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Let’s Talk About: #blacklivesmatter

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For all the years that I’ve had this blog, I’ve shied away from posting about things other than books and the occasional personal update. But the time for only talking about easy things is over, and I think that the absolute bare minimum that anybody can do right now is publicly support Black Lives Matter and condemn both the overt and subtle racism in today’s society.

I’ve spent the last few days reading articles, watching videos, and listening to firsthand accounts of the protests happening around the world. I’ve bookmarked a ton of lists of books to read to educate myself on racism. Instead of trying to insert myself into this conversation or trying to educate anyone on an experience I can’t even begin to imagine, I’ve compiled a list of resources that I’ve found useful.

I would love to discuss any resources you’ve found helpful or book recommendations you have in the comments.

By proclaiming that Black Lives Matter, the leaders of the movement for Black lives have been insistent that the American democratic project be as inclusive as it claims to be. White supremacists’ gaslighting insists that what the statement really means is “only Black lives matter,” but that is willful ignorance on the part of folks who refuse to see that the conditions that prompted the proclamation in the first place were conditions that tried to assert that Black lives didn’t matter, that they were disposable, and that Black communities didn’t deserve justice. Black women therefore stood up and said, “We matter. Too. Also.” I simply refuse to believe that white people don’t know this.

Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper

Book recommendations:

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I’ve been seeing a lot of book lists going around about how to be anti-racist, and while that’s great, I’m more invested in black women having the language to talk about themselves. To have literature that theorizes about our bodies, our pain, and our liberation. Some of these recommendations (particularly the non fiction ones) are from the professors I consulted for my OG black feminism piece, while others are courtesy of my personal library. Reading has been fundamental in my understanding of myself and the world around me, and I hope some (or all!) of these can do the same for you. What books have been critical to your understanding of yourself? Feel free to drop your reccs below! . . . . . #wellreadblackgirl #blacklivesmatter #blackfeminism #igreads #bookstagram #wellreadblackgirl #diversespines #bookworms #bookblogger #bookstagrammer #bookstoread #vscoreads #booklover #blackwomanwriters #blackgirlsreadtoo #bookstack #booktower #bookcommunity #readstagram

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thank you all *so* much, for such a great list of antiracism books. there were so many (and are still so many others I could’ve included!) that I limited it to only non-fiction (I’ll do a separate fiction one later!) and still you can see I had to squeeze them in. 📚 if you are overwhelmed, please don’t be!! start with one in the middle like Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race, Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist, and Layla Saad’s Me and White Supremacy. If you are a young reader, the two outside leaning ones on the right are particularly for you (Tiffany Jewell’s This Book Is Anti-Racist and Kendi and Jason Reynold’s Stamped), but don’t feel limited! 📚 any other suggestions or comments, please comment below for everyone! hope this is helpful ❤️. 📚 yes you can repost the image as long as you don’t alter it in any way and tag me in the image and in your caption! 📚 extra special thanks to @marmarfrick for suggesting this stack! 😘 📚 Ideal Bookshelf 1162: AntiRacism 📚 #antiracism #antiracist #idealbookshelf #soyouwanttotalkaboutrace #howtobeabantiracist #stampedfromthebeginning #meandwhitesupremacy #thisbookisantiracist #stamped #betweentheworldandme #thecoloroflaw #blindspot #thewarmthofothersuns #goodtalk #minorfeelings #imstillhere #thefirenexttime #thenewjimcrow #whitefragility #mindfulofrace #justmercy #whentheycallyouaterrorist #whyimnolongertalkingtowhitepeopleaboutrace

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Black-owned bookstores:

Further reading:

Edit #1:

To contribute financially without actually spending any money, you can let this video play without skipping ads. It’s important to watch other videos before replaying this one, or the views could be marked as spam and excluded from ad revenue. It might occasionally ask you to confirm that you’re still watching.

I let this play in the background yesterday while I worked (I used this playlist) and I plan to do the same today.

100% of the advertisement revenue this video makes through AdSense will be donated to the associations that offer protester bail funds, help pay for family funerals, and advocacy listed in the beginning of the video

(Thank you to Laura Beth for reminding me to add this video to my post!)

Do you have any resources that I should add to this post?
Let’s talk in the comments!