I’m not doing a usual Friday Quickies roundup today because I am still raging about the most recent spate of extrajudicial killings of Black people by police or just good ol’ boys here in the USA. Instead I’m going to share some ways we can all help the cause.
- Do something literally this minute. Sign any one of Color of Change’s active petitions and campaigns to demand justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor or support a host of other social justice related causes. Change.org also has active petitions running.
- Okay, feel a little better? Now, do something this next minute that will encourage future participation in needed action, such as signing up for an email list with an organization like Color of Change or Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ).
- Look for local organization that you can support right in your own community. Perhaps there’s a local NAACP or SURJ chapter near you. Listen to what they need and what they are working on.
- Speaking of needs, DONATE money to any one of those organizations.
- I can only speak for myself as a white person, but I’ve been getting a LOT of mileage out of this list of 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice. I really shouldn’t have to list anymore because that article is quite extensive. It says it was published in 2017, but since it includes a link to the New York Times 1619 Project which just came out last year, I suspect it gets updated.
It doesn’t feel radical or as cathartic as marching in the streets, but learning what you can, even a little every day, will help. Because guess what? This is a LONG fight. And my clueless, white, Becky ass has really only been aware since about 2014… and it already feels like forever when people have been on this fight for their WHOLE lives… for generations. So yeah, learning is good… it probably helps that I’m a professional educator and giant nerd.
I get a lot out of the podcasts that I listen to. These are not specifically tied to the issue of racial justice for Black people in America, but take a wider view:
- NPR’s Code Switch – “Remember when folks used to talk about being “post-racial”? Well, we’re definitely not that. We’re a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in our lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting.”
- NPR’s Latino USA – “… offers insight into the lived experiences of Latino communities and is a window on the current and merging cultural, political and social ideas impacting Latinos and the nation.”
- 1619, the Podcast – A six episode series released in 2019, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, complimentary, as I understand it, to the New York Times feature by her.
- All My Relations – “… is a team of folks who care about representations, and how Native peoples are represented in mainstream media. Between us we have decades of experience working in and with Native communities, and writing and speaking about issues of representation.”
- NPR’s Throughline – “The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Join us every week as we go back in time to understand the present.”
- Unfortunately, there are two wonderful podcasts that used to be put out by Buzzfeed but no longer are running. But I still suggest checking out the archives of:
- See Something Say Something – “Each week, Ahmed Ali Akbar covers everything that American Muslims are talking about right now…”
- Another Round with Heben and Tracy – “Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton cover everything from race, gender and pop culture to squirrels, mangoes, and bad jokes, all in one boozy show.” I MISS that show so much.
Okay, think I’ve left you with enough to do?
You’ve probably already seen the adorable viral video of Christian Cooper just geeking OUT about birdwatching in Central Park. (Yes, the Christian Cooper that was recently threatened for asking a woman to leash her damn dog LIKE SHE’S SUPPOSED TO.) So for Cute Animal Friday, I’m going to point you to the video series it is FROM called “Birds of North America with Jason Ward.” Here’s that Central Park episode the clip is from:
