BLM & Anti-Racism Resources

Disclaimer: I got this resource list from the Almost 30 Podcast Group’s Google Doc, however, I thought that it was such good quality and important information that I wanted to share it here on my blog!

Doing the work – that is something that we all need to do at this time. Learning and unlearning is also something that is important. I have been looking for the right resources to provide the Rainbow Glazed Nights community with (all 170 of you) and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to share a comprehensive list of resources that I have found. They are listed below!

Anti-Racism Organizations: 

• Black Lives Matter
• Movement for Black Lives
• Campaign Zero
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• NAACP
• Southern Poverty Law Center 
• Reclaim the Block
• Minnesota Freedom Fund
• Black Visions Collective
• Unicorn Riot
• Color of Change
• Until Freedom

Petitions:

• Change.org
• Juscticeforbigfloyd.com
• Naacpldf.org
• Act.colorofchange.com 
• Black Lives Matter petitions.
  • To find your local Black Lives Matter Chapter head to https://blacklivesmatter.com/chapters/

Bail Funds:

• National Bail Fund Network  
• The Bail Project Centralized national organization with regular bail posting in a number of individual cities, which may be providing protest support depending on city and bail amounts
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Verified GoFundMe’s:

• George Floyd Family https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd 
• Tony McDade Family https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-tony-mcdade

Articles to Read:

• The Human Rights Campaign and 100+ LGBTQ Organizations Release Letter Condemning Racial Violence 
• How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change – Barack Obama
• To Stop, Listen and Act: How you can help protestors and the Black Lives Matter Movement 
• Articles by Rachel Cargle with Harper’s Bazaar
• Mapping Police Violence Project
• Police Erupt in Violence Nationwide
• Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety and Security in Our Communities
• The Only Solution is to Defund the Police 
• The Hidden Privilege in Design
• White Supremacy Culture (Tema Okun)
• CoryCollins: What is White Privilege Really?
• *White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
• What is White Supremacy? (Betita Martinez; 6 pp.)
• White Women doing White Supremacy in Nonprofit Culture by Heather Laine Talley
• https://www.whiteaccomplices.org/
• Dismantling Racism
• +Decolonization is not a metaphor
• How White Feminists Oppress Black Women: When Feminism Functions as White Supremacy, Monnica T. Williams

Literature: 

• “Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor” by Layla F Saad
• Sister Outsider – Audre Lorde
• “The Race Track: Understanding and Challenging Structural Racism.” by Kimberle Crenshaw
• “How to be anti-Racist” by Ibram X Kendi
• “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander
• “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown
• “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo
• “This Book is Anti-Racist” by Tiffany Jewell
• “White Rage” by Carol Anderson
• “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• https://www.nytimes.com/…/antiracist-reading-list-ibram-x-k…
• https://www.vogue.co.uk/…/a…/black-lives-matter-reading-list
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/…/how-white-parents-can-us…

Accounts to follow:

• @thisisyolandarenteria: Therapist and psychoeducator 
• @aclu_nationwide: A nonprofit, nonpartisan, legal and advocacy 
• @blklivesmatter: Official Black Lives Matter Instagram
• @grassrootslaw @colorofchange @theconsciouskid @rachel.cargle @phenomenal @thegreatunlearn @lalahdelia @maryamhasnaa @alex_elle
• @laylafsaad @rachel.cargle @tiffanyjana @ericaford_ilovemylife @mspackyetti @paolamendoza @sarahsophief @professor_crunk @aijenp @irincarmon @aminatou @chasinggarza @roxanegay74 @eandiola @kkellyyoga @shishi.rose @jamiaawilson @msladyjustice1 @naomiwadler @tabithastb @geenarocero @officialdham @wirelesshogan @tiphanimontgomery @jamiraburley @amandaashcr @reshmasaujani  @seemiaroll @sorayachemaly @jesslivmo @angelarye @rachelsklar @carritwigg @feministabulous @taranajaneen @monachalabi @israhirsi @ayanaeliza @crownpeace @janetmock @amandaseales @ijeomaoluo @lsarsour @paoramos @jodikantor @zoebuckman @chanel_porchia @nitikachopra @tamikadmallory @anjalikumar @meena @honeybook @wherechangestarted @tamikadmallory

