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Sundance Institute staff members have compiled the following resources that support antiracism work, including organizations that accept donations of money or time, mental health offerings geared towards Black individuals, reading and viewing lists for self-education, and resources for becoming a stronger ally. We hope this will be a helpful starting point for those in our community as we do the critical work of confronting and dismantling anti-Black racism at the individual and institutional levels.

This list includes national resources as well as local organizations in the areas where Sundance Institute has offices. It is by no means comprehensive, and it will continue to grow. These resources are being compiled by Amber Espinosa-Jones, Moi Santos, Bird Runningwater, Ana Verde, Laure Bender, Burchie Benton, Alexandria Hinchey, Chandler Phillips, Kat Schulze, Evá Williams, Quayla Allen, Marcela Cubas, Marianne Verrone, Karen Bono, Kieran Medina, Ruthie Doyle, Yvonne Jimenez, Maria Santos, and Melissa Bowers on behalf of Sundance Institute's Inclusion Staff Team and Staff Council.

In support of the work of our BIPOC colleagues and allies, please consider making a donation of $25 to any of the funds listed below.

Mental Health Resources

    • The Safe Place, a mental health app
      The Safe Place is a minority mental health app geared towards the Black community. The purpose of The Safe Place is to bring more awareness, education, and hope to this serious issue. Not only can the Black community benefit from this app, but also mental health professionals, friends, and family of ALL colors can be better educated on this issue and do a service by directing their Black friends, co-workers, etc. to the app. All races go through mental illness, but we also can experience it differently because of our race and social backgrounds.
    • Melanin & Mental Health, podcasts, articles, and therapist research
      Melanin & Mental Health® was born out of a desire to connect individuals with culturally competent clinicians committed to serving the mental health needs of Black and Latinx/Hispanic communities. Melanin & Mental Health® is committed to promoting the growth and healing of communities through our website, online directory, and monthly events.
    • Therapy for Black Girls, geared towards Black women seeking therapy
      To be seen, to be heard, and to be understood. So often the stigma surrounding mental health issues and therapy prevents Black women from taking the step of seeing a therapist. This space was developed to present mental health topics in a way that feels more accessible and relevant. <
    • National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network, a healing justice organization
      NQTTCN was officially launched in May 2016, as a call to organize mental health practitioners, to establish a network where therapists can deepen their analysis of healing justice, and where QTPoC community can connect to care. The digital seeds for NQTTCN were planted in 2015 by founder Erica Woodland in an email to close colleagues and comrades. Deeply inspired by a grassroots group of Queer Therapists of Color, QTOC, which was founded in 2009 to provide support and leadership development to mental health practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area, Erica combined his clinical experience with movement-building experience to launch this vision.
    • Therapy for Black Men, geared towards Black men seeking therapy
      TherapyForBlackMen.org is a directory to help men of color in their search for a therapist. Using the directory, men can search by therapist location and specialization. Searching by location, the results will include the therapists near you and will display their credentials, location, and the issues they treat.
    • The Unplug Collective, free, accessible storytelling for Black and Brown people
      Unplug, at its core, is a place where Black and Brown womxn and nonbinary folks can share their stories about existing in their bodies without being silenced or censored. Whether it be about mental health, body image, fatphobia, medical discrimination, gender, or something else, any story that gives us your valued and often untold perspective about living in your body is something you should send to us!
    • COVID-19 Response Therapist Resource, a community-sourced list
      This is a list of therapists who responded to the @browngirltherapy callout for any mental health care professionals of color who are currently accepting new clients for teletherapy during the pandemic. Organized by state.
    • Third Root Community Health Center, free, guided meditation and yoga classes for BIPOC and QTPOC
      Third Root has waived fees for their BIPOC yoga class and their QTPOC guided meditation, and they have created a “BIPOC Healing Gathering for Grief and Loss Support.”
    • The Four Bodies: A Holistic Toolkit for Coping With Racial Trauma by Jacquelyn Ogorchukwu
      A resource from The Nappy Head Club (a community for anyone who has ever been told they weren’t good enough), this is a guide for healing for the Black and underrepresented: we explore the reclamation of our Black identity. We see you, and we celebrate you.
    • The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, offering free therapy for communities of color
      The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation offers therapy services for those impacted by COVID-19 and is extending services to cover those impacted directly or indirectly by the injustice and maltreatment of African Americans observed over the last few weeks. BLHF is committed to being part of the long-term solution. Round 2 applications opened on June 5.

