As anti-violence advocates, we will not turn a blind eye to the murders in the Black community. We grieve with the nation, and our deepest condolences go out to the families, friends, and communities who are mourning these and other losses.
All forms of violence and oppression are connected, and you cannot fight against one form of injustice and not fight against others.
We join and support our partners in calling for an end to the discrimination and structural racism that underlie police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. The calls for accountability must be heard from all corners of society, including from within the anti-violence movement.
We understand that even though we are actively working on projects to create racial equity, many of us at ICADV have benefitted in some way from the structural racism that exists in our society. This is all of our issue, regardless of race, and we all have a role to play in creating a solution.
We are taking some time to reflect as a staff on how we will hold ourselves accountable both as individuals and as an organization in checking our privilege, centering the voices of those who have been historically underrepresented and marginalized, and changing or dismantling these oppressive systems.
We also recognize that many of us (especially those in positions of power and privilege) are wondering what we can do to show up for our Black community members and help create a more racially equitable and just society. If you are one of those individuals looking to engage more deeply in anti-racism work, visit bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES to find a variety of articles, podcasts, films, books, videos, and organizations to follow and support.
It is important to all of us at ICADV to use our platform to elevate the voices of those activists, organizations, artists, writers, and other individuals taking action and speaking out against racism in their communities. If there is anything ICADV can do to support you or your organization during this time in spreading your message, collecting donations, or anything else you may need, please contact us.
More Racial Justice Resources:
Racial Equity Reading List
From the Barnard Center for Research on Women
26 Ways to Be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets
Resources and reading lists
- Study this policing timeline from Critical Resistance
- Use the Prison Culture essential reading list from Mariame Kaba
- Visit Transforming Harm, a resource hub about ending violence created by Mariame Kaba
- Use this syllabus, Institutionalized Racism: Understanding George Floyd’s Death in Context from JSTOR
Recommended Books
- Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture by Angela Davis
- Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis
- Policing the Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter edited by Christina Heatherton and Jordan T. Camp
- Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Colorby Andrea J. Ritchie
- The End of Policing by Alex Vitale, free e-book available from Verso
- From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation by Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor
- More on policing and incarceration from Haymarket Books
Audio and Video
Watch/Listen to “A Class Rebellion: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on How Racism & Racial Terrorism Fueled Nationwide Anger,” Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor on Democracy Now! 6/1/20
From the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab at Butler University:
WHAT CAN WE DO?
I. GET EDUCATED
The New York Time 1619 Project is an important intervention and corrective to the US history you may have been taught, as noted by Jake Silverstein the in the introductory essay: “Out of slavery — and the anti-black racism it required — grew nearly everything that has truly made America exceptional: its economic might, its industrial power, its electoral system, its diet and popular music, the inequities of its public health and education, its astonishing penchant for violence, its income inequality, the example it sets for the world as a land of freedom and equality, its slang, its legal system and the endemic racial fears and hatreds that continue to plague it to this day” https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/20/magazine/1619-intro.html
If your time is short, start with Nikole Hannah-Jones, “The Idea of America.” You can read all of the different essays that are part of the 1619 Project here:
The Idea of America, by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Capitalism, by Matthew Desmond
A Broken Health Care System, by Jeneen Interlandi
Traffic, by Kevin M. Kruse
Undemocratic Democracy, by Jamelle Bouie
Medical Inequality, by Linda Villarosa
American Popular Music, by Wesley Morris
Sugar, by Khalil Gibran Muhammad
Mass Incarceration, by Bryan Stevenson
The Wealth Gap, by Trymaine Lee
Hope, a Photo Essay, by Djeneba Aduayom
400 Years: A Literary Timeline
See also:
Erica Buddington on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ericabuddington/status/1266531249914601472
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/
Prescriptions for what we can do to change policing practices here: “New Era of Public Safety. An Advocacy Toolkit For Fair Safe and Effective Community Policing:
https://www.obama.org/wp-content/uploads/Toolkit.pdf
There are also many antiracism resources here: https://www.obama.org/anguish-and-action/
Quick reads/viewing that contextualize, document, humanize the current situation include:
Ibram X. Kendi, “The American Nightmare”, June 1, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-nightmare/612457/
An article from Gen-Zine that was written by BLM youth activist Abeer Tijani. It is powerful testimony: https://www.gen-zine.com/post/your-silence-aids-and-abets-violent-oppression
A wealth of facts and statistics on disproportionality are provided this piece by Brian Resnick, “Police Brutality is a Public Health Crisis”, https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/6/1/21276828/pandemic-protests-police-public-health-black-lives-matter
Mark Greif, “Seeing Through The Police”, https://nplusonemag.com/issue-22/police/seeing-through-police/
Watch: “Before You Call The Cops” The Tyler Merritt Project/Now This. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKeITMzMn7w
Watch: “Get Your Knee Off My Neck”, Jenifer Lewis’s spoken word poem in honor of George Floyd, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV-5ff1dyos
Books:
- Charlene A. Carruthers, Unapologetic: a Black, queer, and feminist mandate for radical movements (Beacon Press: 2018).
