SOME Anti-Racist Resources (and How to Use Them Responsibly)

In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, the context of Brown kids in cages, the continued desecration of sacred Native lands, and the rise of anti-Asian American violence because of the racist use of the term the “China virus,” there has been a number of calls for a compiling of anti-racist resources.  I heard this call, and I am going to amend it a little.

Second, I have compiled this list as a jumping off point. These are resources that have particularly affected my thinking on issues of systemic racism and inequality.  I am trying to avoid a cannon of anti-racism (except The Fire Next Time-everyone should read that because… because… It’s James Baldwin!!!).  To this end, I have intentionally rooted this list in works that directly speak to our contemporary racial condition. 

The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin

• Baldwin writes in poetry and is one of the finest authors in American history. His searing social commentary is just as relevant as the day it was written which is both a testament to his vision as well as how little progress we have made as a society:

• The text: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7753/the-fire-next-time-by-james-baldwin/[i]
• A teacher’s guide: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/7753/the-fire-next-time-by-james-baldwin/9780679744726/teachers-guide/

Pleasure Activism, Adrienne Maree Brown

• Intersectionality at its best! One of the most important parts of this text is that explores mechanisms to oppose systemic oppression, but it also demonstrates what we should be building towards! Brown centers pleasure in her analysis, and she strikes at the heart of what it means to be truly human.  

• To purchase: https://www.akpress.org/pleasure-activism.html

We Gon’ Be Alright, Jeff Chang

An incredible, prophetic collection of essays on race, resegregation, and  resistance. It is not only socially critical, but also a hopeful text in the Freirian sense of the word. If you don’t know what “Freirian” means, Google Paulo Freire, read his work, and thank me later;)

• To purchase: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780312429485
• To see the work translated onto the small screen, check out: http://bealright.net

all about love, bell hooks (and most of bell hooks’ work)

Don’t let the title fool you given popular misconceptions about what “love” means.  This is not your generic Justin Bieber infatuation masquerading as love. Instead, Dr. hooks dives deeply into the meaning of truly loving humanity in the face of dehumanzing, and sometimes debilitating, social oppression. It is a beautiful, critical, passionate treatise, an should serve as an entryway into the rest of her work.

• To purchase: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060959470/all-about-love/
• For her other work, please visit: http://www.bellhooksinstitute.com

We Want to do More Than Survive, Bettina L. Love

Dr. Love makes an impassioned, theoretically deep, and also pragmatic call for “abolitionist teaching” whereby educators use their space to disrupt and eliminate all forms of oppression their students face. It is particularly focused on the intersection of racial oppression and education

• To purchase: http://www.beacon.org/We-Want-to-Do-More-Than-Survive-P1446.aspx

The Chicana Motherwork Anthology, Cecilia Caballero et al. (editors)

Holy crap this is an amazing anthology! It is also one I’ve heard completely misinterpreted in my social circles. If you are looking for a description of how Chicanas have kids and navigate academia, this is NOT the book for you. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a text about how Chicana mother/scholars are the center of intersectional, anti-racist, decolonial resistance, then this IS the text you are looking for!

• To purchase: https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/the-chicana-motherwork-anthology

Poetry is not a Luxury, Audre Lorde (and pretty much all of her work)

Audre Lorde made an impassioned and compelling argument that poetry not simply a luxury, but rather an indispensable component of liberation (broadly defined).  The need for artistry is no more evident than in the numerous ways that artists are integral to the current Black Lives Matter protests and virtually every progressive social movement in the last ½ century.  Poetry gives life to the movement, stimulates the imagination for a better future, and inspires tangible action against oppression. Therefore, poetry is not a luxury.

• To purchase: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/198292/sister-outsider-by-audre-lorde/
• For more of Audre Lorde’s work: https://alp.org/about/audre

Freedom is a Constant Struggle, Angela Davis

Dr. Davis has been at the forefront of liberation struggles for decades, and this magnum opus is a critically beautiful collection of essays regarding racism, colonialism, feminism, and anti-oppressive praxis, offering her immense wisdom on all of the subjects.

• For purchase: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/780-freedom-is-a-constant-struggle
• Dr. Davis’ work is extensive both in the written and spoken word. I highly encourage you to use the University of Google to check out her other work: https://www.biography.com/activist/angela-davis

Teaching for Black Lives, Watson et al. (editors)/Rethinking Ethnic Studies, Cuauhtin et al. (editors)

Rethinking Schools has been at the forefront of delivering liberatory educational texts. The two highlighted here center (1) how, instead of simply proclaiming “Black Lives Matter” teachers can actually translate that into educational practice and (2) the cutting edge of Ethnic Studies in education practice.

• Their work is available at: www.rethinkingschools.org

Dying of Whiteness, Johnathan Metzl

Ever wonder why White folk are so invested in Whiteness? Dr. Metzl offers meticulously documented and critical view of the contemporary consequences of Whiteness for White folk.  While this piece is not about the liberation of PoC (which is my primary focus), it does examine why systems of racial oppression are so engrained, resistant to change, and even harm the White beneficiaries of the system.

