week 1: talking about race

JUNE 15-21, 2020

listen

Seeing White podcast (All 14 episodes, about 40 mins each.)
You can listen to each of the episodes HERE, or you can find them in your favorite podcast app. If you want to add the series to your podcast app, search for “Scene on Radio.” Seeing White is Season 2, and there are 14 total episodes.

Definition of Racism, Dismantling Racism Works (article)
James Baldwin, “A Letter to My Nephew” (1962) (article, or listen to Chris Rock read it HERE [13 minutes])
Jesmyn Ward, “Introduction” in The Fire This Time (p. 3-14)
Imani Perry, “Racism is Terrible. Blackness Is Not,” The Atlantic (short article; about 10 minutes to read)
“Week 1: The Basics” in Me and White Supremacy (44 pages)

Complete this week’s journaling prompts in Me and White Supremacy
Respond to this week’s discussion questions in your group forum
Listen Up: Follow 20 Black writers, artists, teachers, or public intellectuals on your preferred social media platform(s) [some suggestions HERE]
Speak Up: Tell another white person (via phone, on social media, in person) what you learned from this week’s materials
Act Up: Introduce yourself to your discussion group. In your discussion group, share your answer to the question “how does your racial identity impact your everyday life”?

JUNE 22-28, 2020

Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Case for Reparations,” The Atlantic (long article; can also listen to it being read [1 hour 30 minutes to listen])
Carol Anderson, from “White Rage,” in The Fire Next Time (p. 83-89)
“Week 2: Anti-Blackness, Racial Stereotypes, and Cultural Appropriation” in Me and White Supremacy (50 Pages)

Complete the journaling prompts for Week 2 in Me and White Supremacy (one per day)
Respond to this week’s discussion questions in your group forum
Listen Up: Browse the archive of Code Switch podcasts (HERE). Pick 1-2 additional episodes to listen to; try to find episodes that are in your area of expertise or interest (for example, if you are in healthcare, pick an episode that examines issues in healthcare).
Speak Up: Compose a post or create a short video or powerpoint discussing some aspect of the U.S.’s history of structural racism (doesn’t have to be anti-Black racism; could examine anti-Indigenous, anti-Asian, anti-Latinx racism—just needs to be structural rather than interpersonal). Post your piece to your social media.
Act Up: Find a charitable organization that is fighting the effects of structural racism (The Equal Justice Initiative and Assata’s Daughters are two of my favorites, and HERE are some other suggestions—but do your research to find one that you are passionate about). Donate if you can, even a little bit. Publicize this organization (on social media, amongst your friends) and encourage others to donate as well.

JUNE 29-JULY 5, 2020

“Episode 1: The Fight for a True Democracy,” episode of the podcast 1619 (44 minutes)
“Episode 3: The Birth of American Music,” episode of the podcast 1619 (36 minutes)

Explore the homepage of The 1619 Project. Pick 1 or more articles to read from the project.
Natachi Onwuamaegbu, “The Importance of Representation” (short article)
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, “The Radical Vision of Toni Morrison” (long article)
Adrienne Keene, “Why Tonto Matters” (blog post)
American Friends Service Committee, “Bystander Intervention” (pamphlet)
“Week 3: Allyship” in Me and White Supremacy (46 pages)

Complete the journaling prompts for Week 3 in Me and White Supremacy (one per day)
Respond to this week’s discussion questions in your group forum
Listen Up: Choose a work of art created by a Black or Indigenous artist. Purchase the item if you can (remember—pay people for their work!). Read/watch/listen to the work of art.
Speak Up: Find an essay, blog post, song, or other work by a BIPOC creator (this is a good moment to beef up your social media “follow” list, too!). Share the work on your social media and with friends with a short explanation of why you chose it.
Act Up: Prepare to use your whiteness to intervene in moments when someone is being targeted for their race. Rehearse what you will say and do to respond to such attacks. Remember that you will experience fear, but that your whiteness is one of your most powerful tools in protecting someone being targeted. ALSO REMEMBER - think about how you will resist escalating the situation. Your job is to diffuse the situation, not aggravate it.

JULY 6-12, 2020

Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (6 pages)
Audre Lorde, “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” (3 pages)
Kristen Rogers, “How to Be Anti-Racist: Speak Out in Your Own Circles” (short article)
Corinne Shutack, “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice” (list)
Daniel José Older, “This Far: Notes on Love and Revolution” in The Fire Next Time (p. 197-204)
“Week 4: Power, Relationships, and Commitments” in Me and White Supremacy (36 pages)

Complete the journaling prompts for Week 4 in Me and White Supremacy (one per day)
Respond to this week’s discussion questions in group forum
Listen Up: Make a plan for the next area of anti-racist learning you plan to pursue. This may be committing to reading only BIPOC authors for the rest of this year, learning more about structural racism in healthcare, finding more diverse entertainment to share with your children or students, or researching voting rights in the U.S. Choose an area in which you are already interested, or in which you want to improve.
Speak Up: Write a statement about your commitment to anti-racism. Publish it on your social media, circulate it to your friends and family, or simply share it with a trusted friend or loved one. Choose a method of sharing that will help you be accountable to your pledge.
Act Up: Revisit your spheres of influence. Write down 1) an anti-racist intervention you want to make in one of those spheres in the next few months; and 2) a specific plan for executing that intervention.