Movies + TV Shows to Watch:

• Dear White People , Netflix
• If Beale Street Could Talk, Hulu
• Selma, Available to rent now
• I am Not your Negro, James Baldwin documentary, available to rent now
• King in the Wilderness, HBO
• American Son, Netflix
• When They See Us, Ava Duvernay
• 13th, Ava Duvernay
• Freedom Riders, Amazon Prime

Lists of films about Black history, history of white supremacy in the US and more

• https://www.theantiracisteducator.com/…/looking-for-anti-ra…
• http://www.coming-together.org/…/more-information-about-fi…/
• https://www.detroitnews.com/…/black-history-movie…/39066767/

Podcasts:

• Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast- Kimberle Crenshaw’s “intersectionality matters” 
• Bound for Justice: Your weekly podcast that explores Race, Reconciliation, and Social Justice.
• Code Switch, NPR
• 1619, The New York Times
• Pod Save the People, Crooked Media
• That’s Not How That Works
• https://bellocollective.com/16-podcasts-that-confront-racis…
• http://whitesforracialequity.org/podcasts/

Self-Education Resources:

• policing.civilrights.org/toolkit/
• obama.org/anguish-and-action
• Rachel Cargle’s “Revolution Now” address 
• The Great Unlearn
• How to be an antiracist, a recorded video talk by professor Ibram X. Kendi
• Kirwan Institute Implicit Bias Training 
• Talking About Race
• The Loveland Foundation

Workshops

• Spiritual Activism with Rachel Ricketts – online, $55 for white and white passing people
•  The Avarna Group Workshops
• Monique Melton Diversity Coach
• Crossroads Anti-Racism Organizing and Training

My Favourite Quarantine TV Shows

People who know me, know that I do no watch a lot of TV, however, during this quarantine, I have had the opportunity (and time) to indulge in a few new shows. I will list them below and give you my opinion

1. Younger (Amazon Prime Video) – First of all, THIS SHOW IS AWESOME. I feel in love with the show from the first episode and I have been glued to my screen ever since. In seasons 1 and 2, it mainly focuses on the growth of the character Liza, a 40 year old woman acting like a 26 year old woman to get a job in publishing. What made me fall in love with the show was her romantic relationship with the character Josh. I think I have been single for too long and that is what made me love this coupling. As the show goes on, I completely continue to love the story lines and the characters even more as they evolve (I am only season 4 but I watch season 6 because I couldn’t wait). If you have watched this show and you love it, comment below and let me know if you are #TeamJosh or #TeamCharles
2. Life in Pieces (Netflix) – This is just a feel good family comedy. Life in Pieces tells three short stories about Characters in the same family. I am currently watching the final season on Netflix and though I am not done as yet, it is always good to come back to when I’m bored.
3. Sex Education (Netflix) – Okay, this was a re-watch for me. I have watched both seasons from start to finish 3 times. Its hilarious and light hearted but really addresses issues on sexuality so well. I recommend this to everyone.
4. Little Fires Everywhere (Amazon Prime Video) – I have only watched 2 episodes of this show so far but it is so good and well done. I dont have a full review on the story line as yet, but if you have Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon in the same scene, how could it be bad!
5. Insecure (HBO) – THIS SHOW IS EPIC AND AMAZING. Season 4 is currently airing on HBO and it is amazing as usual. Issa Rae has creating one hell of a show. I call this show the ‘Black Sex and the City’. If you have a change, and HBO, I would recommend this show to you. It teaches you lessons on love and life and how to navigate those challenges.
6. Grace and Frankie (Netflix) – My mom forced me to watch this show with her and thankfully I fell in love with it. I have watched all the seasons twice now and they are still just as funny. What I like about this show is that it is an accurate representation of aging. It shows how life can be for you in your 70’s and 80’s despite health restrictions. I really find it to be a wonderful and important thing to show case.
7. Sisters (Netflix) – This show only has one season and thats all it will ever get but I have to say that it was really a good one. It is about a girl who learns that her dad artificially inseminated a bunch of women with his sperm while a fertility doctor AFTER HE DIES. She enters into a huge lawsuit and has to deal with the negatives of her fathers decision. This is actually my third time watching this show and I still like it.