• To order: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/jonathan-m-metzl/dying-of-whiteness/9781541644960/

And maybe… White Guys on Campus, Nolan L. Cabrera 😉

Ok, I can already hear the homies, “Oh, you think you’re on the level of James Baldwin?!?!” No, I don’t you a********! Now that I’ve worked around that, I do think my work operates in congruence with the above pieces. Most of these pieces function from the perspective of POC resistance to social oppression. This work examines the mechanisms that reproduce racial inequality from the perspective of Whiteness – or the “other side” of racial analysis. That is, a lot of the resistance work documented above is fighting against the very structures and ideologies I document in this text.

• To purchase: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/white-guys-on-campus/9780813599076

I am Not Your Negro

More Baldwin with the addition of Samuel L. Jackson. Do you really need more of a reason to check out this amazing documentary?

• Streaming: http://www.iamnotyournegrofilm.com

Gentefied

Meditations on Chicanismo, sexuality, when community wisdom and anti-oppressive praxis are in conflict, and the underlying question about what to do about gentrification in East L.A.

• Streaming: https://www.netflix.com/title/80198208

Blindspotting

Blindspotting is another examination of gentrification, this time in Oakland. It also offers insights into race, police violence, and the prison industrial complex, while also being incredibly entertaining (trust). It stars Daveed Diggs from the musical Hamilton. Yes, I understand that is a crass move – trying to get White folks to watch something by enticing them with Hamilton-adjacent… but that’s what I did here.

• Streaming: https://www.hulu.com/movie/blindspotting-cbe8d142-0f0d-458e-8cac-201783ae50e6

El Norte

Folks think they know why Brown people south of the border migrate to the US and what they go through to get here? This movie dramatizes that struggle, and just know that it is gotten exponentially more difficult since the militarization of the U.S./Mexico border.  You want a truly humane portrait of this issue, check out this movie.

• Streaming: https://www.hulu.com/movie/el-norte-eng-sub-bf7b75f0-f964-4dbb-a05c-fd9d00d19d11

Sorry to Bother You

This is one of the few movies to actually offer a critical analysis of both  race and capitalism concurrently.  Once again centering these issues in Oakland, Boots Riley created a literally surreal film. There are many twists that are not for everyone, but the social commentary is spot on.

• Streaming: https://www.hulu.com/movie/sorry-to-bother-you-c66b772e-75e9-43b1-bcb7-e09ce9e8582d?&cmp=7958&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BM%20Search%20TV%20Shows&utm_term=&ds_rl=1263136&gclid=CjwKCAjw8pH3BRAXEiwA1pvMsadwXkFGCNKfeS4HT62yy-38E1OsQ9BfLbIPjcIkRHxA3Z9MzrbUBBoCfcoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Bamboozled

This brilliant satire is one of Spike Lee’s best, and I can, again, hear the homies clowning me about this stance. Yes, I love this movie! Get over it!!! Ok, I’m back… Spike Lee creates a social metaphor where Black people in Black face give “permission” for White folk to express their underground racism in public. This one is not for everyone, but it gets to the base of many contemporary racial and racist dynamics.

• For purchase: https://www.criterion.com/films/29007-bamboozled

Pray, Flobots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOtCVLzZCV8)

This is one of the best examinations of Whiteness historically in music. It is extremely dense, so give yourself a few listening sessions to get through it. The music video is visceral in the imagery, so be prepared. I have an extended commentary on this song that will drop soon.

• For the full album and other Flobots music: http://www.flobots.com/music

Fire in the Booth, Akala (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEOKgjoxoto)

This personal journey at the intersection of race and education is one of the great flows in recent memory. Akala drops both dope lyrics and an explicitly anti-deficit social commentary.

• For more of Akala’s music: http://www.akala.moonfruit.com

This is America, Childish Gambino (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY)

The thesis is in the title: racial violence is not an aberration of a “few bad apples.” This is America.  The iconography of the music video is intense and requires multiple viewings. If you find yourself confused, use the University of Google. Many social critics far more knowledgeable than I am have broken down the symbolism of each frame.  And if you are new to this, yes, Donald Glover and Childish Gambino are the same person!

• For more of Childish Gambino’s music: https://donaldgloverpresents.com

Private School Negro, W. Kama Bell (stand up)

W. Kamau Bell does it again. He has always been one of the best comedians who center racism in their act. To make the social critique of racism funny is a rare talent, and Bell does it flawlessly.

• Streaming: https://www.netflix.com/title/80200015

Warn Your Relatives, Hari Kondabolu (stand up)

Hari Kondabolu is a stand up comedian and former writer for Totally biased  (W. Kamau Bell’s incredible show).  A former labor organizer in Seattle, Kondabolu gets to the heart of numerous systems of social oppression, and embodies the following quotation attributed to Cantiflas, “Anyone can make an audience laugh. A true comedian makes their audience think.” 

• Streaming: https://www.netflix.com/title/80213657

8:46, Dave Chappelle

It’s not funny, but it’s amazing social commentary. Chappelle offers an historical analysis of the current police killings of Black people, and he explores his own social responsibility as a Black public figure.

• Streaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tR6mKcBbT4