July 8: Colorism
Recommended resources:
- Read: "The Difference Between Racism and Colorism" - Lori L. Tharps (TIME), "Black Lives Matter Gets Indians Talking About Skin Lightening And Colorism" - Lauren Frayer (NPR)
- Watch: "People of color discuss the impact of 'colorism'" (Good Morning America), "3 Things You Should Know About Global Colorism" (Harvard Kennedy School)
- Listen: "Dark-skinned girls and the struggle to feel beautiful" - Mimi Zekaryas, Leila Abe, and Cienne Bronson (KUOW)
Discussion:
- Watch: "Conversation with Lupita Nyong’o"(Library of Congress)
- Learn: What is colorism and what does it look like in everyday life?
- Share: Have you experienced or noticed colorism in your community? If you’re learning about it for the first time, what questions do you have?
- Take action: Recognize and address instances of colorism using the Do Something “Confront Colorism” Guide
Follow-up resources:
- On "In The Heights": "‘In the Heights’ and Colorism: What Is Lost When Afro-Latinos Are Erased" (NY Times), "Gina Torres, Laz Alonso And Others Speak Out About Afro-Latino Erasure In Hollywood" (TIME)
- Read: Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
- Read: Yellowman by Dael Orlandersmith
June 10: Juneteenth
Recommended resources:
- Read: "The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth" - National Museum of African American History & Culture, "What Is Juneteenth?" - Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (PBS)
- Watch: "What is Juneteenth? Your questions, answered" (PBS NewsHour)
- Listen: "The History and Meaning of Juneteenth" - The Daily podcast (New York Times)
Discussion:
- Explore: "The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth" - Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Google Arts & Culture)
- Discuss and share: What is Juneteenth? How is it celebrated? How can non-Black people celebrate and support in a genuine way?
- Take action: How is our community celebrating Juneteenth?
Follow-up resources:
- Read: "This Is How We Juneteenth" - Gina Cherelus (NY Times)
- Local events:
- Juneteenth Resource Fair, 6/17, 11am-2pm at 4200 Wheaton Way (Bremerton)
- Juneteenth Monumental March + Freedom Festival, 6/19, 11:45am at Norm Dicks Government Building (Bremerton)
May 13: Art and Anti-Racism
Recommended resources:
- Read: "Art That Confronts and Challenges Racism: Start Here" (NY Times), "Poetry and Racial Justice and Equality" (Poetry Foundation)
- Watch: "Jeremy Okai Davis: Art That Speaks to Racism And Healing" (OPB), "30 Americans: Art Works to Confront Racism" (IN Close)
- Listen: "We Insist: A Century Of Black Music Against State Violence" (NPR Music), "Both Party And Protest, 'Alright' Is The Sound Of Black Life's Duality" - Andrew Limbong (NPR)
Discussion:
- Watch: "Portland Painter Jeremy Okai Davis Celebrates the Pixel" (OPB)
- Share: Works of art that have helped us in our anti-racist learning
- Learn: What is it about these works of art that make them impactful?
- Take action: How do you find and share impactful artwork and diverse artistic voices?
Follow-up resources recommended by the group:
- Visual art: Kehinde Wiley, Native artist Toma Villa, "Mapping George Floyd and Anti-Racist Street Art" (TPT Originals), "Native Portraiture: Power and Perception" (Tacoma Art Museum)
- Books: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, Root Magic by Eden Royce, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia, She Would be King by Wayetu Moore, This Place: 150 Years Retold
- Resources for diverse reading: perpetualpages, Bowties & Books, Ashley's Bookish Realm, Starlah Reads, Netflix Bookmarks
- Poetry: "When Poets Decide Who Counts" - Code Switch (NPR); Danez Smith, Cortney Lamar Charleston, Quentin Baker, Nina Miriam, Jericho Brown, Tracy K. Smith
- Music: "This Is How I Feel: A Playlist By Young Black Listeners" (NPR Music), "Why Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Win Is History-Making" - Brigit Katz (Smithsonian Mag)
- Songs: "Ju$t" by Run the Jewels, "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan
- Dance: Hiplet Ballerinas
- Local resources: Seattle Ethnic Artist Roster, Artists Up
- Addition to January's discussion on health and race: "Biden-Harris Administration Announces Initial Actions to Address the Black Maternal Health Crisis" (White House)
April 8: Intersectional Feminism
Recommended resources:
- Read: "Intersectional feminism: what it means and why it matters right now" (UN Women), "What's Intersectionality? Let These Scholars Explain the Theory and Its History" - Arica L. Coleman (TIME)
- Watch: "Kimberlé Crenshaw Discusses 'Intersectional Feminism'" (Lafayette College)
- Listen: "Intersectional Feminism: Representation In Saturday's Women's Marches" - Karen Grigsby Bates (NPR)
- In the news: "How Racism and Sexism Intertwine to Torment Asian-American Women" - Shaila Dewan (NY Times article), "What the Atlanta Shootings Reveal About Racism and Misogyny in the U.S." - Politics and More (New Yorker podcast/WNYC)
Discussion:
- Audre Lorde note: “From the Archive: Audre Lorde 1971 Reading Flyer” (Academy of American Poets)
- Angela Davis video (11:30-17:37): “Feminismo y Transformación Social en la Era de Trump” (Universidad de Costa Rica)
- Discuss: What does mainstream feminism look like? What does intersectional feminism look like? What can we do individually to support BIPOC women from a feminist/anti-racist perspective?
Follow-up resources:
- Articles: "How Do Women Feel About Women’s History Month? Conflicted." - Erin Spencer (NY Times), “For trans women of color facing 'epidemic' of violence, each day is a fight for survival: 'I'm an endangered species… but I cannot stop living'” (ABC News)
- Books (available through KRL): Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Veronica Chambers, Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism by Seyward Darby
- Intersectional perspectives: Sonia Renee Taylor, Roxane Gay, Chrystos, Rachel Cargle, Unlocking Us by Brené Brown, Feminist Freedom Warriors digital video archive
- AAPI resources: AAPI Racial Justice Resources (Seattle Rep), "From Exotic to Invisible: Asian American Womens' Experiences of Discrimination" (APA), “Atlanta shooting and the legacy of misogyny and racism against Asian women” (ABC News)
March 11: Activism for All Ages
Recommended Resources:
- Read: "Racial Literacy: Key Terms" (The Conscious Kid), "10 Ways Youth Can Engage in Activism" (Anti-Defamation League)
- Watch: "Want to be a youth activist? Here are some tips" (CBC Kids), "Discrimination Explained for Kids" (Pop'n'Olly)
- Listen: "How to Start the Conversation about Racism" (The Imagine Neighborhood), "Racial Justice with Nupol Kiazolu" (Activist, You!)
Discussion:
- Breakout Room 1: Microaggressions from peers/people in power
- Breakout Room 2: Fairness and Justice; Protests: What’s that all about?
Follow-up resources:
- Read: “Calling In: A Quick Guide on When and How” – Sian Ferguson
- Read: “Your Kids Are Not Too Young” – Shawna Gamache
- Read: “How to Talk to Your Child About Microaggressions” (Crumpled Heart Activity) – Misasha Suzuki Graham
- Watch: PBS KIDS Talk About Race & Racism
- Activism 101 (Simmons University LibGuide)
February 11: Hidden Black History
Recommended resources:
- Read: "Do We Ask Too Much of Black Heroes?" - Imani Perry (NY Times), Lillian Walker (1913-2012) - Kate Kershner (HistoryLink)
- Watch: Black History in Two Minutes (watch any videos) - Henry Louis Gates and Robert F. Smith
- Listen: Historically Black (listen to any podcast) - (Washington Post and APM Reports)
Discussion:
- When we think of the phrase “Black history,” what words come to mind?
