Anti-Racism Reading List May 2025

“When Qiqiuia Young, a Black technician, tried to sound the alarm about the racism, abuse, and medical negligence she witnessed, Stanford responded not with reform but with retaliation. What followed wasn’t just a lawsuit but a war for truth inside one of the country’s most prestigious institutions. And it exposed a system where white comfort was prioritized over Black survival. Workplaces are supposed to be spaces of dignity and professionalism—but too often for Black workers, especially Black women, they become battlegrounds where silence is survival and truth is punished.”

“When you’re from a country whose global legacy includes coups, drone strikes, stolen artifacts, and broken treaties—you don’t walk into a room expecting trust. You earn it through transparency. Through repair. Through naming harm without flinching.”

“While appearing before the judge, opposing counsel—a white woman—yelled at me, interrupted me, talked over me, sighed and rolled her eyes when I spoke. Before this appearance, we had only seen each other in passing. Dumbfounded, I spent half of the time making legal arguments and the other half wondering whether my presence in court, as a Black woman, was the main factor in the attorney’s scorn. Curiosity inched closer to certainty when I learned that my junior colleague, who is white, appeared by herself on the same case just weeks before. We danced around it—“That was ridiculous!” “Oh man, Housing Court”—until we finally made our way to: “She wasn’t like that with me. She treated me with respect.”.

“It was disheartening. It left me feeling dismissed, invisible—like my voice, my work, my decades of experience, did not matter. The message was loud and clear: your contribution is not legitimate unless it comes wrapped in the familiar packaging of whiteness and establishment.”

“Spears underscored that people must let the administration know that they’re keeping a close watch — that they care about history and want to learn about the good and the bad. Without such vigilance, he argued, we get things such as the Lost Cause, the mythology claiming that the Civil War wasn’t fueled by the issue of human bondage.”

“We're watching research be stifled. DEI programs dismantled. Truth-tellers defunded. Like bystanders on that Minneapolis curb, we cry out—on social media, in classrooms, in back rooms. But crying isn’t saving lives.”

“Contrary to popular belief, the immigration system is not “broken” — it’s a well-oiled machine that was always meant to do this.

It was built to vanish people. Quietly. Bureaucratically. Beneath layers of “process” and “protocol.” First it was asylum seekers. Then families. Then children. Then citizens. And every time we told ourselves: this is an exception. This is temporary. This is not who we are.

But it is.”

“The digital platforms we once trusted for professional networking, employment visibility, and community building are shifting—subtly, but deeply. From shadow banning activist language to algorithmically promoting corporate-safe content, the spaces designed to "connect professionals" have begun to mirror the authoritarian technocracy we now live in.”

“What has struck me at this moment is in the past, I was alone where bystanders just watched against injustice. Since yesterday, I can confirm I am not alone in the world I have curated. The people and energy that move with me in the communities I serve are priceless. People are actively working on my behalf, as am I for a better future for all, because censorship is not the way.”

“many movement leaders, past and present, are also parents or caregivers, have poor mental health due to racism and systemic oppression, and are people who already carry a heavy load. The people at the front are often working with fewer resources, access to capital, stability, and comfort. Everyone’s part in the movement is different, but you need to be A PART of it. Find small ways you can make a difference. Speak on these topics with others. Bring people into the conversation. Support mutual aid and if you can’t give, share with your people. Don’t just skim headlines, read the full piece from trusted sources so you understand the very serious impacts these issues are having in real-time.”