I hope that you find something in this list worth watching! Happy Quarantine viewing!

New York 2018 & the 10 Things I Discovered

I went to New York City, in the middle of a Major Depressive Episode and I had the time of life.

but…

I took very few pictures.

This blog post isn’t about me showing you what I did through a photo log or telling you stories, it is more about me explaining how this was the most informative journey I have taken in my life over the last year. I had a lot of realizations and I lot of moments of anxiety but I experienced something I genuinely hadn’t felt in over 8 months – Happiness. The great thing too is that when I came home to Toronto, a lot of good things began to come to me. I found some new friends (and I will write a blog post about that soon), I became more accepting of who I was, I understood what brought me to where I am today, and I called all the people that loved me. Somethings were hard to see but all revelations were beautiful in their own right. Here are the 10 feelings I had while in NYC:

1. This is going to be a great trip – I was super excited to be taking this journey to a new City and to be experiencing something on my own that I have wanted to experience for a while again.
2. Music on a long bus ride is Paramount – Having a great road trip playlist sets the foundation for any great trip.
3. I miss my ex – This was the hardest part. We had always discussed going to NYC together and going without him at the time when we broke up last year was actually a really emotionally challenging thing to do.
4. A Great AirBnb sets the stage – My airbnb was great and I was so grateful to have stayed there. It was actually sad to leave and I did cry a bit. I learned so much about myself in bed at night in that apartment in NYC. I will never forget.
5. Harlem is great – Everyone should go.
6. I am the most toxic person in my life – I was walking on Broadway, looking at all the couples together, and realizing that I could have had that today, if I didn’t over react and I tried to communicate better. Maybe if I hadn’t tried to hurt other people by writing mean things and forcing relationships, I would be more emotionally sound today.
7. I decided to change my life –  I realized that the past is the past and I could make my future so amazingly bright. I was in a new City where no one knew me and I could start a new chapter of a book right here. So, that’s what I did. I knew it wouldn’t be easy or be overnight, but I new that I had a blank page to start on. I was going to be a good person.
8. I made a new friend – I found a new friend on the evening I committed to being a better person. I went to a comedy show alone. She had just recently gotten divorced and had come to NYC for a fresh start. We were both on each other page ones. We still talk till this day.
9. I am only 23 –  I haven’t ruined my life. I have been luckily brought to a place where I am old enough to understand my wrongs, yet young enough to still have enough time to correct them for the better. A change is gonna come and its going to be a blessing.
10. The air smelled like him and I cried in front of his favourite store – This trip didn’t heal wounds, but it allowed me to accept all of my wrongs, put forth the effort to change them, and to put faith into the universe. Maybe I will always love him and that will always be okay. I realized that he will always be a part of me and that is okay. Time may not heal all wounds, but time made me realize that everywhere offers you a fresh start and that there is beauty in all things.

Thank you for reading.

10 Things I Learned During a Year of Severe Depression (Part 1)

1. The people you thought would always be there for you won’t be when shit hits the fan
2. You may be too much to handle
3. You need to deposit a dollar into a piggy bank each day as a thanks to the Gods for still being alive so you can spend it on Starbucks when you feel better
4. Some of your friends actually have unconditional love for you and you need to fight for them
5. Things will be okay on some days and not on others
6. It is completely okay to cry. People will get it and not care
7. Put anything too stressful on hold for now and get to it later. Your mental health is more important than your timeline
8. Walk every day
9. Take your vitamins
10. Find a blog that you resonate with. Mine is http://advicefromatwentysomething.com/

Enjoy 🙂