- From the group: struggle, Civil War, unsung, learning, rediscovery, pioneers and visionaries, artists and creators, inclusion, feminism and the fight for the right to vote, today in history (31st anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in South Africa)
- Explore the stories of Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Black History”; Lillian Walker, Bremerton civil rights activist; and John Henry “Dick” Turpin, US Naval hero
Follow-up resources recommended by participants:
- The Great Migration
- Black women in Kitsap:
- Lillian Walker (1913-2012) and Marie Greer (1913-2008)
- Linda Joyce, former executive director of the Kitsap YWCA (daily “Black Herstory Month” Facebook posts in February)
- Diane Robinson, former Bremerton City Councilwoman and founder of the Kitsap Black Historical Society
- Karen Vargas, racial justice advocate and activist
- Activists, inventors, historians:
- John Lewis (1940-2020), civil rights leader and politician
- Arturo Schomburg (1874-1938), Afro-Puerto Rican historian, writer, and activist (namesake for the NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture)
- Alfred L. Cralle (1866-1920), Victorian scientist and inventor of the ice cream scoop (thanks to artist Tony Hicks for the introduction)
- Roosevelt Smith’s Black History Month columns (Kitsap Sun) and collection of Black Americana, “The State of the Union in Black and White” (Kitsap Historical Society and Museum)
- Artists:
- Augusta Asberry (1931-2007), Bremerton local artist (profile in Kitsap Sun)
- Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), painter portraying African American life
- Kehinde Wiley (1977-), painter known for his presidential portrait of Barack Obama
- Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), graffiti and abstract artist
- Authors:
- Christopher Paul Curtis (1953-), author of children’s and middle grade books
- Jason Reynolds (1983-), author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story monthly newsletter)
January 14 - Health and Race
Recommended resources:
- Read: “How False Beliefs in Physical Racial Difference Still Live in Medicine Today” - Linda Villarosa (New York Times “1619 Project”)
- Watch: “How Racism Makes Us Sick” - David R. Williams (TED)
- Listen: "Episode 4: Race & Public Health: Tuskegee to COVID-19" (transcript) - Health in Matters podcast (University of Minnesota)
Discussion:
- Watch: "How COVID-19 is highlighting racial disparities in Americans' health" (PBS NewsHour)
- Explore: “The COVID Racial Data Tracker” (The COVID Tracking Project)
- What are some of the contributing factors in these racial disparities?
- How can we start to remedy these inequities through our own actions?
Follow-up resources:
- Association of American Medical Colleges’ Racism and Health: A Reading List
- Read: “Is bias keeping female, minority patients from getting proper care for their pain?” (Washington Post)
- Read: “Data linking race and health predicts new COVID-19 hotspots” (The Conversation)
- Maternal mortality: 2020 March of Dimes Report Card, “How Racism May Cause Black Mothers To Suffer The Death Of Their Infants” (NPR), “Nothing Protects Black Women From Dying in Pregnancy and Childbirth” (ProPublica and NPR)
- Commuting: “Commuting Patterns During COVID-19 Endure; Minorities Less Likely to Work from Home” (Dallas Fed), “Public Transit Use Is Associated With Higher Coronavirus Death Rates, Researchers Find” (Wall Street Journal), “The Unequal Commute” (Urban Institute)
- Funds to support overall health and wellbeing for BIPOC: Kitsap Racial Equity & Empowerment Fund, King County Equity Now
December 10: Practical Allyship
Recommended resources:
- Read: "Be a Better Ally" - Tsedale M. Melaku, Angie Beeman, David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson (Harvard Business Review)
- Watch: "A guide to allyship: How to become an ally" (9News)
- Listen: "Be a Better White Ally" (first segment, from 4:20-41:50) - Up To Date (KCYR 89.3)
- For youth and families: "Kids Explain Allyship" (Soyheat)
Discussion:
- Examples of practical allyship: What does it look like in our lives? Who can we look up to?
- Performative allyship: What is it? How can we avoid it?
- Community allies: Who’s doing the work already and how can we support it?
