Black Lives Matter -- Resources to Take Action
Harmony Way has supported and worked with people of color, as well as people of all gender identities, economic backgrounds, sexual identities and abilities/disabilities since it was opened in 2009. Everyone is welcome here. We have loved, appreciated and supported diversity, inclusion and social justice since Harmony Way was founded. To say we are outraged and horrified by the state of the criminal justice system and with the inherent racism woven into the fabric of this country is a huge understatement. This is a dire civil and human rights issue. It is time for those who do not identify as people of color to examine themselves and their own white privilege, along with their thoughts, their words, their actions and to get comfortable with their discomfort as they work on healing and growing out of old beliefs and ideas, coming forward to stand in support in any ways that they can with the BIPOC community.
In addition to donating money to many of the organizations and causes listed below, signing petitions, providing education to those who do not identify as people of color and advocating for just and compassionate societal change, Harmony Way is offering professional assistance. If you are a person of color who is taking your power back and recovering from trauma stemming from institutional/police/systemic racism, we pledge any of our services FREE OF CHARGE to help.
First, what can you do to help prevent & stop racially-instigated violence if you don't identify as a person of color (POC)? There are many ways in which you can be of assistance as someone who has experienced white privilege & can provide support. 💖 Here are a few ideas:
1. Listen to & believe POC, especially if they share stories of their own trauma experiences due to racial discrimination/violence. Keep your heart & mind open. Be loving. Be gentle. Be kind. Be respectful. Be generous. Be a safe space. Offer your support.
2. Speak up (loudly, if necessary) when you see something unjust (including racially charged propaganda/aggressive behavior & especially police profiling & brutality). Take action. DON'T be a bystander! If you are a bystander, you are allowing & encouraging racism & violence toward POC.
3. Get involved & volunteer your time & services. You can join a variety of organizations to provide your support & assistance.
4. If you are supporting the community by protesting or attending a rally, help whenever & however you can, especially if anyone is injured by the police. Are you willing to put yourself between the POC who are present & the police to form a barrier of protection? Act in a supportive role for the agenda of those organizing the protest. Don't instigate violence or looting (which could later be wrongly blamed on POC who were present & did not engage in this behavior) & be willing to speak up/advocate for & to protect the POC who are present.
5. Educate others, set a positive example in how you speak to & treat others with respect & stop racist speech when you hear it. Don't be afraid to have uncomfortable conversations. They are necessary sometimes, especially now.
6. Donate to causes & organizations, write letters, make phone calls and sign petitions that are helping POC, such as: Minnesota Freedom Fund, Movement for Black Lives, Poor People's Campaign, NAACP & many others (full list of resources and links below).
7. There are many other things you can do to be of support. The time is NOW to help in any ways that you can to end violence & injustice against marginalized groups.
Below you will find a list of resources to provide your support in whatever way(s) you can. There is also a list of recommended reading/viewing to help with education, compassion and empathy for those who do not identify as people of color. NOW is the time to take civil rights action in support and to change systems that are endemically racist and unjust in our society.
Local Resources (Massachusetts):
National Organizations Where You Can Donate, Learn More & Sign Petitions:
Recommended Viewing/Listening/Reading:
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
Kindred, by Octavia Butler
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Passing, by Nella Larsen
Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in The Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander
Sister Outsider: Essays And Speeches, by Audre Lorde
Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
Fire Shut up in my Bones, by Charles M. Blow
Not Without Laughter, by Langston Hughes
Salvage The Bones, by Jesmyn Ward
How to be Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
Biased: Uncovering The Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What we See, Think, And do, by Jennifer L. Eberhardt
White Fragility: Why It's so Hard For White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo
The Black And The Blue: A Cop Reveals The Crimes, Racism, And Injustice in America's Law Enforcement, by Matthew Horace and Ron Harris
Ain't I a Black Woman: Black Women and Feminism, by bell hooks
From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, by John Hope Franklin
The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
Books for Children/Teens:
The Hate You Give, by Angie Thomas
Not my Idea: by Anastasia Higginbothom
A is For Activist, by Innosanto Nagara
Kid Activists, by Robin Stevenson
Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson
Separate is Never Equal, by Duncan Tonatiuh
Sulwe, by Lupita Nyong'o
Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña
Let the Children March, by Monica Clark-Robinson
Malala's Magic Pencil, by Malala Yousafzai
Recommended Films on Netflix And Elsewhere:
Becoming
The Help
For Colored Girls
Malcolm X
American Son
The Color Purple
Feel Rich
Dear White People
Self-Made: Inspired by The Life of Madam CJ Walker
Selma
Beloved
When They See us
Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See us Now
13th
13th: Conversation With Oprah And Ava DuVernay
A Raisin in The Sun
Just Mercy
Roots
Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce
Nappily Ever After
Precious
Additional Reading/Viewing:
Where We Come From, by Oscar Cásares
The Book of Unknown Americans, by Cristina Henríquez
The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
Taína, by Ernesto Quiñonez
The Grief Keeper, by Alexandra Villasante
Before We Were Free, by Julia Alvarez
Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
Bodega Dreams, by Ernesto Quiñonez
Prayers for the Stolen, by Jennifer Clement
Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez
My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor
Juliet Takes a Breath, by Gabby Rivera
Absentee Indians and Other Poems, by Kimberly Blaeser
Indian Singing in 20th Century America, by Gail Tremblay
The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions, by Paula Gunn Allen
Nothing but the Truth : An Anthology of Native American Literature, by John L. Purdy
Halfbreed, by Maria Campbell
House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday
Smoke Signals, by Sherman Alexie
Native American Literature: An Anthology, by Lawana Trout
An Indigenous Peoples' History of The United States For Young People, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
An Indigenous Peoples' History of The United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
An African American And Latinx History of The United States, by Paul Ortiz
The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America, by Andrés Reséndez
The Refugees, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Native Speaker, by Chang-rae Lee
The Bonesetter's Daughter, by Amy Tan
Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
The Buddha in The Attic, by Julie Otsuka
The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
Edge of America
Native America (PBS)
Reel Injun
Smoke Signals
Stand and Deliver
Quinceañera
Stolen Education
Underwater Dreams
Refugee
Asian Americans (PBS)
The Farewell
The Joy Luck Club
Crazy Rich Asians
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