Last Updated on April 22, 2022 by ThoughtsStained
Welcome to the latest in my Allyship Check-In series! This series shares resources to help each of us live more antiracist lives. It contains articles, blog posts, multimedia, book recommendations, petitions and more. These resources are curated by my own research and by sharing resources I’ve learned through, from various organizations, like: Anti-Racist Daily, Prism, The 19th and more. I hope this Allyship Check-In allows you to find something below that speaks to you!
Please consider supporting these organizations above! While I am simply linking up and sharing articles, they are the ones doing the work: the research, the reporting, the writing. Let’s support their work so they can continue to do it.
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 (the ARD) , 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
This month’s Allyship Check-in has a ton of reading material. Once again, a lot of this is focused on the cruel attacks against pregnant people seeking abortions; the fight against the current attacks on our education system (and the subsequent banning of BIPOC and queer-focused books); and difficult work cultures, just to highlight a few.
Read on to discover more about all the above topics and more!
Readings
Highlights from the ARD
- The Number of Banned Books is Rising. Here’s Why. by Nicole Cardoza
- Student Activism and Taking Back the Future by Sydney Cobb
- What Does it Mean to Center Marginalized Voices? by Alison Fields
- The Criminalization of Abortion Has Always Penalized Marginalized People by Dominique Stewart
- How the Rich Fuel the Climate Crisis by Dominique Stewart
Politics
- Lynching is now a federal crime. Good luck teaching kids why by Dean Obeidallah for MSNBC
- Why Does the Media Care More About “the Slap” Than Trump’s Missing Call Logs? by Elie Mystal for The Nation
- 10 Young Racial Justice Activists You Should Know by Meredith Nardino for Do Something
- Understanding inflation, all of its causes, and who it affects the most by Kinjo Kiema for Prism
- Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson makes history by Alexandra Martinez for Prism
- The Danger More Republicans Should Be Talking About by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi for The Atlantic
- Inflation is hurting women at the grocery store. Some are eating less in order to feed their families. by Chabeli Carrazana for The 19th*
LGBTQIA+ Rights and Abortion Access
- Lawmaker bullying of trans kids resumes Monday, March 21 by Equity Kansas
- The 19th Explains: 15-week abortion bans may become law in three states. What does that mean? by Shefali Luthra for The 19th*
Work Culture
- BIPOC employees fight to continue remote work. Here’s why by Sakshi Udavant for Prism
- No One Wants to Go Back to the Office As Much As White Men by Reshma Saujani for Time
- In a stunning victory, Amazon workers on Staten Island vote for a union by Andrea Hsu for NPR
- Leaked: New Amazon Worker Chat App Would Ban words like “Union,” “Restrooms,” “Pay Raise,” and “Plantation” by Ken Klippenstein for The Intercept
- Etsy sellers will go on strike in April and want customers to boycott by Mia Sato for The Verge
- Workers are organizing across industries for better conditions in the wake of COVID-19 by Alexandra Martinez for Prism
Education
- Educators are advocating for more decolonial education beyond ethnic studies by Roberto Camacho for Prism
- Book Bans affect everybody–here’s how you can help by Alex Brown for Tor.com
- Ignoring Racism in Schools Actually Increases Prejudice by Ross Wiener and Francesca López for Education Week
- White Anxiety, Redefined by Anthony Conwright for The Forum
- ‘Unparalleled in intensity’ — 1,500 book bans in US school districts by Adam Gabbatt for The Guardian
- Book banning efforts are inspiring readers to form banned book clubs by Harmeet Kaur for CNN
- Canceling student debt would be recession insurance for Joe Biden by Nate DiCamillo for Quartz
Other Miscellaneous Reads
- Lord of the Rings: debunking the backlash against non-white authors in Amazon’s new adaptation by Dimitra Fimi and Mariana Rios Maldonado for The Conversation
- The Razor’s Edge of A Warming World by Emily Atkin and Caitlin Looby for GQ
- ‘We are facing the biggest threat to security in history’: Jane Fonda on why she started a climate PAC by Jessica Kutz for The 19th*
- Greenwashed advertising falsely promises we can buy our way out of the climate crisis by Kimberly Rooney for Prism
Videos, Podcasts and Media
I’m trying to include more multimedia content within each Allyship Check-In, since I know not everyone enjoys articles like I do! In particular, I really enjoyed finding content that fights back against fatphobia, which is entrenched in a racist history.
Multimedia
- “Black Trans and Queer Land 2: Land Space Liberation Ecology,” hosted on YouTube via M4BL
- Listen to the Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back podcast, featuring fat activists talking about fatphobia and how it shows up in their lives.
