The Fight Isn’t Over Yet. Stay Educated About the Black Lives Matter Movement & Social Justice.
In recent accounts of the last few weeks, many allies have come out to support the Black Lives Matter Movement by protesting and starting funds to give back to their communities.
If you’re unable to participate, you can still make a difference during this time by educating yourself and becoming aware of the determination behind this movement. Even if you cannot go out to support, taking the time to become knowledgeable about what is happening and learn how to help is just as important.
Below is a compiled list of books, articles, organizations to donate to, and films about experiences from a black person’s perspective, their accounts of what daily life is like, and informative pieces on understanding your own privilege in terms of this evolving revolution.
Knowing Where to Give
Donating is a worthy cause that you can do in just a few minutes. By giving your support through a few dollars, it all adds up to help bring justice to the cause. Every amount helps to rebuild, fund specific causes, and help move the Black Lives Matter movement forward to bring equality.
Organizations to donate to:
- Black Visions Collective
- Reclaim The Block
- Know Your Rights Camp
- American Civil Liberties Union
- National Police Accountability Project
- The Movement for Black Lives
- BLD PWR
- Black Futures Lab
- Campaign Zero
- NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Each organization listed envisions a world where all Black brothers and sisters are appreciated. They are all calling for action to take place, whether that’s in their community, state, or countrywide.
How to Stay Educated
Staying educated is crucial and anyone can do that through reading books and articles in addition to watching short films, documentaries, movies, and YouTube videos to stay connected.
Books to read:
- Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendu
- Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris
- As Black as Resistance by Zoe Samudzi
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- Freedom is a Constant Struggle & Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi by Kali Akuno and Ajamu Nangwaya
- Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party by Joshua Bloom
The books listed explore a variety of topics ranging from how individuals can prevent inequalities in their communities and how individuals can reshape the conversation towards racial justice.
Films & documentaries to watch:
- Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
- Streets?
- LA 92
- Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
- Risers
- Soundtrack for a Revolution
- Hale County This Morning, This Evening
- Freedom on My Mind
- Strong Island
- Banished
All films are available on a variety of platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Vudu, and YouTube; costs vary depending on site and availability.
Articles to read:
- A Timeline of Events That Led to the 2020 ‘Fed-Up’-rising by Michael Harriot
- Forget “Looting.”
- Capitalism Is the Real Robbery by Scott Olson
- The 1619 Project by The New York Times Magazine
- Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks by Kat Chow
- I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
- Is What Black Burnout Feels Like by Tiana Clark
- White People Can Hold Each Other Accountable to Stop Institutional Racism by Elly Belle
- Defense of Looting by Vicky Osterweil
Every article is jam-packed with personal anecdotes, recallings of feelings, and guides for people to understand the perspective of being black in close-minded America.
In light of these times, it is important for everyone to educate, learn, and value our Black friends, family, neighbors as allies in this movement. This is purely the beginning of finding justice and gaining equality, for working together is more essential now than before.
Now is the time to band together and break through the unfair justice system; we are ready for reform. Together, everyone can make a difference in the deeply rooted racism in America, as long as they take the initiative and step forward to make change.
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