ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES
In light of recent events, including but not limited to the horrific death of George Floyd, the world is crying out for change. As educators, we know that many of our students feel unsafe, marginalized, and not represented in our schools and we want to be a part of this change. We know we need to do better, but where do we begin? The Instructional Leadership Team with the help of Kurt Ostrow has put together this sampling of books, articles and movies for some information and inspiration. We understand that change will involve much more than engaging with these resources, but knowledge and understanding is a powerful start for all of us to be a part of this important and necessary social change so that all of our students feel safe, supported and fully included in an equitable learning environment.
“There will come a time when racist ideas will no longer obstruct us from seeing the complete and utter abnormality of racial disparities. There will come a time when we will love humanity, when we will gain the courage to fight for an equitable society for our beloved humanity, knowing, intelligently, that when we fight for humanity, we are fighting for ourselves.” -Ibram X. Kendi
“All students need to trust and believe that their teachers understand their story, their obstacles, and their triumphs, and will stand up for them when needed”-- Attiya Ratool
“If we understand how the tree works, how the trunk and roots are where the power lies, and how gravity is on our side, we can attack it, each of us with small axes, and change the face of the forest. So let’s learn all there is to know about the tree of racism. The root. The fruit. The sap and trunk. The nests built over time, the changing leaves. That way, your generation can finally, actively chop it down.” - Jason Reynolds, Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You
BOOKS
White Fragility- Robin DiAngelo.
Covers the defensive moves white people make when challenged with discussion of race and white privilege.Just Mercy- Bryan Stevenson.
Memoir of Bryan Stevenson that looks at the inequality of the criminal justice system and black people on death row.Stamped from the Beginning- Ibram X. Kendi
A narrative history of racist and antiracist ideasStamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You - Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi .
A “remix” of Stamped from the Beginning. A bit easier to digest than Kendi’s original Stamped. Much more accessible for younger readers (secondary level). “This is NOT a history book.... This is a present book”White Teacher -Vivian Gussin Paley
A personal account of Paley’s experiences being assigned a new role teaching kindergarten in an integrated school. The school is located in a mostly white, middle class neighborhood and Paley had little to no experience teaching students of color. She reflects on the lessons she learned while in her classroom.
The Hate U Give- Angie Thomas or Dear Martin- Nic Stone
Both good books for teens or adults that prefer narrative books. Both address racism in a raw and emotional way.This Book Is Anti-Racist: How to Wake Up, Take Action and Do the Work - Tiffany Jewell
Good text to use personally and/or jointly with students; it balances history of racism, current hard truths and actionable next steps.
How To Be An Antiracist - Ibram Kendi
From Goodreads: “Ibram X. Kendi's concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America--but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. In How to be an Antiracist, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.”Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland - Jonathan M. Metzl
From Goodreads: Physician Jonathan M. Metzl's quest to understand the health implications of "backlash governance" leads him across America's heartland. Interviewing a range of everyday Americans, he examines how racial resentment has fueled pro-gun laws in Missouri, resistance to the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee, and cuts to schools and social services in Kansas. And he shows these policies' costs: increasing deaths by gun suicide, rising dropout rates, and falling life expectancies. White Americans, Metzl argues, must reject the racial hierarchies that promise to aid them but in fact lead our nation to demise.Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed
bell hooks’ Teaching to Transgress
Bettina Love’s We Want to Do More Than Survive [join the nationwide summer book club!]
Chris Emdin’s For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood
Lisa Delpitt’s Other People’s Children or “Multiplication is for White People”
Jay Gillen’s Educating for Insurgency
Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow
Ira Katznelson’s When Affirmative Action Was White
Mab Segrest’s Memoir of a Race Traitor
Ijeoma Olua’s So You Want To Talk About Race
ONLINE ARTICLES & RESOURCES
13th This may be a good doc to study in advance of any books-
How Institutionalized Racism Kills Black People from Time Magazine
JSTOR Reading Syllabus of history of institutionalized racism-
Math and Social Justice:
Math and Racial Perspectives Articles:
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture created this site
Colorin Colorado is a bilingual site with some great resources for educators of ELs.
Free subscription to Teaching Tolerance.
This Vanity Fair article explains what it means to be black in America and to be experiencing COVID and the racial justice movement.
MOVIES & OTHER RESOURCES
13th- Free documentary from Netflix- History of Institutionalized Racism-
Just Mercy - True story following civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson’s history-making battle for justice (currently free on Netflix and Prime Video)
When They See Us- Limited Series on Netflix. Based on the Central Park of 1990. (Four episodes)
The Hate U Give - based on the book by Angie Tho
Brene Brown’s Podcast: “Unlocking Us” Episode with Ibram Kendi about his book: How To Be An Antiracist
Rethinking Schools: a quarterly magazine and publisher (including Teaching for Black Lives)
Ava Duvernay’s Selma
New York Times’ 1619 podcast