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, especially financially, so they can continue to do it.
Series Background
I started this Allyship Check-In “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 is, as usual, heavy with reading material. This month, it includes: an abortion victory in Kansas, the continued affects of book banning, student debt cancellation and more.
Readings
Highlights from the ARD
- Staying Safe from Police Munitions While Protesting by Andrew Lee
- Underfunded and Devalued: Mismanaging the Teacher Retention Crisis by Dominique Stewart
Politics
- Monkeypox vaccine rollout stigmatizes gay men and ignores other marginalized communities by Umme Hoque for Prism
- It’s Getting Harder to Be a Woman in America by Claire Suddath for Bloomberg
- Olivia Julianna on Gen Z for Change, Fundraising Off Matt Gaetz, and Texas Politics by Fortesa Latifi for Teen Vogue
- Yuh-Line Niou wants to become the first openly autistic member of Congress by Sara Luterman for The 19th*
LGBTQIA+ Rights and Abortion Access
Tol
- Kansas, a critical abortion access point, will soon vote on whether to protect the procedure by Shefali Luthra for The 19th*
- LGBTQ+ activists say codifying same-sex marriage is only the first step by Nayanika Guha for Prism
- Kansas voters reject effort to eliminate state abortion protections by Shefali Luthra for The 19th*
Education
- Student Rights at School: Six Things You Need To Know by Brian Tashman for ACLU
- Bronx literacy organization serves BIPOC students affected by book-access disparities by Alicia Gajraj for Prism
- What is ‘soft’ censorship? When school districts don’t ban books, they still limit student access by Nadra Nittle for The 19th*
- Queer YA books are selling in record numbers despite bans targeting them by Jennifer Gerson for The 19th*
- Women — particularly women of color — stand to benefit most from Biden’s student loan relief plan by Nadra Nittle for The 19th*
- How would $10,000 in student loan debt forgiveness impact BIPOC borrowers? by Nataska IskaK for Prism
Other Miscellaneous Reads
- 21 Places to Look for Green Volunteering Opportunities by Carolyn Mansfield for GreenBiz
- Could the NFL actually start taking sexual violence accusations more seriously? by Jennifer Green for The 19th*
- ‘I see myself in her’: Brittney Griner’s Russia trial resonates with queer Black women and nonbinary people by Orion Rummler for The 19th*
- Period equity is expanding in Texas. Austin schools are the latest to provide free pads and tampons by Nadre Nittle for The 19th*
- New York Lawmakers Request Federal Review of Menstrual Access by Anagha Srikanth for Rewire News Group
- The Work-From-Home Revolution Is Also a Trap for Women by Anne Helen Petersen for Bloomburg
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! Here’s what I engaged in this month:
Multimedia
- Watch Hair Love, an Oscar winning short film about the importance of embracing your culture and expression, through the lens of Black hair
Getting Engaged
Petitions
Now that we spent the first part of this Allyship Check-In becoming informed, now it’s time to take action. Here’s a selection of petitions you can sign and make your voice heard.
Sign Your Name In Support of:
- World Leaders: Protect Our Planet — Help Stop the Climate Crisis!
- Bringing Brittney Griner Home
- Help Us End Hair Discrimination in the Workplace, Schools, and Pools
- Combat homelessness in Philly
- Tell Biden to cancel ALL student debt
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. Find ways to deepen your involvement and support those groups, people and initiatives below already doing this work!
Get Engaged
- Learn more about KnowledgeWorks’ Imagining Liberatory Education series, which goal is to allow “every student [to] experience meaningful personalized learning that enables them to thrive in college, career and civic life.”
- Help celebrate the first group of 19th* fellows!
- Join the campaign to unite against book bans
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 to commit to $20 a month to a different organization, for as long as it’s feasibly possible for me.
This month, I donated to the Start Lighthouse, as reading about their work in the ARD was so wholesome, I couldn’t not.
Support Financially
- Budding Roses Summer Camp, a “free social justice camp for Portland-area youth”
- Center for Antiracist Research, which works to “educate, empower, and bring about an antiracist society”
- Start Lighthouse: “narrowing the literacy gap through a social justice lens”
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.
- Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau
- On Critical Race Theory: Why It Matters & Why You Should Care by Victor Ray
- The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth by Kristin Henning
- Do the Work!: An Antiracist Activity Book by W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz
- Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America by Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps
- Black Love Matters: Real Talk on Romance, Being Seen, and Happily Ever Afters by Jessica P. Pryde
- Jaeth’s Eye by K.S. Villoso
- The Atlas Six by Olivia Blake
- The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
- The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
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. We have to.
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