- Check out the “Profiles on Fatness” series on YouTube, hosted by comedian and writer Desiree Burch
- Watch this TedTalk on “What it takes to be racially literate,” by student activists Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo
- Learn more about police foundations and how they are funded, presented by Color of Change

Getting Engaged
Petitions
Below is a selection of petitions that you can sign to help support one another. We’re doing a lot of fighting against corporations like Am*zon this month, alongside continuing to advocate for the elimiation of student loan debt.
Check out the petitions below to learn more. And get your virtual pens ready!
Sign Your Name In Support of:
- Pledge to refuse jobs at Am*zon or Goo*le for their role in profiting off of Israeli apartheid and violence against Palestinian peoples
- Pass the adoptee citizenship act
- Change Am*zon’s return policies for completed E-books to protect authors from theft
- Tell Congress to support key housing measures in the Reconciliation Bill
- Oppose GOP-led efforts to create dangerous election police forces
- Tell President Biden to advance racial equity and eliminate student loan debt!
- Mr. President: keep “Your Word as a Biden” and expunge marijuana records
- Sign against the funding and functioning of police foundations
Take Action
On top of learning and signing petitions, I always want to include ways within my Allyship Check-In to get even further engaged. These are things like: supporting BIPOC creators by checking out their websites, joining a banned book club or finding local (and national) events to become a part of.
I hope you’re able to find ways to deepen your involvement and support those groups, people and initiatives below already doing this work!
Get Engaged
- Take action against seven different states fighting against trans youth
- Join the Banned Books Book Club
- Check out Layla F. Saad’s new website, Become a Good Ancestor
- Look at the 10 banned books politicians don’t want you to read, curated by the ACLU
- Explore the events of Black Maternal Health Week, hosted by Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA)
- Check out Equality Texas’ upcoming May events
- Spread the word for HBCU recent grads to apply for a 19th News Fellowship
- Use Noise For Now’s resources page to help fight against abortion legislation or support their merch to help fund protests and travel
- Support a new, non-profit organization, Haus of McCoy, for the QTPOC+ community.
- Explore Resource Generation, who “envisions a world in which all communities are powerful, healthy, and living in alignment with the planet. A world that is racially and economically just in which wealth, land and power are shared.”
- Check out Survivor’s Sanctuary, a “self-guided digital platform” designed to meet assault survivors where they are, created by me too.
- Sign up to participate in the National Antiracist Book Festival, hosted by Boston University Center for Antiracist Research.
- Support the scientist rebellion fighting against climate change and government inaction on declaring a climate emergency.
Donate
As always, I like to highlight different organizations, movements and areas to support financially in each Allyship Check-in, if you’re able. Also, I decided, after getting an unexpected raise at work and redoing my finances, to commit to $20 a month to a different organization, for as long as it’s feasibly possible for me.
This month, in honor of the holy month of Ramadan, I donated to Project Rozana. Project Rozana “seeks to build bridges to better understanding between Israelis and Palestinians through health,” training, transportation and treatment.
Support Financially
- Disabled Black Lives Matter, part of the Alliance for Inclusive Education’s (ALLFIE) campaign to highlight and support disabled Black persons and voices in the Black Lives Matter fight
- Our Spot KC: “is a hub for resources that support, advance and equip LGBTQ+ individuals to ensure sustainability and improvement in and of the community”
- Read for Pixels 2022: a nonprofit organization working to stop violence against women.
- Abortion Within Reach: a quartet of coalitions fighting for abortion and reproductive rights
- Haus of McCoy: The Haus of McCoy is a community hub for queer and trans youth of Lawrence, Kansas.

Further Reading
If you want to go deeper than articles or blog posts collected in this month’s Allyship Check-in, look no further! Check out the non-fiction below to learn more and dive deeper. Then, read, buy and promote the fiction books by BIPOC and queer authors–or, share your own recommendations in the comments!
- A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki
- All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
- The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph
- Tell Me Who You Are: A Road Map for Cultivating Racial Literacy by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi
In Sum
Thank you for reading and engaging with this latest Allyship Check-In post! I hope you learned something new, deepened your knowledge about important issues and found different ways to get involved: whether it’s through educating yourself, supporting important work financially or supporting individuals in their efforts by sharing their content.
I know it can seem daunting, with all of the hate and oppression currently going on in the world. But together, we can conquer it. I know we can.
Wow, you posted lots of interesting articles. Thank you for the suggestions!
Absolutely! I hope you find plenty to dive into!