Anti-Racism Reading List - 27/11/20

7 powerful articles worth sharing and discussing

Hello friends,

I’ve returned to Medium for this edition of the reading list. And I’m just going to dive right in.

Did that title make you stop and think the way it did me? I hadn’t really thought about it, but it’s absolutely true, as this quote shows:

“[Africans] don’t become black until they go to America or come to Europe. They become black when they first land into the Western world that chooses to see them that way.”

This article is all about the effect of colonialism, which can hide your heritage and even take away your name.

“By way of white supremacy, colonialists sought to completely erase my history, my culture, my identity. Even my name was changed from Tibbins to Stevens because they couldn’t pronounce the deep guttural sound required to say Tibbins properly.”

To learn more about Rebecca, check out my recent interview with her. And here is another article worth your time: You’ve Got Loads Of White Privilege, Start Sharing It!.

Here, Kat Morris repudiates some myths about anti-racism.

“It is not a Black person’s job to tell you how to be anti-racist. But when they do try to explain, a lot of white people either don’t listen or simply do not get it.”

Being an anti-racist isn’t always easy, and you’ll often find that not everyone in your life is on board.

“The more White people in my life began to distance themselves from conversations related to anti-racism work, the more I knew our relationships with each other were never as they seemed. I had been there for their life events and supported causes that mattered to them but when it was my turn, reciprocity was nowhere to be found.”

Learn more about Jeanette in this interview and read the next installment in her Dear White Women series.

I have nothing to add to this title because we do know. Yes, we got the right result, but it was so close that we also know how many millions of Americans don’t see racism as a dealbreaker.

“We know that the lie. They will stand in our faces flat-footed and lie about slavery. They’ll lie about not understanding racism. They’ll lie about not really understanding what racism truly is.”

This article has advice from a diversity expert on really being anti-racist. Lots of good points, including this one:

“there is a difference between wanting change and working towards change. To propel yourself towards action it’s important to remember: Perfection isn’t a prerequisite for change! It doesn’t have to be perfect, you just have to start”

I’ve been enjoying Julia’s anti-racism articles, and in this one she speaks of the importance of changing your inputs to get a better handle on what Black and brown people experience:

“When you and I read stories by Black writers, lots of different Black writers, and we begin to see common threads among all of them, after a while it gets obvious that this many people sharing identical experiences in so many different parts of the world means that they can’t be making this stuff up.”

I look forward to your feedback on these articles.

Thanks for reading and supporting.

Until next time,

Sharon Hurley Hall

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