Beatfreeks: A Statement

To Black people:

You matter. Rest. Heal. Be angry. Fight. You are loved. You are valid. You are welcome. You are power.

To white people:

Listen. Really listen. Educate yourself. Google it or find out yourself. Listen. Speak up especially when it’s uncomfortable to. Stop centring yourself in conversations. Reach out to Black friends and colleagues and ask how they are. Listen. Don’t talk about ‘subtle’ racism or call this a US issue. Do not justify yourself with “I’m not racist because…” statements.

To non-Black people of colour:

You can still benefit from a racist system and colourism even though you’re a person of colour, you can be complicit in anti-Blackness. Don’t use BAME or POC when you mean Black – and yes, there is work to do in yourself, your own family and communities, and in positions of privilege and power.

Resources:

Our Beatfreeks’ Librarian has pulled together some resources for those who want to look for different information, including where you can find some of these items. Some of the authors and individuals mentioned here have a LOT more for you to look into.

This is to let you explore yourselves and dig deeper yourselves – it is not necessarily a representation of everything our Librarian, team, or community think and feel.

Please think about which resources and reading are what you need and want to engage with right now. This list has been grouped into rough categories so that you can focus on certain areas if wanted.

HISTORY ON WHAT’S HAPPENING/INFORM YOURSELF

• David Olusoga – Black and British: A Forgotten History

• 100yearhoodie – HUGE resource that goes into history of police brutality

• How can white people talk about race? – list of resources

• Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race (book by Renni Eddo-Lodge)

  • and her podcasts About Race

• How to be an Anti Racist (book by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi)

• So you want to talk about race (book by Ijeoma Oluo)

• White fragility: why it’s so hard for white people to talk about race (book by Robin Diangelo)

• Who gets to be afraid in America – article by Ibram X. Kendi

• Intersectionality Matters podcast

• Anti-Blackness in the UK – article

• Code Switch – race and culture outlet/podcast on American Radio about how it affects every aspect of society

• Seeing White podcast

• Netflix show ‘When the see us’ Learning Companion that goes along the show created by Ava DuVernay (the director)

BIPOC (MAINLY BLACK) SELF CARE/MENTAL HEALTH/RELATABILITY

• Liberate – meditation app designed specifically for BIPOC experience by BIPOC

• Austin Channing Brown – author of ‘I’m still here, Black dignity in a world made for whiteness’ but has a lot of talks on Youtube too

• Black Girls Smile – mental health resources

• Music – India Arie

• A Black Feminist Discovers her Superpower (book by Dr. Brittney Cooper)

• Therapy for Black Girls – podcast

• Colour of change campaign

• Instagram accounts:

  • theanxietyhealer

  • healingwhileblack

  • ancestorsfuture

  • blackmentalwellness

SOLIDARITY/ALLYSHIP

• 100yearhoodie – HUGE resource, goes into white silence, implicit bias and how ignoring is contributing

• Anti racist checklist (especially useful to extract what you can be doing as an ally)

• Article on how her white friends can support Black women by Rachel Ricketts

• Article on always being an ally-in-training

• Podcast – Doing anti racism work with Rachel Ricketts

• Article – 75 things white people can do for racial justice

• The Conscious Kid – for parents who want to encourage race conversations with young kids

• Ted talk on deconstructing racism with a focus on language and headlines

• Guide to Allyship

• What to do if you can’t protest on the streets for Black Lives Matter – article from galdem

• How to tackle anti-blackness as a non Black POC – article from galdem

• Instagram posts:

  • https://www.instagram.com/p/CA09srxF1Fg/

  • https://www.instagram.com/p/CAu_buhH5lD/

  • https://www.instagram.com/p/CA04VKDAyjb/

  • https://www.instagram.com/p/B9DfahhBChU/

  • https://www.instagram.com/p/CAq9_0uJary/

• Donations (including non money)

• UK campaign on pulling from certain advertising organisations

INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS: 

Here are some independent booksellers, some of whom are giving FREE ebooks right now that are directly relevant to Anti-Blackness.

A lot of these booksellers specialise in ‘radical reading’.

• Verso Books – Free download ‘The End of Policing
  Abe Books

• Housmans Books

• World of Books Ltd

• Haymarket Books – Free download until 5th June ‘Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?’
  The Margate Bookshop

• Storysmith Books