It’s Time! Resources to Help You Show Up and Commit to Antiracism
June 11, 2020
We support our authors, Black communities, and all those fighting against racial injustice and police violence. We can’t stop thinking of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and of too many Black lives before and after them, and as such, we recognize this is an extremely traumatic time for many. This is exacerbated by the fact that the coronavirus pandemic rages on, disproportionately affecting communities of color. We remain committed to publishing resources to help expose and dismantle the systems of white supremacy and the carceral state. With this in mind, we put together this list of racial justice resources.
Antiracism is a lifelong commitment. These resources are a good starting point, but remember that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) have been suffering in this country for centuries before you decided it was time to get involved. Don’t expect your Black friends, colleagues, or acquaintances to do the emotional labor for you, or to instruct you on how to behave. Channel your grief and outrage beyond the internet. Educate yourself. Read Black authors. Support Black communities. And if you are white, get uncomfortable with your privilege. There is a lot of work to be done.
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Donate
- George Floyd Memorial Fund
- Minnesota Freedom Fund
- I Run With Maud
- National Bail Out Fund: Free Black Mamas
- Color of Change
- Reclaim the Block
- Campaign Zero
- Justice for Breonna Taylor
- Black Visions Collective
- The National Lawyers Guild
- The NAACP Legal Defense Fund
- Black Lives Matter
- The Equal Justice Initiative
Check Your Privilege
This is a collection of resources for white people to educate themselves and to further deepen their commitment to antiracist work.
Reach Out to Your Elected Officials
This public database lists contact information to help you connect with your political representatives to demand action and accountability.
Support Protestors
These websites allow you to find a local chapter or organization to work with, be it virtually, monetarily, or in person.
Support Black-Owned Bookstores
You can show support for the ongoing protests against police violence by buying books from any of these Black-owned bookstores.
Listen to Others Doing the Work
This is a small collection of work from Beacon authors writing about systemic injustice, racial inequity and police violence in this country. Use these pieces as a starting point to do your own research, and to find other authors and activists who are doing anti-racist work that resonates with you.
- The Case For More Radical Movements, by Charlene Carruthers
- What I’ve Learned About Mothering Black Boys in America – 'No matter how many say so, my sons, you are not a problem', by Imani Perry
- A Warrant to Search Your Vagina, Andrea Ritchie’s New York Times op-ed, exposes the ways women of color are targeted in drug cases and subject to abuse or assault by police officers
- White people assume niceness is the answer to racial inequality. It’s not, Robin DiAngelo’s op-ed in the Guardian, urges white people to move away from niceness to active antiracist action for racial equality
- Zach Norris lays out a radical way to shift the conversation about public safety away from anxiety and punishment and toward growth and support
- Living in a Racist Society Is Making Us Stupid, by Crystal Marie Fleming
- Fourteen Steps Forward Together for America’s Third Reconstruction, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove outline fourteen steps to mobilize in the streets, at the polls, and in the courtroom to build a social justice movement
- When Police Stand Their Ground by Caroline Light, explains the robust legal immunities that 'Stand Your Ground' grant to law enforcement professionals
Educate Yourself
We have collected a list of titles from our catalog that amplify Black voices, examine this country’s history of systemic racism, and show us how we must work to dismantle these systems.