Hello my friends! It has been a little while. Between finishing my thesis and the protests, I have been distracted. But, despite how uncomfortable it might be for me, it is time to talk about it. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, check out my stories where I am trying to post as much educational and news information as possible. I cannot do everything, but educating and starting a discussion is very important. I am also trying to start as many conversations about race and privilege with my friends, family, and co-workers as I try to be the best anti-racist ally I can be. I definitely have a long way to go, but I am trying to do my part to help where I can.

In honor of Juneteenth, I wanted to share some resources that have been very helpful to me and are also easy ways to support the black community. I have unfortunately not been able to physically participate in the protests although I did catch the end of one this afternoon. These are some alternate ways to help and raise awareness whether you can or can’t protest.

Listening…

As you all know, I am a podcast junkie and there are obviously tons of podcasts about race. I’ve narrowed it down to three of my favorites.

• 1619 from the NY Times: This podcast came out a little less than a year ago and discusses slavery and race relations in the United States throughout our history. I listened to it right when it came out, but. I am going to start it again because it has some powerful story tellers and some incredible information.
• What a Day from Crooked Media: I know that Crooked Media is not for everyone as it is very liberal, but this daily podcast has great information about what is going on in the world day to day. Plus, it’s recent episodes about the protests and George Floyd’s death are emotional, well-done, and worthy of a listen.
• Code Switch from NPR: Code Switch is a newer podcast for me but I love it because they are not afraid to tackle the hard topics and do a great job of talking not only about race, but also about other polarizing issues in our society.

Watching…

There are a lot of great things out there for you to watch about race in general and also to support Black actors and directors. I’m only naming a few here, but this list seems to be a pretty good one.

• 13th on Netflix: I’ve just started this and I can already tell you it is a much watch. It has the history, but it also connects everything to the current struggles and oppression felt by the Black community.
• Just Mercy on Amazon: This film is on the top of my to-watch list. It is about a lawyer defending a man sentenced to death. I’ve heard amazing things and I can’t wait to watch this.
• Dear White People on Netflix: Another Netflix show that really brings the light the difference between white and Black life experiences in the United States. I’ve only seen the first episode, but I’m about to binge watch it!

Reading…

For my bookclub, [Spoiler Alert], we are reading two books about race this summer. If you are interested, I’d love you to join the group and the discussion at the end of July.

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo: I know this is by a white person, but especially for white readers, it is a good starting point for learning about our privilege.
• How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi: I’m only 50 pages in and Kendi has already forced me to look at the world differently. He is an incredible writer with a story that is important to understand and I can’t recommend it enough.

That is all for now. I am going to work on gathering more resources for both me to use and for me to share with you. If you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments and if you would like resources from a specific category, please let me know. Until next time, be safe and continue to protest.

XO, T