Books and articles that can help us make sense of what is happening in the world, and give us a frame for how to be with our feelings.
1. My Grandmother's Hands By Resmaa Menakem: A must read for folks who want to learn how white supremacy lives in white bodies, harms black bodies, and how we can do the work to heal, repair, and evolve. I cannot recommend this book more highly.
2. When Healing Means Finding Your Role in the (r)Evolution: A lovely and timely article about how we don't all have to be on the front lines of the protests to have a role in combatting racism and police violence. A very helpful read
3. 75 Things White People Can do For Racial Justice: If you want to take action but do not know where to start, here is a long and useful list that might help guide you.
4. White Supremacy Is a White people's problem: This article also has a lot of resources to help white folks move out of freeze and find actions we can take to take the burden off of POC in doing anti-racist work.
5. A Call To White People: It's time to Live in the Answer : A South Seattle Emerald Herald article that speaks to the call for white folx to step into our responsibility to fight for justice.
5. Embodied Resilience, A Somatic trauma Healing Group A timely offering from somatic activist and therapist Brooke Stepp.
6. I know I said this is not a list of things we can do to fix this problem. But still, I know folks want to start doing something. This might help you think of accessible, creative and sustainable ways you can enter the fight for justice from where you stand at this moment. (Credit Facebook)
Do you have special skill and training?For example, are you an herbalist or healer? Offer free herbs or treatments (as much as you can) to black and brown people. Think about an acute and sustainable approach. Check on your black patients to see if they need any herbal support.
Are you a doctor? See if there’s a local mutual aid group looking for volunteers. Having a hard time finding a local mutual aid group? Search on Instagram or facebook for any mutual aid group in your state and message them. They will connect you.
Are you a graphic designer or artist? Take quotes of CURRENTLY ALIVE black voices and make art to be shared as memes.
Are you someone who can sew or crochet or knit? Make anti-anxiety blankets for people at protests for post protest care or make masks.
Are you someone who has no discernible talent but you have money? Donate to a local Black Lives Matter or bail fund and call it reparations.
Are you Karen and like to talk to the manager? Get on the phone and call all the governors and police stations and raise hell.
Are you scared and have trauma that’s activated right now and unsure how to do something helpful without harming yourself? Donate money to black organizations, give money directly to black people who request it via cash app or Venmo, join a Facebook reparations group and give money to black people, educate yourself and educate your friends (see below about special knowledge and zoom groups), share your grounding resources with other people so they can feel supported in their anti-racist work.
Do you like to get physical? Go to a protest and block police from black bodies. Or use your body to bring water and food to protests for black people.
Do you like emailing and spreadsheets? Flyer your neighborhood and organize a pod around community support. Mutual aid networks can help you figure out how to do this.
Are you someone who has special knowledge of the way the system works? Zoom call your friends to catch up and share a little bit about what you know. For example, did you read the new Jim Crow? What were some of the highlights? Tell your good white liberal friends so they know and ask what they are doing. Educate other white people on the system of white supremacy if they are too fragile to confront the personal nature of their own white supremacy.
Once you’ve done this, recenter with yourself, engage in self care, then do it again.”