, Everyday Feminism, LGBTQNation, and Medium, among others. His debut novel is a Get Out-inspired YA thriller due from Penguin/Putnam in the summer of 2021. Find him on Twitter @ryandouglassw.

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Build Your Stack: Affirming Black Boys outside the Context of Police Brutality - NCTE

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This post was written by guest author Ryan Douglass. This blog post is part of Build Your Stack,® a new initiative focused exclusively on helping teachers build their book knowledge and their classroom libraries. Build Your Stack® provides a forum for contributors to share books from their classroom experience; inclusion in a blog post does not imply endorsement or promotion of specific books by NCTE.