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Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter. Anti-Racism Resources for White People.

Hello.

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know I’m angry.

Black Lives Matter is not a trend. It is essential. George Floyd’s life mattered. Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. EVERY Black person matters.

I remember shouting NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE at a march in 2016, 5 years after Mark Duggan had been shot and killed by UK police in 2011.

I remember protesting the state visit of Donald Trump in 2018.

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yes, you read that correctly. Photo taken by me in 2018.

What has changed for the better in recent years?! Enough is enough.

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Graphic from BlackLivesMatter.com.

I can’t protest this year, as I have lupus (an autoimmune disease) and it’s not safe for me as a disabled person during this pandemic. I wish I could be there. My disease disproportionally affects minorities. Read the graphic below from LupusUK.

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Instead of protesting, I’ve been avidly signing petitions, donating, and sharing black voices on Twitter + Facebook, alongside educational resources.

Today I’m aiming to do the same on my blog, because I know lots of people follow me via Bloglovin’, WordPress, or Pinterest and not on Twitter. Plus I think it will be useful to compile everything in one place.

I will be updating this regularly with new information and petitions. All ad revenue from my blog will be donated to various charities helping fight discrimination and provide support for minorities.

Anti-Racism. What To Do As a White Person.

As a white person, you cannot simply post a black square on Instagram, then go back to ‘life as normal’.

This is what you should be doing.

In Real Life

  • Hold others accountable. It can be as simple as saying ‘please don’t use that word to describe a takeaway, it’s racist towards Chinese or Pakistani people’. Educate. Explain why something they’ve said or done is either straight-up racist, a microaggression, or discriminatory / based on racial bias. Stand up for your minority friends. Not being racist isn’t enough, be actively ANTI-racist.
  • Make an effort to read more books written by BIPOC. I’m not just talking about non-fiction. Black people write across all genres, but are drastically under-represented.
  • Consider the brands you support, and whether you should boycott them. Personally, I hate fast fashion, as it exploits workers and damages the environment. Don’t buy a t-shirt with the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ on from a company run by rich white men! Do your research. Are they helping minorities? Do they employ minorities in leadership positions? Are they paid equally?
  • Support Black-owned businesses. I’m working on this myself, particularly with switching out my skincare as I don’t typically wear makeup. For hair care, I use Cantu at the moment, who hire Black women, but are owned by white people. It’s a start, but I’m working on doing better. Here’s a blog post featuring 50 Black-owned hair brands. Have a read through this Google document featuring Black-owned business across many industries!
  • Listen. As a disabled bisexual woman, I wouldn’t want an able-bodied straight man to speak over me! So don’t do it for people of colour. Use your voice, but LISTEN and amplify BIPOC voices. White people do need to speak out about racism and white privilege, but remember that you do not understand what racial discrimination feels like. You haven’t experienced it, and this is not about you.
  • Peaceful Protest. As we’re still in a global pandemic, you need to take extra precaution to stay safe. Make sure you have a face-mask, practice social-distancing as much as you can, and wear gloves. Carry hand sanitizer and water. If you feel unwell, GO HOME. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, or someone you live with does, do not put others at risk by protesting.
  • Use your vote. No matter what country you live in, make sure you do your research on candidates. Stating the obvious here, but do not vote for white supremacists.

Online Petitions to Sign

Change.org is the main place to sign petitions. Make sure to verify your email address after signing. Share petitions, but I wouldn’t recommend donating directly through Change.org. It’s better to donate directly to organisations that need the funding, to be sure that 100% of the money is going to them.

There are so many more petitions, with new ones created every day. I’d recommend regularly browsing Change.org, and keeping an eye out for more petitions on Twitter.

Where to Donate

How To Donate For Free

If you can’t afford to donate, there are several streams and videos on YouTube to watch, where the ad revenue generated is donated to Black Lives Matter charities and bail funds. Don’t skip the ads!

I’ve been watching this stream, featuring some incredibly talented Black musicians and artists.

Educational Resources

  • Ally.wiki has a huge list of educational resources, more petitions, and books to read.
  • BlackLivesMatters.carrd.co.
  • This Anti-Racism Resources Google Document.
  • The 1619 Project. “an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery.”
  • Jane Elliott. I’d recommend watching her Blue Eyes & Brown Eyes Exercises on YouTube, teaching white kids, students + adults what discrimination feels like. Jane “exposes prejudice and bigotry for what it is, an irrational class system based upon purely arbitrary factors. And if you think this does not apply to you. . . you are in for a rude awakening.” Jane also has learning materials on her website.

Some Books About Racism + White Privilege.

Videos

Writers, Bloggers + Influencers.

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I’ll leave you with the above graphic by Boise State Writing Center, to emphasise what white privilege is.

Black Lives Matter.

Comments6

  1. This was very informative. Thank you for sharing all the online resources of where to learn more about the movement, donate and sign petitions. I’m also an avid reader so I’ll definitely be looking out for the books you mentioned.

  2. Thank you so much for this post. I really love how as a white person during this racial pandemic you are able to use your privilege to be able to teach others and share resources for everyone to be helpful and thoughtful and empathetic. I see you and because of you I feel seen.

  3. I really appreciate your post Emily. I like how forward it is in terms of advising people on the action they should be taking and highlighting he stance we all need to take. It’s not enough to be “not racist” but we should be anti-racist across all fronts (using privilege to uplift others, dismantling the broken systems that allow racial injustice to happen, trying to educating the uneducated)

    I also appreciate you linking my post which I was not expecting at all to be honest (though I think someone on my post did say they linked my post to theirs – not sure if it was you?)

    Johnny | Johnny’s Traventures
    https://johnnystraventures.com

    1. Thank-you for your kind words Johnny.

      Your post was very insightful, I’m glad to have found you in this community.

      Wishing you all the best! (and yes, I commented on your post mentioning that I’d linked to yours – glad to have your approval!)

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