This is all too familiar.
A Black man was violently murdered by a white police officer. Environmental organizations have released statements — us included. But a statement decrying the violence is not enough. We need to do more.
For the sake of George Floyd — and for all Black lives across this country — we need to take a hard look at the racial injustices happening in our country and take an active role in unraveling the structure that allows them to thrive.
We wholeheartedly stand with the movement for Black lives. And we are committed to doing the work to support the fight for racial justice.
This violence stems from 400 years of oppression of the Black community in America, from the moment enslaved people set foot on our shores. It’s older than our country itself. And it’s still here. We need to take accountability for that oppression.
We’re having conversations on our team on how we can walk the walk more deeply — how we can use our voice and our platform against injustice and violence, the importance of following Black leadership in our environmental community and beyond, and how we can help our Defend Our Future community do the work to move toward anti-racism.
Right now, we’d like to provide some resources for you (or your white friends) to do the work. We know you’re seeing lists like this a lot of places, but it never hurts to see these resources again and again. (We’re also sharing this here so you don’t need to ask your Black friends to educate you.)
Support
Put your money, your time, and your support where your values are. These organizations are based either in Minneapolis or nationally. Do some research to find organizations fighting for Black lives in your community.
• Sign the Justice for George Floyd Petition
• Sign the Justice or Breonna Taylor Petition
• The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) seeks to reach millions, mobilize hundreds of thousands, and organize tens of thousands, so that Black political power is a force able to influence national and local agendas in the direction of our shared Vision for Black Lives.
• Black Visions Collective (Minnesota) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems:
• Color of Change designs campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward. Until justice is real:
• Campaign Zero is a comprehensive platform of research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in America:
• The National Bail Fund Network is made up of over sixty community bail and bond funds across the country working to end pretrial and immigration detention:
• Reclaim the Block organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety:
• The NAACP works to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
Listen
A few podcasts to get you started.
• 1619 from The New York Times.
• Side Effects of White Women Episode of Small Doses with Amanda Seales.
• Code Switch from NPR.
• Seeing White by Scene on Radio
Read
A very small sample of books and articles you can read to learn about anti-racism, how we got here, and what we can do next. We’ve included long-reads, short blogs, and books including includes non-fiction, memoirs, and novels so you can find the books that work best for your learning style.
Articles/Resource:
• “Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin
• “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer, Atlantic
• Talking About Race from National Museum of African American History
• “Dear White People, This is What We Want You to Do”
• “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice”
• A blog we wrote earlier in the year on how white environmentalists can be better allies.
• A huge collection of anti-racism resources (we got a lot of these suggestions from here).
Books
(Find these at a Black owned bookstore near you, we are not linking to *that other place*):
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
How to be An Antiracist by Ibram Kendi
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Watch
Reading not your jam? Turn your Netflix time into learning time — lots of great, informative things to watch on your streaming services. Again, this is just a small sample.
• 13th by Ava Duvernay (Netflix/YouTube)
• I am Not Your Negro (available to rent)
• Just Mercy (available to rent for free in June)
• When They See Us (Netflix)
• If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu)
• Dear White People (Netflix)
• King in the Wilderness (HBO)
Follow:
A collection of activists, content creators, sustainability and nature enthusiasts, and more to diversify your feed. This is a tiny sample – spend some time to find Black content creators in the spaces you love. (These are on Instagram, but you can find a list of Black climate activists to follow on Twitter here.)
• @rachel.cargle – Rachel Cargle, public academic and writer. Her activism and academic work are rooted in providing intellectual discourse, tools, and resources that explore the intersection of race and womanhood.
• @nowhitesaviours – No White Saviors, “We never said “no white people”. We just know you shouldn’t be the hero of the story“
• @theconsciouskid – The Conscious Kid, parenting and education resources around race
• @wokebrownfem – Woke Brown Fem, education, activism, and unapologetic joy
• @theunapologeticallybrownseries – Unapologetic Street Series , A visual series utilizing public space for storytelling by queer people of color
• @hood_naturalist – Corina Newsome, biologist and bird enthusiast, co-organizer of #BlackBirdersWeek
• @greengirlleah – Leah Thomas, intersectional environmental activist
• @mspackyetti – Brittany Packnett Cunningham, co-founder of Campaign Zero and co-host of Pod Save the People podcast
• @varshiniprakash – Varshini Prakash, co-founder of Sunrise Movement
• @antiracismctr – American Univerisity’s Anti-Racism Center
Shop
Black people make up 15% of our population. We challenge you to commit to buying 15% of your products from Black-owned businesses.
• The Official Black Wall Street App includes thousands of Black-owned businesses: https://officialblackwallstreet.com/app/
• A list of Black-owned bookstores (please don’t buy your anti-racism resources from *that other place*): https://matadornetwork.com/read/black-owned-bookstores/
• Over 100 Black-Owned Etsy Shops: https://themadmommy.com/black-owned-etsy-shops/
• Do you own research to find Black-owned shops and restaurants near you. Google is your friend.
To our Black supporters: We see you, we are listening, we will fight with you.
To our white supporters: Do the work. We speak up and we take action or we are complicit in the oppression. You decide which you want to be. It doesn’t matter what your action looks like: read a book, join a protest, call your city council. But doing nothing is no longer an option.
