100 things White people can do to make a difference

100 Things White People Can Do

Learn

  1. …about your part to play in the struggle against racism
  2. …about white privilege
  3. …about the history of the criminal Justice system
  4. …about the Black Lives Matter movement
  5. …about systemic racism
  6. …about institutional racism
  7. …about interpersonal racism and implicit bias
  8. …about internalized racism
  9. …about the history of the War on Drugs and how it intentionally targets black people
  10. …about local city / County / State budgets and how they affect black people

Where to Send Financial Support

  1. My Daddy Taught Me That (https://mydaddytaughtmethat.org/)
  2. Black Lives Matter (https://blacklivesmatter.com/)
  3. Reclaim The Block (reclaimtheblock.org)
  4. The Bail Project (bailproject.org)
  5. Local bail funds (blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#state)
  6. NAACP Legal Defense Fund (naacpldf.org)
  7. ACLU (aclu.org)
  8. National Black Disability Coalition (blackdisability.org)
  9. Black Girls Code (blackgirlscode.com)
  10. The Advancement Project (advancementproject.org)

Donate (Non-Financially)

  1. Time (go to protests, participate in Direct Action)
  2. Energy (listen to your black friends and community leaders. Do not talk over them. Do not ask them to do emotional labor for you)
  3. Your network (Mobilize people in positions of power)
  4. Connections (Mobilize friends and family)
  5. Your voice (sign petitions, speak out against racism wherever you see it)

Write

  1. To local police department
  2. City Council Members
  3. Mayor
  4. State senator
  5. State congressman
  6. Governor
  7. US Senator
  8. US congressman
  9. President
  10. Your own list of action

Read

  1. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  2. How to Be an AntiRacist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
  3. Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel
  4. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue
  5. The Emperor Has No Clothes: Teaching about Race and Racism to People Who Don’t Want to Know (Educational Leadership for Social Justice) by Tema Jon Okun
  6. Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race (Teaching/Learning Social Justice) by Frances Kendall
  7. Choke Hold: Policing Black Me by Paul Butler
  8. Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to WWII by Douglas A Blackmon
  9. They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery
  10. Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
  11. White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson, PhD
  12. Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century by Monique W. Morris
  13. The Invention of the White Race by Theodore W. Allen
  14. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nihisi Coates
  15. Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson
  16. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors

Listen

  1. People different from yourself!
  2. Podcasts with black voices
  3. Audiobooks by black authors or about issues facing black Americans
  4. Speeches
    1. Malcom X
    2. MLK
    3. Kimberly Jones: The Game is Fixed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llci8MVh8J4
    4. Tamika Mallory: “We learned violence from you” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipwbJyca0M
    5. John Boyega: “Every Black person remembers the first time they were reminded that they were black.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpX7q0IlXsw
    6. Kennedy Cook: “Why do we say Black Lives Matter?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd-VUOgS3rE
  5. Young people
  6. Music by black artists, particularly under-appreciated ones (below list is both well-known and indie artists)
    1. Run the Jewels – Particularly their newest album, RTJ4
    2. Vagabon
    3. Syd
    4. KAYTRANADA
    5. SZA
    6. Janelle Monáe
    7. Kendrick Lamar
    8. Childish Gambino

Watch (Movies and Documentaries)

  1. 13th
  2. American Son
  3. When They See Us
  4. LA92
  5. I Am Not Your Negro
  6. Dear White People
  7. The Hate U Give
  8. Fruitvale Station
  9. The Kalief Browder Story
  10. Strong Island
  11. Brian Banks
  12. Just Mercy
  13. Selma
  14. Black Britain On Film
  15. Slavery By Another Name

Change

  1. Timeline – this is long term
  2. Heart – It’s easy to get distracted. This is about black people being treated differently. This is not about you or how you feel about the situation. It is not about your reaction.
  3. Your reactions – Do not defend or justify yourself. Remove “I’m not racist” from your vocabulary. That is not enough anymore. You must be anti-racist.
  4. Your workforce – are you in a position to recruit for your company or advocate for people of different demographics applying for jobs? How much of your leadership board is made up of straight, cis, white men? What can you do to change this?

Spread the Word – Make your support known

  1. Yard sign
  2. Email signature
  3. Advertisement in publication
  4. Facebook
  5. LinkedIn
  6. Instagram
  7. Twitter or other social media

Support

  1. Black-owned businesses – particularly local black-owned businesses [In Asheville there is a site yoruba.life that makes this easy.
  2. People who want to learn
  3. Youth in your community
  4. Impoverished and Homeless in your community
  5. Black artists
  6. Black-fronted films

Vote

  1. Early
  2. Research state and local positions: Make change from the ground up
  3. Encourage others to vote,
  4. Research voting ID laws in your state – are they fair to people of color or do they target them?
  5. What about voter suppression? Is that happening where you live?

Speak up / Discuss With:

  1. Your faith leader
  2. Your kids
  3. Your parents
  4. Your friends
  5. Your enemies
  6. Your community

 

Share this article

Leave a comment

15 − five =

Related Posts