Donating Money

Donating Time

Here are some organizations that are looking for volunteers at this time. Please proceed with caution when leaving your house, and wear the correct personal protective gear.

If you feel sick or have a cough, please stay home. Protect protesters and essential workers and stop the spread of COVID-19. If you are protesting or volunteering, please get tested regularly. Below we have provided information on where to get tested depending on where you are located.

    • New York: To schedule a COVID-19 test in New York, complete an online assessment. You will receive a follow-up phone call within one business day to schedule your appointment.
    • Los Angeles: You can sign up for an appointment at this link.
    • Salt Lake City: You can find a testing center near you at this link. Calvary Baptist Church is offering no-cost testing.

  • *These organizations offer volunteer opportunities for those stuck at home.

  • Tips on Protesting Safely

    (via Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)

    1. LOOK OUT FOR THINGS THAT DON’T SEEM RIGHT. There are increasing reports and investigations that white supremacists may be infiltrating these protests, breaking windows, and destroying property. If anything seems off to you, DOCUMENT IT. Always check who is organizing.
    2. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF GRASSROOTS BLACK ORGANIZERS. They have been at this a long time and are disciplined in the ropes of community organizing and demonstration. It IS a discipline. Follow trusted leaders whose goal has been the focused pursuit of justice. If they just showed up, that’s a red flag.
    3. HAVE A BUDDY. Make sure someone is keeping an eye on you and check in on them.
    4. STAY SAFE and take care of each other.
    WHAT TO WEAR
    • Nondescript, solid, layered clothing that covers any identifiable tattoos
    • Heat-resistant gloves
    • Goggles
    • Mask
    • Emergency contacts written down
    • Tie your hair up
    WHAT TO BRING
    • Water for drinking & tear gas
    • Cash/change
    • ID
    • Bandages & first-aid supplies
    • Washcloth
    • Snacks
    • Ear plugs
    • Protest signs
    AVOID BRINGING
    • Cell phone without first turning off Face/Touch ID, going on airplane mode, disabling data
    • Jewelry
    • Anything you don’t want to be arrested with
    • Contact lenses
    WHAT TO WEARWHAT TO BRINGAVOID BRINGING
    • Nondescript, solid, layered clothing that covers any identifiable tattoos
    • Heat-resistant gloves
    • Goggles
    • Mask
    • Emergency contacts written down
    • Tie your hair up
    • Water for drinking & tear gas
    • Cash/change
    • ID
    • Bandages & first-aid supplies
    • Washcloth
    • Snacks
    • Ear plugs
    • Protest signs
    • Cell phone without first turning off Face/Touch ID, going on airplane mode, disabling data
    • Jewelry
    • Anything you don’t want to be arrested with
    • Contact lenses


    *REMINDER*

    DO NOT post or share images/videos of protesters without their permission!

    This could endanger their immigration status, bring unwanted consequences, and lead to arrests/fines.

    Resources for Immigrants Protesting

    Tips

    • Know your rights.
    • Have an immigration lawyer’s number written when you go out.
    • Stay within a group.
    • Do not post photos/videos that easily identify yourself at a protest.

    Additional Protesting Tips and Resources

    Demonstrations in Los Angeles

    • Find live updates about demonstrations across Los Angeles by following @justiceforgeorgela on Instagram.
    • LA Pride—Black Lives Matter Solidarity Protest
      LA Pride Parade and Festival announced a solidarity protest march in response to racial injustice, systemic racism, and all forms of oppression. CSW had previously canceled all in-person events due to COVID-19, but the CSW Board of Directors voted on the evening of June 1, 2020, to peacefully assemble a protest in solidarity with the Black community at Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave. in Los Angeles, near the site where the first-ever permitted Pride Parade took place. The protesters will march to West Hollywood and end at the intersection of San Vicente and Santa Monica Blvds.

