August has been a tough year month for me emotionally and personally. For the world, even worse. There is plenty that we can learn about, engage in and steps to take action. Here is the latest allyship check-in post, with a round up of resources, reads and responses to help you stay engaged in the lifelong work of dismantling white supremacy and living a more anti-racist life.
(I also reformatted this post pretty heavily, with the hope that it would be easier to read and navigate. Please let me know in the comments if that was the case! If it is, I’ll go back through and update the formatting on all the older posts, as well.)
Series Background
I started this “series” of blog posts in 2020 to share 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.
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 BIPOC 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.

Staying Informed
Readings
Read more below about various issues, from: overworking and work culture, diversity training and Critical Race Theory, what’s happening in Afghanistan and Haiti, and more.
- The Five Day Work Week is Dead by Anna North for Vox
- “I See My Work as Talking Back”: How Critical Race Theory Mastermind Kimberlé Crenshaw is Weathering the Culture Wars by Rita Omokha for Vanity Fair
- ‘Cube Crawls’ and ‘Frat Bro’ Culture: California’s Huge Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Alleges Yet Another Toxic Workplace in the Video Game Industry by Liz Lanier for Time
- What do Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Nikole Hannah-Jones have in common? Workplace boundaries. by Morgan Brewton-Johnson for Boston Globe
- Today It’s Critical Race Theory. 200 Years Ago It Was Abolitionist Literature. by Anthony Conwright for Mother Jones
- Why Diversity Training Isn’t Enough by J.C. Pan for TNR
- Definition of Systemic Racism in Sociology by Dr. Nicki Lisa Cole for ThoughtCo.
- Five Stages of Unlearning Racism by Kronda Adair
- White people, stop asking us to educate you about racism from Real Talk: WOC & Allies on Medium
- When White Bodies Say: “Tell Me What to Do” by Resmaa Menakem for Psychology Today
- 100 Ways White People Can Make Life Less Frustrating for People of Color by Keslena Brown for Vice
- Did Last Summer’s Black Lives Matter Protests Change Anything? by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor for The New Yorker
- Overwork Is Taking a Huge Physical and Mental Toll on Workers by Rainesford Stauffer for Teen Vogue
- $15 Minimum Wage Isn’t Enough for Workers to Afford Rent in Any U.S. State by Jacqui Germain for Teen Vogue
- Five Tips to Identify Fake News and Misinformation by Leor Nadison for Avira
- Fast-moving Afghanistan crisis ‘has hallmarks of humanitarian catastrophe’ by United Nations
- Whatever happens next in Afghanistan, a humanitarian disaster is already in train by Hameed Hakimi for The Guardian
- Women of Color: The undercapitalized warriors of American democracy by Yordanos Eyoel and Aimee Allison for The Hill
- The pandemic put adult pressures on many young girls, report finds by Umme Hoque for Pris

Getting Engaged
Petitions
Sign petitions below on topics like: supporting equitable work days and pay, fighting against the filibuster, protecting BIPOC athletes and more.
- Sign to support 4 day work weeks.
- Combat the silencing of Black athletes in the Olympics by signing to rid Rule 50
- Fight for Justice for Ronald Greene
- Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, especially for fast food workers
- Advocate for humanitarian aid and safe, accessible refuse be provided by Afghans
- Reform the Jim Crow Filibuster
Take Action
Take your actions one step further than signing the petitions above. Call your senators about topics like: defending the human rights of Palestinians, combating climate change and fighting against police violence. Or, take deeper dives into learning material such as: the history of Black August, understanding how race, racism and white privilege intersect and impact one another or participate in DEI courses.
- Call and demand your senators sign H.R. 2590 to defend the human rights of children and families living in Israeli occupation in Palestine
- Use this toolkit to help spread the word and stop ethnic cleansing in Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem and all of Palestine
- Learn the history about Black August
- Sign up for Cultural Somatics’ free “Racialized Trauma” course.
- Explore and participate in Citizenship and Social Justice’s “Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism–from Ferguson to Charleston”
- Also engage with their “11-Step Guide to Understanding Race, Racism, and White Privilege”
- The Washington Post has a project of tracking every fatal shooting by police since 2015, after the death of Michael Brown in 2014. Here you can see the data and the staggering numbers.
- Write to Stop Line 3 and protect our water. You can also demand protections for universal clean drinking water here.
- Explore Anti-Racist Daily’s new DEI 4-week course. Also explore Awaken’s coursework!
- Demand President Biden cancel student loan debt.
- Learn more about the IPCC report and then take action to help combat climate change and the companies who are causing it.
- Use Checkology to fact check your resources.
Donate
If financially able, donate below to different groups in need of aid, such as emergency resources like helping migrants feel Afghanistan or helping relief efforts in Haiti; or longer-standing groups, like advocating for Black mental health, liberation and gay rights.
- BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health
- Getting Word: Black Literature for Black Liberation
- Gig Workers Rising
- Gamers for Change
- Help Haiti recover from natural disasters like the recent earthquake by donating to any of the following local organizations: AYITI Community Trust, Locally Haiti, Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine or any from this list, vetted by M4BL
- NASEM: Protecting Black Gay Mens’ Health
- Miles4Migrants

Further Reading
Wanting to read book-length works? Check out the reads below, split into non-fiction and fiction, by BIPOC, queer and activist authors.
- Report: Cops Don’t Stop Violence from Interrupting Criminalization
- Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations by Joe R. Feagin
- My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change by Michelle MiJung Kim
- Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
- Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da’shaun L. Harrison
- Other F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce by Angie Manfredi (Editor)
- Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood, edited by Kwame Mbalia
- Drown by Junot Díaz
- How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
- The Sisters of Reckoning by Charlotte Nicole Davis
In Sum
Thank you so much for reading this month’s allyship check-in! I know how overwhelming it can feel, when every day feels like a new fire is being lit, rekindled or exposed. It’s easy to feel like there is nothing you can do. I hope that these resources help prove that lie to be what it is. It can be daunting, of course, but each of us has the power to make a difference. Small steps can lead to revolutionary change. But always remember that you cannot make, create and fight for the change you want to see in the world if you don’t take care of yourself along the way.
So please remember to breathe, hydrate, rest and practice self-care.
Let Me Know Your Thoughts!