Race Education and Links
It is hard to contextualize this post. I did not start learning that there really is a race problem here in the U.S. until I was in my late thirties. Super embarrassing. The school I used to teach in our super white, rural, community has a small population of students who are non-white. We noticed race issues cropping up and our director decided to educate herself, and us in the process, in order to better serve our students. I was able to get some training and also started reading some books, because that’s what I do. Which lead to listening to podcasts, and more reading, and, and, and…..
I have amassed quite a collection of learning tools as a result. Friends knew I was learning about race and asked for recommendations here and there. I ended up with this list below. Let me be clear, I am a white woman and this recommendation list is geared for other white folks who want to self-educate. I am in no way an expert in this area. I hope you find it helpful in your own self-reflection and learning.
Books:
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (Good Beginner Book)
What it means to be White by Robin DiAngelo (Excellent Book! Builds racial literacy. If you read nothing else on this list, read this!)
White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo
Podcasts: (These are all available on Castbox, which is the podcast app I use.)
Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell - Relevant Episodes: The Limits of Power (June 2nd) State vrs. Johnson (7/26/17) Bonus M. Gladwell on Oprah's Super Soul Conversations (9/18/19)
Scene on Radio - Seeing White Series (Starts 02/15/2017 although I think they released it in 2019) Takes a focused look at the history of racism in this country in a way that explains why white people don’t see it anymore. Also teases apart the complexity of it all. Absolutely Fascinating.
Dissect - Lemonade (season 6) This is a music podcast that takes the entire Beyonce album and takes a deep look at it over the entire season. It is an amazing look at how Black people are wrestling with identity in this country, overlaid with her working through her husband's infidelity.
Still Processing - A fun look at culture through the lens of two bi-racial Black folks.
Throughline - The one put out by NPR, not the other one. A look at current issues that are then traced back through time. Episodes that are most relevant: Presidential Power (June 10th) American Police (June 3) A Race to Know (April 1) Conspiracy Theories (11/27/19) Zombies (LOVED this one… 10/30/19) Strange Fruit (8/21/19) Mass Incarceration (8/14/19) White Nationalism (5/8/19) American Shadows (3/6/19) American Police (6/3/2020)
Code Switch - Just start at the beginning. *smile*
Teaching While White - Only 3 or 4 episodes.. And ment for teachers. But it is good for everyone really.
99% Invisible - Relevant Episodes: The Green Book (11/20/18)
Websites and Videos:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-52943128/early-american-policing-runaway-slave-patrols BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAA-w5DiAAU&list=WL&index=17&t=0s
This talks about the data on Policing Black Americans
https://linktr.ee/thebasicguide A guide that answers tons of Questions about BLM and so on. This is a collaborative work that is growing daily with citations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL05Qto8mM&list=FLO4ifTT6_UNA5PW-y6_7D7A&index=4&t=0s Stop and Frisk in New York ramifications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO15S3WC9pg&list=FLO4ifTT6_UNA5PW-y6_7D7A&index=26&t=0s On who gets to use the N word. Great analogy!
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-53083559/what-happened-when-a-city-disbanded-its-police-force A look at one American city that disbanded their Police force a few years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR28OmgVvTuHd71KAvLv40K7BQjYRFh1QeQwl8OX4bx9hqDMwY4VJ81SObc Thoughtfull reflection by Trevor Noah that gets really interesting around the 8 minute mark.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/learning/lesson-plans/25-mini-films-for-exploring-race-bias-and-identity-with-students.html?emc=eta1&_r=0&referer= Experience of young teens and middle schoolers who are black.
https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/10-things-every-white-teacher-know-talking-race/ 10 things white teachers (who are by far the majority in the profession) need to know… but is applicable to white people in general as well.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52992795
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52981634
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjTu1NmQLP8&list=FLO4ifTT6_UNA5PW-y6_7D7A&index=19&t=0s Thoughts by Trevor Noah on what reparations are.
Now What:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dg86g-QlM0&list=FLO4ifTT6_UNA5PW-y6_7D7A&index=23&t=0s THIS. THIS. THIS.
https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/white-antiracism-living-the-legacy
https://everydayfeminism.com/2014/09/non-racist-white-person/
https://www.whiteaccomplices.org/
https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234
https://returntonow.net/2016/06/13/prison-labor-is-the-new-american-slavery/
https://www.embracerace.org/?fbclid=IwAR1kvq2OKgOhdjQCxO-1uQ5xYd4xUXMiRAuTIBokOlSBPpJdIvgBqLyiI64 Parents, or someday parents, there are tons of studies that show that children are already VERY aware of race by age 3. We have to educate our kids or the next generation is doomed to be like us.
https://www.conspireforchange.org/
https://www.hiddengeniusproject.org/
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
Level 2:
Podcasts:
Hi-Phi Nation - All episodes released so far this year have to do with a deep dive into the american justice system, from its beginnings to how it evolved in relation to race.
Vids:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBef9Neld_O/?igshid=1u0q4sr6ensgy There are swears and he is more passionate, but he gives 2 very good examples on how the incarceration statistics are invalid due to racial bias.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzuOlyyQlug&list=WL&index=19 “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it,” writes professor Ibram X. Kendi. This video is long, but if you don’t read the book (listed above), he talks about some of its key points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsxukOPEdgg&list=FLO4ifTT6_UNA5PW-y6_7D7A&index=2&t=0s John Oliver is snarky, so his tone can turn people off. But he gives a REALLY good history of how History curriculum in schools is skewed heavily and purposefully.
Books:
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendiand (Much more depth and academic) Here is a talk given by the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBFYQu1ZYD0&list=PLMs_JcuNozJb9oaX6KT1l_-T7tZuVU_9X
How to be Anti Racist by Ibram X Kendi
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (Fairly academic)