    Demonstrations in New York

    • Find live updates about demonstrations across New York by following @justiceforgeorgenyc on Instagram.

    Demonstrations in Utah

  • #DoTheWork: 30-Day Course on Allyship to Black Women by Rachel Cargle

    This free, 30-day course is designed to be an eye-opener and a call to action for those who seek to be allies to Black women. To #DoTheWork, one must be intentional in breaking down the systems that continue to oppress and disenfranchise the Black community, with Black women being the most affected. Going through these daily prompts, you will be called to think critically and act tangibly in solidarity. Participating in this will be your first small step in working towards dissolving these systems, institutions, and ideologies that continue to negatively affect Black women and their communities yet benefit white people in this country.

  • Call Your Elected Officials

    Sign Petitions

    • Explore this collection of petitions that you can sign to make meaningful changes. Note this website is being actively updated and has been translated into various languages.

Recommended Reading & Viewing

“[Allyship] is not supposed to be about you. It’s not supposed to be about your feelings. It’s not supposed to be a way of glorifying yourself at the expense of the folks you claim to be an ally to. It’s not supposed to be a performance. It’s supposed to be a way of living your life that doesn’t reinforce the same oppressive behaviors you’re claiming to be against.” —Mia McKenzie author and activist

  • We’ve compiled a reading list that is by no means comprehensive, but it is a place to start. We have decided to include fiction and nonfiction readings here.

    FOR ADULTS

    Articles and Essays

    Nonfiction Books

    Ain’t I a Woman, Bell Hooks
    In this classic study, cultural critic bell hooks examines how Black women, from the 17th century to the present day, were and are oppressed by both white men and Black men and by white women. Illustrating her analysis with moving personal accounts, Ain't I a Woman is deeply critical of the racism inherent in the thought of many middle-class white feminists who have failed to address issues of race and class. While acknowledging the conflict of loyalty to race or sex is still a dilemma, hooks challenges the view that race and gender are two separate phenomena, insisting that the struggles to end racism and sexism are inextricably intertwined.

    Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
    Between the World and Me is a 2015 nonfiction book written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It is written as a letter to the author's teenage son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being Black in the United States.

    Eloquent Rage, Brittney Cooper
    So what if it’s true that Black women are mad as hell? They have the right to be. In the Black feminist tradition of Audre Lorde, Brittney Cooper reminds us that anger is a powerful source of energy that can give us the strength to keep on fighting.

    The End of Policing, Alex Vitale
    This book attempts to spark public discussion by revealing the tainted origins of modern policing as a tool of social control. It shows how the expansion of police authority is inconsistent with community empowerment, social justice—even public safety. Drawing on groundbreaking research from across the world, and covering virtually every area in the increasingly broad range of police work, Alex Vitale demonstrates how law enforcement has come to exacerbate the very problems it is supposed to solve. Free ebook can be found at this link

    The History of White People, Nell Irvin Painter
    Telling perhaps the most important forgotten story in American history, eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter guides us through more than two thousand years of Western civilization, illuminating not only the invention of race but also the frequent praise of “whiteness” for economic, scientific, and political ends. A story filled with towering historical figures, The History of White People closes a huge gap in literature that has long focused on the nonwhite and forcefully reminds us that the concept of “race” is an all-too-human invention whose meaning, importance, and reality have changed as it has been driven by a long and rich history of events.

    How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
    The Combahee River Collective, a path-breaking group of radical Black feminists, was one of the most important organizations to develop out of the antiracist and women’s liberation movements of the 1960s and ’70s. In this collection of essays and interviews edited by activist-scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, founding members of the organization and contemporary activists reflect on the legacy of its contributions to Black feminism and its impact on today’s struggles.

    Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson
    Just Mercy tells the story of EJI, from the early days with a small staff facing the nation’s highest death sentencing and execution rates, through a successful campaign to challenge the cruel practice of sentencing children to die in prison, to revolutionary projects designed to confront Americans with our history of racial injustice.

    March Trilogy, John Lewis
    Discover the inside story of the civil rights movement through the eyes of one of its most iconic figures, Congressman John Lewis. March is the award-winning, number-one best-selling graphic novel trilogy recounting his life in the movement, co-written with Andrew Aydin and drawn by Nate Powell.

    The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindnes, Michelle Alexander
    The New Jim Crow is a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status—denied the very rights supposedly won in the civil rights movement. Since its publication in 2010, the book has appeared on the New York Times best seller list for more than a year; has been dubbed the “secular bible of a new social movement” by numerous commentators, including Cornel West; and has led to consciousness-raising efforts in universities, churches, community centers, re-entry centers, and prisons nationwide. The New Jim Crow tells a truth our nation has been reluctant to face.

    Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Audre Lorde
    Audre Lorde wrote from the particulars of her identity: Black woman, lesbian, poet, activist, cancer survivor, mother, and feminist. This collection, now considered a classic volume, of Lorde's most influential works of nonfiction prose has had a groundbreaking impact on the development of contemporary feminist theories. In 15 essays and speeches dating from 1976 to 1984, Lorde explores the complexities of intersectional identity, while explicitly drawing from her personal experiences of oppression to include sexism, heterosexism, racism, homophobia, classism, and ageism. The book examines a broad range of topics, including love, self-love, war, imperialism, police brutality, coalition building, violence against women, Black feminism, and movements towards equality that recognize and embrace differences as a vehicle for change.

    Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America, Michael Eric Dyson
    As the country grapples with racist division at a level not seen since the 1960s, one man's voice soars above the rest with conviction and compassion. In his 2016 New York Times op-ed piece "Death in Black and White," Michael Eric Dyson moved a nation. Now he continues to speak out in Tears We Cannot Stop―a provocative and deeply personal call for change. Dyson argues that if we are to make real racial progress we must face difficult truths, including being honest about how Black grievance has been ignored, dismissed, or discounted.

    Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, John Lewis
    The son of an Alabama sharecropper, and now a sixth-term United States congressman, John Lewis has led an extraordinary life, one that found him at the epicenter of the civil rights movement in the late '50s and '60s. As chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis was present at all the major battlefields of the movement. Arrested more than 40 times and severely beaten on several occasions, he was one of the youngest yet most courageous leaders.

    We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, Ta-Nehisi Coates
    We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy is a collection of essays by Ta-Nehisi Coates originally from The Atlantic magazine between 2008 and 2016 over the course of the Barack Obama administration in the United States.

    When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, Patrisse Cullors
    Patrisse Cullors’s first book, co-written by ashe bandele, is a poetic memoir and reflection on humanity. A New York Times best seller—necessary and timely, Patrisse’s story asks us to remember that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, a threat to America. But in truth, they are loving women whose life experiences have led them to seek justice for those victimized by the powerful. In this meaningful, empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience, Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele seek to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable. Order here.

    White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo
    White fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. This book explicates the dynamics of white fragility and how we might build our capacity in the ongoing work towards racial justice.

    Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the United States, Edited by Joe Macaré, Maya Schenwar, and Alana Yu-lan Price, Foreword by Alicia Garza
    This book explores the reality of U.S. police violence against Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. What is the reality of policing in the United States? Do the police keep anyone safe and secure other than the very wealthy? How do recent police killings of young Black people in the United States fit into the historical and global context of anti-Blackness? Free e-book.

    Fiction Books

    An American Marriage, Tayari Jones
    Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. They are settling into the routine of their life together, when they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit.

    Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    Americanah is a 2013 novel by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, for which Adichie won the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Fiction award. Americanah tells the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the United States to attend university. The novel traces Ifemelu's life in both countries, threaded by her love story with high school classmate Obinze.