- Mathew Desmond, Evicted. Poverty and Property in the American City (Broadway: 2017).
- Ibram X Kendi, Stamped From The Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (Bold Type Book: 2017)
- Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele. When they call you a terrorist : a black lives matter memoir (St. Martin’s Press: 2018).
- Ijeoma Oluo, So you want to talk about race (Seal Press: 2018)
- Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric (Graywolf Press: 2014)
- Barbara Ransby. Making all Black lives matter: reimagining freedom in the twenty-first century (University of California Press: 2018).
- Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (Liverright: 2018)
- Bryan J. Stephenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (One World: 2015)
II. JOIN WITH FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES IN PROTEST AND ADVOCACY:
Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
Wherever you are, you can connect with the local Black Lives Matter chapters;
In Indianapolis, see Indy10 Black Lives Matter: https://www.facebook.com/Indy10People
Another local group, specifically for white allies, is:
IndySURJ: Showing up for Racial Justice:
https://www.facebook.com/SURJIndianapolis/
To find your chapter in other areas go to the national organization website: https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/
If you are participating in protests as a white ally please watch this webinar on do’s and don’ts, ethics and safety: “De-escalation Training for White People in Direct Action”
https://www.facebook.com/SURJIndianapolis/videos/240867327142031/
This is handy graphic guide on how to protest safely from Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez: https://www.instagram.com/p/CA0jzCdg_vR/?utm_campaign=Brand%20Comms&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=88749778&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-87Fok2s_HegEAV8xtUid6T9lwuOzx2sWIARXYjzqseORpsmOO7eT4MjhNd30Ol72x81Afcl905k6lY5r6djtCcqA-INw&utm_content=88749778&utm_source=hs_email
Protect your privacy and contacts. To learn about surveillance and “contact tracing” see:
Andy Greenberg and Lilly Hay Newman, “How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance” https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protest-safely-surveillance-digital-privacy/
Adam Schwartz, “Don’t Mix Policing with Covid-19 Contact Tracing”. Electronic Freedom Foundation, https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/06/dont-mix-policing-covid-19-contact-tracing
Take advantage of free online trainings:
E.g. Do The Work with Rachel Cargle https://www.rachelcargle.com/; sign up for training here:
https://instagram.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e7528b5266e654d0ce83c211d&id=1e469b88c0
Many other ideas for supporting from home are provided here: “Be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets” https://issuu.com/nlc.sf.2014/docs/beyondthestreets_final
Donate:
If you have financial resources you can contribute to bail funds for protesters who are arrested.
Info on the National Bail Fund Network by State is here: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory
For Indiana: https://bailproject.org (This is the option for donation recommended by Indy 10 Black Lives Matter)
The Minnesota Freedom Fund is being inundated with funds and is asking that you give to other community-based organizations: see https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
Other Resources on Allyship:
Tamara Winfrey Harris writes that “The real work of being an ally” is to “Learn. Listen. Speak Up. Take Action. Be Brave.” Read the full article here:https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/the-real-work-of-being-an-ally.html
Corinne Shutack, “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice” https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234
David Campt, The White Ally Toolkit, https://www.whiteallytoolkit.com/
Jenifer Harvey, Raising White Kids. Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America (Abingdon, 2016).
See also the resources here: https://www.bustle.com/p/10-books-about-race-to-read-instead-of-asking-a-person-of-color-to-explain-things-to-you-8548796
And here: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES
Selfcare and Avoiding Burnout:
George Lakey, “When activist burnout was a problem 50 years ago, this group found a solution”
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2020/05/activist-burnout-50-years-ago-movement-for-a-new-society/
Bedford Palmer, “Self-care in #Black Lives Matter Activists!” https://medium.com/@DrBFPalmer/tips-for-self-care-in-activism-and-the-blacklivesmatter-movement-b501052d6379
Lauren Lofton, “Self-care Strategies For Survival. Sustaining Oneself in Social Justice Movements”, https://www.compasspoint.org/blog/self-care-strategies-survival-sustaining-oneself-social-justice-movements
III. HELP CONFRONT MISINFORMATION:
Consult multiple sources.
Document and record your own experiences.
NPR has a good general article on misinformation. https://www.npr.org/2020/04/17/837202898/comic-fake-news-can-be-deadly-heres-how-to-spot-it
Seek out first person accounts of protest by following independent media on twitter. For Indianapolis: e.g. https://twitter.com/shakkirasays; @breannaNcooper. Please share your favorites!
But also recognize that twitter produces misinformation: See “Misinformation about the extent of unrest in Washington, D.C., surges across Twitter” https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/01/misinformation-about-extent-unrest-washington-dc-surges-across-twitter/
Read about arrests of and attacks on reporters:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/minneapolis-protests-press.html
IV. COMMUNITY PARTNERS WORKING FOR PREVENTION/REPARATIONS
Martin Luther King Center. https://mlkcenterindy.org/
Indiana Youth Justice Coalition. https://www.inyouthjustice.org/