Follow-up resources:
- Definition of “Ally” – Kayla Reed
- Article: “White Antiracists Have Ancestors: How Their Stories Can Help Strengthen White Antiracist Organizing Today” – Lynn Burnett
- Website: Guide to Allyship – Amélie Lamont
- Kitsap community groups for allies supporting racial justice: see list below (November 12)
- Kitsap race equity task forces: Bainbridge Island and Bremerton
November 12: Anti-Racism Post-Election
Recommended resources:
Read: "Will The Biden-Harris Administration Rescind Trump’s Diversity Training Restrictions?" - Dana Brownlee (Forbes)
Discussion:
- What anti-racist ideas and actions have we focused on so far?
- What anti-racist actions do we want to see happen in the next four years?
- How can we use this energy as momentum moving forward? Where do we start?
Follow-up actions:
- Read: "Don’t Cancel Federal Diversity Training, Fix It" - Susan S. Harmeling and Charles M. Henderson (Government Executive)
- Watch: "Don't ask where I'm from, ask where I'm a local" - Taiye Selasi (TED)
- Support for diversity initiatives: Virtual White Men's Caucus (White Men as Full Diversity Partners)
- Resource for educators: Teaching Tolerance (a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)
- List of Kitsap groups/organizations working toward racial justice: Kitsap ERACE Coalition(Equity, Race And Community Engagement), Kitsap Advocating for Immigrant Rights and Equality (KAIRE), West Sound for Social Justice, Kitsap SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice), Kitsap Professional Leaders of Color (PLOC), Kitsap Youth Activism Team, Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center (KIAC)
October 22: Racial Injustice in the News
Recommended resources:
- Read: "The Dangerous Racialization of Crime in U.S. News Media" - Elizabeth Sun (Center for American Progress)
- Watch: "Unconscious Bias: Do Newsrooms Struggle To Report On Race Issues?" (Thomson Reuters Foundation), "How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time" - Baratunde Thurston (TED)
- Listen: "Racial Bias in Crime Reporting" - On the Media (WNYC)
Discussion:
- View: “Unconscious Bias: Do Newsrooms Struggle To Report On Race Issues?” (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
- As you interact with news about racial injustice, have you noticed differences in how certain stories are reported?
- What are some ways that Black, Indigenous, and people of color are treated differently in news coverage?
- Should a person's merit/accomplishments be considered when reporting on a crime they committed?
Follow-up actions:
- Read: Race Forward's 2015 Race Reporting Guide: "Seven Harmful Racial Discourse Practices to Avoid" (pp.19-24)
- Support more diverse newsrooms and newspapers that are representative of different communities
- Seek out additional news coverage if you find yourself getting comfortable with one news source
- Ask yourself: which details of this news story are missing? Which details are being unfairly scrutinized?
October 8: Policing
Recommended resources:
- Read: "Kitsap law enforcement is committed to building trust" - Kitsap County law enforcement leadership (Kitsap Sun Opinion), "Race, Policing, and the Universal Yearning for Safety" - Ezra Klein & Phillip Atiba Goff (Vox)
- Watch: "Once-Violent Camden, New Jersey, Now Seen As Model For Community Policing" (TODAY)
- Listen: “Re-imagining Public Safety” (with King County Council Member Girmay Zahilay) (Pitchfork Economics Podcast)
Discussion with guests from Bremerton Police Department: Laurel MacIntyre-Howard (behavioral health navigator), Sergeant Tim Garrity, and Lieutenant Aaron Elton
- Improving outreach to community groups and strengthening existing connections; identifying job boards to invite people of color to consider careers in law enforcement
- Identifying grant writing resources to assist with hiring more behavioral health navigators
- Improving police accountability measures and changing the culture of policing from within
Follow-up resources:
- Learn about Laurel’s work as a behavioral health navigator: “Behavioral health navigators step in where police step out” (Kitsap Sun)
- Open letter from Kitsap ERACE Coalition: “Kitsap Protests: What Do They Mean and How Do We Go Forward?”