    The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
    The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by author Toni Morrison. Morrison was an African American novelist, a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner whose works are praised for addressing the harsh consequences of racism in the United States. The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio (Morrison's own home town), and tells the story of a young African American woman named Pecola who grows up during the years following the Great Depression. Set in 1941, the story tells that due to her mannerisms and dark skin, she is consistently regarded as "ugly." As a result, she develops an inferiority complex, which fuels her desire for the blue eyes she equates with "whiteness."

    Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko
    Thirty years since its original publication, Ceremony remains one of the most profound and moving works of Native American literature, a novel that is itself a ceremony of healing. Tayo, a World War II veteran of mixed ancestry, returns to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation. He is deeply scarred by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese and further wounded by the rejection he encounters from his people. Only by immersing himself in the Indian past can he begin to regain the peace that was taken from him.

    Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo
    Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and the first Black woman to receive this highest literary honor in the English language. Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of Black British women that paints a vivid portrait of the state of contemporary Britain and looks back to the legacy of Britain’s colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean.

    Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
    Homegoing follows the parallel paths of two half sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.

    The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead
    When Elwood Curtis, a Black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

    Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
    In Jesmyn Ward’s first novel since her National Book Award–winning Salvage the Bones, this singular American writer brings the archetypal road novel into rural 21st-century America. An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing journeys through Mississippi’s past and present, examining the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power—and limitations—of family bonds.

    The Street: A Novel, Ann Petry
    The Street tells the poignant, often heartbreaking story of Lutie Johnson, a young Black woman, and her spirited struggle to raise her son amid the violence, poverty, and racial dissonance of Harlem in the late 1940s. Originally published in 1946 and hailed by critics as a masterwork, The Street was Ann Petry's first novel, a beloved best seller with more than a million copies in print. Its haunting tale still resonates today.

    Poetry & Plays

    Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine
    Citizen: An American Lyric is a 2014 book-length poem by American poet Claudia Rankine. Citizen stretches the conventions of traditional lyric poetry by interweaving several forms of text and media into a collective portrait of racial relations in the United States.

    Pass Over, Antoinette Nwandu,
    Moses and Kitch stand around on the corner—talking shit, passing the time, and hoping that maybe today will be different. As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda and derails their plans. Emotional and lyrical, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, exposing the unquestionable human spirit of young men stuck in a cycle that they are desperately trying to escape.

    Other

    Racial Equity Tools
    Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula, and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level—in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large. It includes 2500+ resources that can help you create change in your community.

    FOR CHILDERN

    Here are some books you can read to your children to encourage this discourse from an early age. Find these books and more on The New York Times’ Anti-Racist Books for Kids.

    Each Kindness, Jacqueline Woodson
    Chloe and her friends won’t play with the new girl, Maya. Every time Maya tries to join Chloe and her friends, they reject her. Eventually Maya stops coming to school. When Chloe’s teacher gives a lesson about how even small acts of kindness can change the world, Chloe is stung by the lost opportunity for friendship and thinks about how much better it could have been if she’d shown a little kindness toward Maya.

    Saturday, Oge Mora
    In this heartfelt and universal story, a mother and daughter look forward to their special Saturday routine together every single week. But this Saturday, one thing after another goes wrong—ruining storytime, salon time, picnic time, and the puppet show they’ve been looking forward to going to all week. Mom is nearing a meltdown … until her loving daughter reminds her that being together is the most important thing of all.

    Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice, Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP; Marietta Collins, PhD; and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP
    Something Happened in Our Town follows two families—one white, one Black—as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children's questions about such traumatic events and help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. The book includes an extensive note to parents and caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues.

    What Is a Child?, Beatrice Alemagna
    From the best-selling author of A Lion in Paris comes this beautifully illustrated celebration of what makes each child unique. Through bold and sensitively observed portraits and a thought-provoking text, Beatrice Alemagna inspires children, and adults reading with them, to consider their own identity. Destined to become a classic, What Is a Child? is a must-have for every school, library, and bedside table.

    Please review these resource guides on books for children.

