A movement, not a moment. Here are the best books, podcasts and films to help educate yourself about race and anti-racism
For many allies, the events of last May sparked a commitment to educating ourselves on the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality, racial injustice and what it means to be actively anti-racist.
A year on, our learning continues – and it should never stop. Because this work will take a lifetime.
Taking accountability and educating ourselves about systemic racism and white privilege is a crucial step to being actively anti-racist. Prioritising our learning helps ensure that we go beyond optical, surface-level allyship; that we're doing more than just blindly posting a black square on Instagram because that's what everyone else is doing; that we're doing more than joining in the social media outpouring, and then slowly letting our outrage fall to the wayside as the news cycle progresses.
By reading, listening and watching, we're coming to terms with our own privilege, sitting with our discomfort and our anger and our guilt, and using it to support Black communities. We may not always get it right, and we certainly won't ever properly understand how it feels. But what we can do is use this time is to listen, learn, and start our long-term strategy of anti-racism and non-optical solidarity.
It's easy to slip into expecting Black friends and colleagues to educate us. Some people have been reaching out to Black celebrities and influencers asking for guidance. But let's be clear, Black people are not obligated to teach us or guide us in our learning; it's something we have to do for ourselves.
Below is a list of resources – from books by Black critical thinkers, podcasts, and YouTube video to documentaries on Netflix – to get us started. These are just the tip of the iceberg, and we hope you join us in using them as a starting point to reading more, researching further, and yes, doing better.
READ:
'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Please note: Reni has requested that everyone who buys a copy of her book to match the money you spent with a donation to the Minnesota Freedom Fund (or your local and national racial justice organisations), or borrow the book and donate the money you would have spent accordingly.