September 24: The Wealth Gap
Recommended resources:
- Read: "How America's Vast Racial Wealth Gap Grew: By Plunder" - Trymaine Lee (The 1619 Project, New York Times), "Examining the Black-White Wealth Gap" (Brookings Institution)
- Watch: "Struggle for Black and Latino Mortgage Applicants Suggests Modern-Day Redlining" (PBS NewsHour)
- Listen: "1619: The Racist Roots of the U.S. Wealth Gap" (The Takeaway podcast, WYNC)
Discussion:
- For BIPOC participants: have you experienced financial barriers?
- Why are proposed solutions (like "baby bonds", reparations, or increased taxes on the wealthy) so difficult to discuss with each other?
- As individuals, what are some short-term and long-term actions we can take/support to begin to close the wealth gap?
Follow-up actions:
- Website that tracks COVID-19 mortality age by race: “The Color of Coronavirus: COVID-19 Deaths by Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.”(APM Research Lab)
- Read about the Fair Housing Act (US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development)
- Small steps to take: educate yourselves and the public about the wealth gap, be intentional about where you spend your money, support programs and policies that invest in youth and help BIPOC communities build wealth
September 10: White Culture
Recommended resources:
- Read: “Why Talk About Whiteness?” - Emily Chiariello (Teaching Tolerance), Whiteness - National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Watch: "Talking Mindfully About Whiteness" - Neenah Estrella-Luna (TEDxSalemStateUniversity)
- Listen: "My White Friends" (S2 E12) - Scene on Radio
- For parents & families: Not My Idea - A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham - John Jimerson
Discussion:
- View The Whiteness Project
- If you identify as white: What is your experience of white culture? How do you describe your culture?
- If you don't identify as white: How would you describe white culture? What are some similarities and differences between your culture and white culture?
- For everyone: How have aspects of white culture led to the casual and overt racism we see in America?
Follow-up actions: check out these resources recommended by the group
- Interactive map showing Native treaty, language, and historical territory data:Native-land.ca
- Article on racial disparities in wealth: “Examining the Black-white wealth gap” (Brookings Institution)
- Census data on local demographics: Kitsap County Quick Facts
August 27: Talking to Family & Friends
Recommended resources:
- Read/Listen: "Claudia Rankine: How Can I Say This So We Can Stay in This Car Together?" - On Being with Krista Tippett podcast (scroll down page for full text transcript)
- Watch: "A Conversation With White People On Race" - Op-Docs (The New York Times)
- Listen: "Want To Have Better Conversations About Racism With Your Parents? Here's How" - Life Kit podcast (NPR)
- For Parents: "How to Talk to Kids About Race" - Home School (The Atlantic)
Discussion:
- View "How to talk about race with racist white parents and family" (WA Post)
- Have you tried to have conversations on race with your family/friends? How did it go?
- What were you feeling at the time? E.g. nervous, angry, scared
- What worked? What would you do differently next time?
- What tools/skills do you feel would better equip you for these conversations?
Strategies/Tips from Dispute Resolution Center trainer Sophie Morse:
- Listening to Understand & Curiosity
- Ask open-ended Questions … and question the answers!
- Develop agreements – how are the two of us going to have these conversations so neither of us walks away feeling scarred (uncomfortable is ok, and expected).
- Preparation; Do research. I don’t like being caught off guard by [racist] talking points. I want to have my facts handy. If they have different facts, one approach is to keep with either I statements or “We” statements: “We don’t seem to have the same information on this topic” and see where that goes.
- Find common ground and build from there. Always connect first.
- Avoid jargon. Just not helpful.
- Set boundaries. Your house, your Facebook page, your rules!!
- Assume best intentions, and point out that intent =/= impact!
- Part of white supremacy culture is about not revealing emotions, and having to do or say things “just right.” Both of which serve to keep us from having conversations that deeply matter, because those conversations will be messy.
