- Meraki
Black Lives Still Matter
It’s been just over a month since George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis and although we’ve signed the petitions and made donations there is still work to do.
As leaders of this community we are committed to being anti-racist and we ask all of our community members to commit to this as well. This isn’t about jumping on a band-wagon or being politically correct, this is about unpicking the racist conditioning from our society so that we can bring an end to racism.
As white people we have never experienced this kind of discrimination. This means we must listen to and believe black people when they talk to us about their experiences. It can be uncomfortable to recognise behaviours or actions that you’ve partaken in that you realise now were harmful. We must admit that we have been wrong in the past and commit to listening, learning and being better.
There are many resources out there that exist to educate on racism and it’s long and painful history. Below is a list that we hope to serve as a starting point for your education. These lists have been compiled from personal recommendations from friends and also from other lists we've seen online.
We have broken the list into two parts; academia and recreational. As important as it is to read critical texts that will give you an academic perspective of the issues at hand, we understand that not everyone can consume this type of content on a regular basis. The recreational resources are stories about and by Black people to give an authentic perspective.
Some actions you can take now:
Petition to teach Black British history in schools
Black artists to support on Bandcamp
We also recommend going through this check list of practical ways to continue to support the BLM movement from the UK. This list was created by Nandini Mitra.
We hope to come back to and update this list below over time so do please keep checking in and if you have anything you think should be added just drop us an email or an Insta DM and we will add it to the list.
Side note: if you want to purchase any of these books please consider supporting your local bookshops or ordering online with Hive who donate a portion of all profits to your chosen independent book shop.
Academic Resources
Books
Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race
Renni Eddo-Lodge
Me and White Supremacy
Layla F Saad
Superior: The return of race science
Angela Saini
How to be an Anti-racist
Ibram X.Kendi
White Fragility
Robin Diangelo
How to Argue with a Racist
Adam Rutherford
Natives
Akala
Brit(ish)
Afua Hirsch
So You Want to Talk About Race
Ijeoma Oluo
Don't Touch My Hair
Emma Dabiri
Sister Outsider
Audre Lorde
I Will Not Be Erased
gal-dem
Documentaries
TeenVogue compiled a great list for Juneteenth here
Podcasts
You can find a good starter list for podcasts here on Bustle.
Misc.
If you want more structured learning resources subscribe to Rachel Cargle's Patreon 'The Great Unlearn'.
Recreational Resources
Books
The Bluest Eyes
Toni Morrison
Half of a Yellow Sun
Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
On Beauty
Zadie Smith
The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead
Citizen: An American Lyric
Claudia Rankine
Good Talk
Mira Jacob
Notes of a Native Son
The Fire Next Time
James Baldwin
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Fire This Time
Jesmyn Ward
TV
Netflix
Top Boy
Self Made
Gentefied
When They See Us
Dear White People
Seven Seconds
BBC
Noughts and Crosses
I May Destroy You
Film
Selma
The Hate U Give
If Beale Street Could Talk
Moonlight
Loving
Just Mercy
Fruitvale Station
Get Out
American Son
Belle
Hidden Figures