Allyship Check-In: No 10

Hello, lovelies.

It might be a new year, but as the attacks on the capital show, there is still so, so much work to do. Let’s make 2021 the year we commit to doing good anti-racist work, supporting Black voices, advocates and businesses, learning at the changes that need to be made at the systemic level and doing all we can to make this world a more just, safe, kind and fair world for all.

Like I started late last year, I’m sharing more resources to help with each of our own anti-racist journeys. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that many of the resources I’m linking down below come from the hard work of those on the Anti-Racist Daily team, to which I subscribe for daily email updates. Many of the readings, actions and donation links come from what I learn from their articles. As such, I have become a monthly patreon donor, because you need to pay BIPOC people for the work they do in helping dismantle racism, not just take what you can for free. I hope you consider subscribing and supporting them, too, especially if you are a white reader.

Like I mentioned before, while a lot of these resources are tied and focused to the Black Lives Matter movement, I have started to incorporate other resources about more global events, as well.

Oh, and while I hope this doesn’t need to be said, let’s please keep the comments kind and constructive–though, please never hesitate to call me out if I’ve misstepped, if you are comfortable doing that emotional labor you shouldn’t have to do in the first place. I appreciate your assistance in helping me learn and continue to grow into the actual ally I want to be.

Last caveat: I listed a bunch of resources, because I hope you will click on the links and listen to the Black voices who are speaking up, instead of hearing my take. I’m using this as a space to amplify their voices–not add my own commentary to the mix.

Readings

• #LandBack is Climate Justice by The Lakota People’s Law Project
  • “The demand for Land Back is larger than just a call for returned territory. The movement is also about returning resources, buildings, and smaller swaths of land, with a much larger benefit attached. Land back is about expanding tribal management — an essential element of climate justice work.”
• Letters For Black Lives
• “Coming Out as Dalit”: how one Indian author finally embraced her identity by The Guardian
  • “Conversely, Dutt is concerned about the absence of guilt among upper caste Indians. While some white people joined the civil rights moment in the US or the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the upper castes are nowhere to be seen in the Dalit struggle against discrimination, she says.”
• Seeing India, Pak history, through the lens of caste by Faisal Devji
  • “Religion has come to define national culture in both countries, allowing different castes to identify with each other by excluding minorities. While Hinduism provides a home for many sectarian cultures in India, Islam in Pakistan is exclusive. Why does Islam as a national ideology have to find its enemies within the Muslim community in Pakistan, whether among Ahmadis or Shias, Deobandis or Barelvis? Because the emergence of Bangladesh eliminated Hindus as a substantial minority, with Christians, Sikhs and Parsis also too insignificant.”
• Confront White Supremacy by Nicole Cardoza from Anti-Racist Daily
  • “So although President-elect Biden and other leaders are adamant that “this is not who America is,” I disagree. This is exactly who America is. America was built on white supremacy. It consistently protects white terrorism, enables a racist criminal justice system, and elects Presidents who speak to these ideals. What’s more accurate is “this is not the America we’re fighting for”.
• This “Equity” Picture is actually White Supremacy at Work via Medium
• Honor Our Grief by Nicole Cardoza from Anti-Racist Daily
• The Relentlessness of Black Grief by Marissa Evans for The Atlantic
  • “Black grief is not confined to the deaths of our legends and loved ones. We mourn because we know all too well that systemic inequities exist in health care, criminal justice, voting, housing, education, the economy. And they are on full display now.”
• Advocate for Universal Healthcare by Kayla Hiu from Anti-Racist Daily

Videos and Podcasts

• How the World Turned its Back Against the Mass Murders in Pakistan of Shia Muslims
• Finding Refuge Podcast by Michelle C. Johnson

Petitions to Sign

• Sign to close Mt. Rushmore and return all public lands in the Black Hills to the Oceti Sakowin
• Sign to demand your schools diversify their literature and include anti-racist texts in curriculum.
• Sign to demand the repeal of the Trump Administration’s Equity Gag Order

Actions

• Subscribe to the “Red, White and Brown” newsletter.
• Submit this petition to demand Lori Lightfoot: Fire the officers who abused Anjanette Young
• Support Black Lives Matter
• Choose one of the four Breathe actions from The Breathe Act to help encourage legislation to pass “The Breathe Act”
• Contact your senators to vote against outlawing abortion in Kansas
• Support the following initiatives from M4BL:
  • The People First
  • End the war on Black Trans, Queer, Gender Nonconforming and Intersex People
  • The Breathe Act

Places to Donate

• Master List of over 147 places to donate: I’m going to continue always sharing this link, so that you (and myself) always have this master list to reference. However, I’m going to try and highlight a few different places each month, as well as other other locations I’ve found that aren’t on this list.
  • Donate to the Zahra Foundation
  • Donate to the JDC Welfare Organization
  • Donate to the NDN Collective
  • Donate to the African American Policy Reform
  • Donate to the The Palm Collective
  • Donate to the Frontline Women DC

Books

On Activism

• Sunnis and Shi’a: A Political History by Laurence Louër, translated by Ethan Rundell
• Shi’ism: A Religion of Protest by Hamid Dabashi
• Reel to Real: Race, Class and Sex at the Movies by Bell Hooks
• Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir by Yashica Dutt
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest by Zeynep Tufekci
• #identity: Hashtagging Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Nation by Abigail De Kosnik

To Read For Fun

• The Hill We Climb: Poems by Amanda Gorman
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
• The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Thank you for taking the time to read through such a lengthy post. I hope some of these resources have been helpful for you! And, if you found something you enjoyed and learned something from, consider supporting that creator, whether it’s through sharing, donating to them, signing up for a mailing list or purchasing their works.

It is important that we amplify and share Black voices, but also that we support them and pay them, especially when they are educating us about racism.

And please remember, that even though we have a hopeful administration here in America again, that is no reason to become complacent! Continue to fight for your rights and the rights of those less privledged than you. Fight for our planet and fight against white supremacy and racism. Fight to defund the police, to make universal healthcare a reality and to protect all of us during this pandemic.

Also, don’t forget to look not just at the problems at your home, but the problems around the world. Here’s a great place to start for various issues:

Black Lives Matter
End Sars
Free Palestine
Yemen Crisis
Speak Up for The Uyghurs
Climate Change
LGBTQIA+ Rights

Cheers.