August 13: Intersectionality
Recommended resources:
- Read: "Social Identities And Systems Of Oppression" - Talking About Race (NMAAHC)
- Watch: "The urgency of intersectionality" - Kimberlé Crenshaw (TED)
- Listen: "Kimberlé Crenshaw on Racism, Intersectionality, and the Death of George Floyd in the Times of Covid-19" (KFPA) (interview begins around 24:00)
- For parents: "Intersectionality 101" (Teaching Tolerance)
Discussion:
- View the Social Identity Wheel.
- In your own life, do you think about some identities more than others? Which ones, and why?
- Which identities are important to you that others don’t always acknowledge?
- By prioritizing certain identities over others in our society, how do we perpetuate systems of oppression?
Follow-up actions:
- Explore media from different identities, cultures, and perspectives: books, movies, TV, music, art
- Ask yourself: whose perspectives are you prioritizing? Whose perspectives are you ignoring? Why?
- Article: “Go Ahead, Speak for Yourself” - Kwame Anthony Appiah
July 23: Exploring (Micro)aggressions
Recommended resources:
- Catch up on the news: “Seattle man's '1,000 Cuts' campaign tackles racism and microaggressions” (KING5)
- Read: “Did you really just say that?” - Rebecca Clay (APA Monitor on Psychology)
- Watch: “Why Microaggressions Aren’t So Micro” - Whitney Grinnage-Cassidy (TEDxYouth @UrsulineAcademy)
- Listen: “Microaggressions Are A Big Deal: How To Talk Them Out And When To Walk Away” - Life Kit (NPR)
- For parents: A Kid’s Book About Racism - Jelani Memory
Discussion:
- Poem: “From Citizen, I” - Claudia Rankine
- View 1000 Cuts campaign
- Share types of microaggressions: microassaults, microinsults, microinvalidations
- Share some strategies for responding to microaggressions
Follow-up actions: check out these resources recommended by the group
- Book: Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o (available at KRL)
- Poem: “Within Two Weeks the African American Poet Ross Gay is Mistaken for Both the African American Poet Terrance Hayes and the African American Poet Kyle Dargan, Not One of Whom Looks Anything Like the Others” - Ross Gay
- Interactive game: Killing Me Softly
July 9: Acknowledging Our Biases
Recommended resources:
- Read: “Bias” (National Museum of African American History and Culture) and “Don’t Talk about Implicit Bias Without Talking about Structural Racism” (National Equity Project)
- Watch: “How to Overcome our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them” - Verna Myers (TED)
- Listen: “Speaking of Psychology: Understanding your racial biases” – Speaking of Psychology (American Psychological Association)
Discussion:
- “Our Kind of People” by Bayeté Ross Smith
Follow-up actions:
- Read about some implicit bias interventions (on page #8) from the King County Office of Equity and Social Justice
- Take the Project Implicit test for yourself (with a friend/family member, if possible) and discuss the results
- Explore some of Bayeté Ross Smith’s other works (National Geographic Storytellers Summit 2020)
June 25: What is anti-racism?
Recommended resources:
- Catch up on the news: “Why The Killing of George Floyd Sparked an American Uprising” - Alex Altman (TIME)
- Read: “The American Nightmare” - Ibram X. Kendi (The Atlantic), “What it Means to be Anti-Racist” - Anna North (Vox)
- Watch: “Let's get to the root of racial injustice” - Megan Ming Francis (TEDxRainier)
- Listen: “A Decade Of Watching Black People Die” - Code Switch podcast (NPR)
Discussion:
- What have you found challenging about anti-racist work?
Follow-up actions: check out these resources recommended by the group
- Teaching Tolerance “Speak Up” pocket card
- Unlocking Us with Brené Brown (podcast): Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist
- CNN/Sesame Street racism town hall
- #KidLit4BlackLives virtual rally on YouTube
- Hollaback! Resources for Harassment on the Street, Online, and in the Workplace
- Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man
- Bremerton City Council upcoming meetings
- This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on how to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell (available at KRL)