Allyship Check-In No 30

Last Updated on October 26, 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, especially financially, so they can continue to do it.

Table of Contents

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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: racism in fantasy stories, the importance of raising minimum wages, dealing with a post-Roe world and more.

Readings

Highlights from the ARD

Identifying Your Role in the Movement by Nicole Cardoza
Why Empathy is Important for Social Change by Dominique Stewart

Politics

A congressman’s insult highlights the misogyny women in the climate movement face by Jessica Kutz for The 19th
Abled-Bodied Leftists Cannot Abandon Disabled Solidarity to “Move On” From COVID by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha for Truthout
Students and scholars — from Tehran to Los Angeles — want justice after Mahsa Amini’s death by Nadra Nittle for The 19th
Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina? by Candice Norwood for The 19th
Five States Are Voting Whether to Outlaw Slavery (Yep, You Read That Right) by Christina Carrega for Capital B
How the results of Oregon’s historic three-woman race for governor could reshape the state by Orion Rummler for The 19th

LGBTQIA+ Rights and Abortion Access

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Over half of LGBTQ+ Americans are bisexual. Many don’t feel safe being out at work. by Orion Rummler for The 19th
Health care for transgender adults remains legal, but states are quietly trying to limit access by Orion Rummler for the 19th
The new abortion rights spokesmen: Dudes, dads, and plumbers by Rachel M. Cohen for Vox
What’s in the so-called Don’t Say Gay bill that could impact the whole country by Laurel Wamsley for NPR
Abortion rights are at the forefront of midterm elections this November by Alexandra Martinez for Prism

Education

Amid funding cuts and unsatisfactory working conditions, educator unions strike back by Maryam Noor 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! Here’s what I engaged in this month:

Multimedia

Listen to this podcast series, People Over Plastics, hosted by Prism

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:

به اعتراض به قتل #مهسا_امینی بپیوندید | Speak up against killing Iranian Women #MahsaAmini
Fix Florida’s Broken Election System, Stop Arrests of Returning Citizens

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

Attend “Black Media: Reflecting on the Past and Reimagining the Future is a day-long symposium created to highlight Black media professionals and their innovative and important work in the journalism, PR, marketing, advertising, and film industries,” hosted by Boston College
Learn more about the Landback initiative, through The Prism’s three part Landback series
What native land are you currently living on? Use this tool to find out.
Sign up for the ARD’s “Overcoming DEI Fatigue” workshop!

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 Book League Program Watch, founded to “founded to promote literacy in the K-12 population and among students of underserved communities.”

Support Financially

Use these resources to help with various disaster relief efforts, as collected and shared originally in this article from the ARD team:
- “…Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central and Southwest Florida, and Pakistan.”
Support the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (ABC), a center for Human Rights in Iran.
Donate to Read for Pixels this October, to help support stopping violence against women
Support Queer Crescent’s Muslim Fund for Bodily Autonomy

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.

A custom artowrk signature that reads, "Onward to Adventure, Nicole" with a feathered quill and inkpot bordering it.