    PARENTING

    Coming Together: Standing Up To Racism. A CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall For Kids and Families

    This 60-minute special talks to kids about racism, recent nationwide protests, embracing diversity, and being more empathetic and understanding.


    EmbraceRace

    As U.S. racial divisions and inequities grow sharper and more painful, the work of envisioning and creating systems of authentic racial inclusion and belonging in the United States remains a work in progress. We believe that reversing the trend must begin in our homes, schools, and communities with our children’s hearts and minds. At EmbraceRace, we identify, organize—and, as needed, create—the tools, resources, discussion spaces, and networks we need to meet four goals: (1) Nurture resilience in children of color, (2) Nurture inclusive, empathetic children of all stripes, (3) Raise kids who think critically about racial inequity, and (4) Support a movement of kid and adult racial justice advocates for all children.

    Webinars for parents of kids of color as well as white kids can be found here.

  • Talks and Speeches

    “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice—and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

    “Deconstructing White Privilege” with Dr. Robin DiAngelo (22 min.)
    Dr. Robin DiAngelo is the author of What Does it Mean to Be White? Developing White Racial Literacy. She has been an antiracist educator and has heard justifications of racism by white men and women in her workshops for over two decades. This justification, which she calls “white fragility,” is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation.

    “Let's Get to the Root of Racial Injustice” | Megan Ming Francis | TEDxRainier (19 min.)
    In this inspiring and powerful talk, Megan Francis traces the roots of our current racial climate to their core causes, debunking common misconceptions and calling out "fix-all" cures to a complex social problem. Megan Ming Francis is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington, where she specializes in the study of American politics, race, and the development of constitutional law. Her award-winning book, Civil Rights and the Making of the Modern American State, shows that the battle against lynching and mob violence in the first quarter of the 20th century was pivotal to the development of civil rights and the growth of federal court power. She is inspired by people who fight for justice—even when the end appears nowhere in sight.

    “So You Want to Talk about Race” by Ijeoma Oluo | Talks at Google (51 min.)
    Ijeoma Oluo is one of the most influential people in Seattle, according to Seattle Magazine. She's also the editor-at-large at The Establishment—a media platform run and funded by women. In her new book, So You Want to Talk about Race, she demonstrates her remarkable writing abilities by bringing clarity and insight to hypercharged issues facing America. She discusses why it's so hard to talk about race and why we must do it anyway.

    Video Response to the Black Boxes on Instagram by Brittany Packnett Cunningham
    Brittany Packnett Cunningham offers a criticism of the black box trend on Instagram and explains how it undermined the racial justice cause it was originally intended to support.

    Video Response to Questions on Looting featuring Kimberly Jones
    Kimberly Jones responds to the questions: “Why do you burn down the community?” and “Why do you burn down your own neighborhood?” and emphasizes how the social contract is, and has long been, broken.

    Films and Television

    13th (dir. Ava Duvernay), 2016. In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists, and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom. (Netflix)

    Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap (season 1, episode 3), 2018. Cory Booker and others discuss how slavery, housing discrimination, and centuries of inequality have compounded to create a racial wealth gap.

    Free Meek (exec. producers Meek Mill and Jay-Z), 2019. Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill’s 2017 arrest for probation violations sparked national outrage. A reinvestigation of his original case explores allegations of police corruption as Meek becomes the face of a justice reform movement. (Amazon)

    The Hate You Give (dir. George Tillman Jr.), 2018. A teen witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend by a trigger-happy cop and must decide whether to testify or not. (Hulu)

    I Am Not Your Negro (dir. Raoul Peck), 2017. Director Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, Remember This House. It is the journey into Black history that connects the civil rights movement to #blacklivesmatter, questioning Black representation in Hollywood and beyond. (Amazon)

    When They See Us (dir. Ava DuVernay), 2019. Five teens from Harlem are trapped in a nightmare when they’re falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on a true story. (Netflix)

Allyship Resources

This list is not exhaustive, nor can it ever be complete. Being an ally means daily work, education, and action, and the onus is on you to do the research and the work.