Anti-racism: Educate Yourself Here

In the past two weeks the world has seen a wave of protests following the death of George Floyd. From Seattle to Copenhagen and beyond, people united in expressing their desire for racial equity. From young individuals to big companies - the support and anger was expressed on social media, too. Our feeds became black squares on #blackouttuesday and many educational materials were shared. As rightfully pointed by many, it is not enough to show support and speak out on social media. Education and knowledge are key to driving change, the right change. It is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the issues underlying racial inequality and structural racism. While stories expire and posts get lost down in feeds, we wanted to compile a list of the best educational resources we came across to keep easily accessible in this post. Whether you like to gain knowledge in 10-second Instagram stories, Netflix documentaries, podcasts or by reading books, we have sources with great content below.

Let us not forget that this is a long and ongoing process and the journey does not stop when the media coverage goes away.

Netflix series

Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap (available on YouTube)

This episode of Explained helps one understand the concept of 'white privilege'. Especially for people coming from less racially-diverse countries, I can understand how this term is not completely clear. This episode does a good job explaining what it is and how it came to be.

Time: The Kalief Browder Story

As part of Netflix's true crime documentaries - this is the story of a teenager wrongfully charged with theft and jailed for over 1,000 days without actually ever been convicted.

13th

Most likely at this stage we all know that a black person is more likely than a white person to go to jail for the same crime. This documentary analyses the criminalisation of African Americans and the United States prison boom.

Who Killed Malcolm X?

As controversial Malcolm X's approach might seem to some - this documentary gives further insight into his believes, life and death.

Podcast

Scene On Radio: Seeing White

A strikingly powerful podcast series by John Biewen. Biewen goes back in history to explore the beginning of structural racism in the United States - how it all started and how it has evolved in the centuries since. He deepdives on the topic of how the notion of race is man-made and the difference between not being a racist and actually being an antiracist.

Books

How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi

Kendi argues that creating a just and equitable world demands "persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination", that not being racist is not enough and the real need is for people to be antiracist - calling out racism when they encounter it and actively fighting for human rights.

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

DiAngelo - an antiracist educator, offers actionable guidance on how to dismantle the defensive reaction white people tend to experience when challenged on their racial ideologies. This book offers a set of tools for white people on how to have an honest, productive conversations about race and privilege. Available as an audio book, too.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Shifting the focus from the US to Britain, Eddo-Lodge is an award-winning journalist whose frustration about the fact that discussions in Britain on race and racism are lead by prople that are not affected by it. Starting as a blog article and growing to be a book on the issues of white dominance, whitewashed feminism and the inextricable link between race and class, this book gives a strong insight of what it is to be a black person in Britain today.

Instagram

We are big proponents of using Instagram as a knowledge-sharing and learning platform, so here are a few accounts that are good educators on the topics of race, racial discrimination and tackling racism.

@shaunking

Shaun King is the Co-Founder of Real Justice and the Grassroots Law Project. He is an advocate for individuals and families that have been impacted by police brutality, white supremacy, and mass incerceration. 

@antiracismctr

Lead by Ibram X. Kendi, the Antiracism Centre offers a lot of information on racial disparities in today's America and resources to educate ourselves on how everyone can actually get involved.

@blklivesmatter

Official IG page of the Black Lives Matter Global Network. It is the largest movement today in response to anti-Black racism and offers a strong overview of the issues the Black Community is facing.

Need more? Want to get involved? Want to donate? We suggest to head over to the Resources page on Black Lives Matter to find the best way to act today.