Mixtape Vol. 12—DO SOMETHING!
Real racial progress will be made when white action (not just white outrage) is in proportion to the social, economic, political, and cultural advantages the oppression of the black people has afforded white people.—Gene Durnell
Do something! In supporting Black Lives and Black Bodies we need more than thoughts and prayers, flat hashtags, marches, and social media swag. Change requires action! Advocacy: Speak up. Learn: Read, unlearn, share, repeat. Challenge companies and organizations announcing BLM solidarity check rosters are POC’s in Sr level positions/on the board, do their policies reflect equity - Do something!
The murder of George Floyd forced the millions connected to cannabis- whether as advocates, growers, retailers, journalists, patents, or consumers- to take a hard look at our mission, our work, our achievements, our failures, and our responsibilities.
leafly.com/news/politics/cannabis-and-americas-civil-uprising-its-time-to-answer-the-knock-at-the-door
The Black Lives Matter movement is forcing a reckoning across America—and in the cannabis industry. In a field built on a history of Black oppression, too few legal companies are Black-owned and Black-managed. And too few Black staff members are truly heard. leafly.com/news/industry/heres-how-to-start-fixing-racism-in-cannabis-dispensaries?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email_news&utm_campaign=newsletter_061320_us_sat
Allyship: what does it mean, what does it look like?
1. Don’t demand that those you are supporting produce proof of the inequality they are working to resist. (it’s retraumatizing) 2. Do recognize that the shield of your privilege may blind you to the experience of others of injustice. 3. Don’t offer up your relationship with a member of the marginalized group as evidence of your understanding. 4. Do be open to learning and expanding your consciousness by listening more and talking less. (learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable) 5. Don’t see yourself as the Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves. Or Tom Cruise in The Last Samari. You are not the savior riding to the rescue on a white horse. Do notice that you are joining a group of people who are already working to save themselves. 6. Do realize the only requirement you need to enter ally-ship is a commitment (and action) to justice and human equality. - Melissa Harris Perry
7. Recognize the best way to be good allies is to work among your own people (white people) to create more allies. Too frequently, white allies think we are inviting them to come into our communities to affirm account of racist acts and structures. We are really asking 1) affirm that account boldly among other white people 2) us their privilege to confront racial injustices when they see them happening, whether in grocery store or the boardroom – Brittany Cooper
8. When using social media, tweeting, Facebook, IG remember you are making choices about words and the stories we tell about race. What are you noticing about headlines when the police kill another black teenager? Is the teen described as a kid on his way to college or aa a “black male”? We are trafficking in racial ideology 24-7 online – and that we can change the direction of these conversations every time we hit “comment” – Daisy Hernandez (more than hashtags)
9. Children, even young children can hear about race, talk to them. Don’t wait until they encounter a problem at school, among friends, or hear about something in the news to engage then on the subject of difference. Teach them that multiculturalism and diversity aren’t just the food, costumes, holidays, and a few brown faces in a classroom to break up the whiteness. Expose them to books, TV and movies featuring people of color as protagonists and heroes. – Sylvia Chan
Lift your Spirits Listen to Music
Music changes the energy in the room. Hook up, turn on, pump up the volume, push play and get ready to groove. The “Keep the Faith” playlist is 37 inspirational songs, gospel, R&B, jazz and pop music artists (three hours of fun!)
-Tracy E. Hopkins
Articles / Books
It's Not Obesity. It's Slavery. (May 25, New York Times)
A Window Onto An American Nightmare (ft. GLIDE) (May 25, The New Yorker)
Podcast: Mildred Nash - Eight Children and a Giving Hand (interview led by Katie Hafner, who planned to join us in Alabama this past year but had to couldn't make it due to personal issues.) (May 26, Our Mothers Our Selves)
How White Women Use Themselves as Instruments of Terror (May 27, New York Times)
Roxane Gay: Remember, No One is Coming to Save Us (May 30, New York Times)
How to Be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi
So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
The New Jim Crow- Michelle Alexander
Resources for Parents
Embrace Race: In My Skin, Supporting Positive Racial Identity Development in Black Children
Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture:Talking About Race.
Association of Black Psychologists: Five Star Family Enhancement Plan for COVID-19
American Psychological Society: Racial Stress and Self-Care
Common Sense Media: How white parents can use media to raise anti-racist kids
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
Common Sense Media: Award Winning African American Books
Common Sense Media: Coretta Scott King Book award winners
Embrace Race: Read-aloud books for raising a brave generation
Books that inspire resilience in kids of color
Books that encourage kids of all colors to be inclusive and empathetic
Books that support kids to think critically about racial inequity
Books that animate kids (and their adults!) to be racial justice advocates for all kids
Heise Reads & Recommends - 100 picture books that include Black people and communities