I'm better with yarn than words, so I tend to repost sources and images rather than post things myself about a lot of topics. But along with sharing things I agree with or bringing attention to things that I do not, I also need to put myself out into the world.
So, I will clearly say that Black Lives Matter.
Of course every life matters, but until we can treat all lives with the same importance, then attention needs to be brought to the ones we are damaging. And in the US, the lives of BIPOC and black humans specifically have always been treated as lesser. The levels of institutionalized racism and blatant disregard or even hatred for people simply because of skin color is just insane.
And sure there are ways to work within the system to grant more rights and help, but the system was created by a bunch of white slave owners and there are so many laws in place meant to specifically control and hurt black communities. We need to change the system in order to affect real change. I think we could only benefit as a country if we put more money and energy towards community support and right now the Black lives in our communities need everything we can give.
Here is a link to the Ben & Jerry's statement because I love both the statement and ice cream.
And here is a link to another page (Finimpact) that just has a lot good information and resources, both for black business owners and people wanting to support them.
Over the next month, I will be going through my catalog and every colorway that was inspired by a Black Artist and I will create a donation to the groups supporting black artists and lives. But I'm a white lady and I'm not looking to profit off of black lives, so I want to make sure you have a way to directly donate to each group via a link on those pages as with any group I support with yarn purchase donations. But I will also be posting page with a list and link to donate directly to these groups yourself and read more about what they are doing.
For now, here is a list of some things you can check out today.
Books:
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- Understanding and Dismantling Racism by Joseph Barndt
- Beyond the Pale by Vron Ware
- Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Renne Eddo-Lodge
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
And a link to a list of black owned book stores you could purchase from. There are a ton of books you could check out, this is just a tiny list of books that I have personally been reading recently so don't stop here. And there are many more black owned business that could use your support, so find some in your community.
Movies:
- 13th
- Selma
- Get Out - horror movie
- The Hate U Give - based on the book
Really, there a a lot more good movies and some tv shows out there. Here is a general list but do some research and find more. Especially movies written, directed by and starring BIPOC are good if you want to hear about it from the people experiencing this country while black.
Community Groups:
- Black Lives Matter
- Well Read Black Girl
- Black Youth Project
- Black Lunch Table
- Arts Administrators of Color
- NAACP
- Equal Justice Initiative
And here is a list posted by the ACLU of a variety of civil rights organizations. And make sure to search out your community bail funds and bail funds for the people arrested while protesting.
Supporting black owned book stores is awesome, but also make sure to support your local black owned businesses. Here is a list of black owned businesses in Bloomington, Indiana.
There is a lot of information and links in this post (and the posts linked), but this is not something you can do all at once or do once and forget about it later. Being anti-racist is an all the time long term thing. And no one is perfect, so when you make a mistake just try to do better. Always keep trying to do better.
And do what you can. If you can't make it out to a protest, try sending water or medical supplies to the protesters or donating to a bail bonds fund. If you are walking and see a black person being talked with by the police, stop and watch. Video or just be there as a witness. If you hear someone making harassing racist comments to a BIPOC at the store, step in and tell them to stop. If you notice white privilege or racism in yourself, do your best to make it right in any way you can. And whenever possible, use that privilege to amplify the voices of those who need it.
We have to try and keep trying to make things better everyday.
So, please let me know when I'm doing things badly so I can do better. And please feel free to post your own lists of businesses and books and resources that need to be shared.