Real Talk About Racism: Resources for Thought, Reflection, Growth, & Action

As an organization, LMTI is committed to identifying ways to take action around racism, both in our own work environment, and in the ways that we provide services to youth. How will you commit to addressing racism in your own life, and in the work you do in your school or community? What actions can/will you take? How will you show up for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) people in your life, your neighborhood, your school, and your community? What actions can/will you take?


There is a wealth of helpful information out there to help you on this journey, and we've compiled just some of these resources here for you to work through.

We will be updating this list continuously, and if you know of resources that should be on here, please let us know.


Continue to learn and grow. Allow your thoughts and ideas to be challenged. Sit with discomfort. Acknowledge mistakes and learn from them. Lift each other up.


Now, let's get to work- together.

Videos

Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man


Emmanuel Acho gives viewers and guests a place to have the uncomfortable conversations about race that many white people have never been able to have.

Sometimes You're a Caterpillar

Not knowing or taking the time to understand other's experiences is a privilege. Franchesca Ramsey and animator Kat Blaque explain how we can start by listening and believing each other.

Racial Microagressions: Comments That Sting

This NY Times report features college students who share what microaggressions are, and how these statements impact BIPOC.

The Unequal Opportunity Race

This animated film by Erica Pinto was created for the African American Policy Forum, and demonstrates the ways in which obstacles interfere with equality and equity.

What It Takes to Be Racially Literate

Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo traveled to all 50 US states, collecting personal stories about race and intersectionality. Now they're on a mission to equip every American with the tools to understand, navigate and improve a world structured by racial division.

The Danger of a Single Story

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Where Do We Go From Here


In this special conversation in response to the continuing civil unrest in America following the tragic murder of George Floyd, Oprah Winfrey speaks directly with Black leaders, offering insight and tangible plans to answer the following questions: “What matters now? What matters next? Where do we go from here?”

Can Art Amend History?


Artist Titus Kaphar makes paintings and sculptures that wrestle with the struggles of the past while speaking to the diversity and advances of the present. There's a narrative coded in art like this, Kaphar says. What happens when we shift our focus and confront unspoken truths?

The Real Story of Rosa Parks- and Why We Need to Confront Myths About Black History


Equipped with the real story of Rosa Parks, professor David Ikard highlights how making the realities of race more benign and digestible harms us all -- and emphasizes the power and importance of historical accuracy.

Coming to Terms With Racism's Inertia: Ancestral Accountability


When it comes to race relations there is often the argument "Well I didn't own slaves" as a dismissive attempt to separate oneself from the effects and realities of the racial divide in the United States. In this talk Rachel Cargle addresses the modern manifestations of the racism the US was built on and calls for more intentional accountability, allyship and antiracist action.

How To Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Towards Them


Our biases can be dangerous, even deadly. Diversity advocate Verna Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable.

How to Raise a Black Son in America


As kids, we all get advice from parents and teachers that seems strange, even confusing. This was crystallized one night for a young Clint Smith, who was playing with water guns in a dark parking lot with his white friends. In a heartfelt piece, the poet paints the scene of his father's furious and fearful response.

Articles


Books

Young Adult

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds

This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future.

This Book is Anti-Racist

by Tiffany Jewell

Who are you? What is racism? Where does it come from? Why does it exist? What can you do to disrupt it? Learn about social identities, the history of racism and resistance against it, and how you can use your anti-racist lens and voice to move the world toward equity and liberation.

Adult

How To Be An AntiRacist

by Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi's concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America--but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other.

White Fragility

by Robin DiAngelo

White Fragility is a vital, necessary and beautiful book, a bracing call to white folk everywhere to see their whiteness for what it is and to seize the opportunity to make things better now. 

Me and White Supremacy: A 28-Day Challenge to Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor

by Layla F. Saad

Author Layla F. Saad leads readers through a journey of understanding their white privilege and participation in white supremacy, so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on black, indigenous and people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.

Stamped From the Beginning

by Ibram X. Kendi

In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Kendi shows that racist ideas did not arise from ignorance or hatred. They were created to justify and rationalize deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and the nation's racial inequities.

Terms to Know

Ally

Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.) and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. (OpenSource Leadership Strategies, “The Dynamic System of Power, Privilege and Oppressions.”)

Antiracist

A conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily. These choices require ongoing self-awareness and self-reflection as we move through life. In the absence of making antiracist choices, we (un)consciously uphold aspects of white supremacy, white-dominant culture, and unequal institutions and society. Being racist or antiracist is not about who you are; it is about what you do. (National Museum of African American History and Culture, Taking about Race).


BIPOC

Black, Indigenous, People of Color, the term is used to highlight the unique relationship to whiteness that Indigenous and Black (African American) people have, which shapes the experiences of and relationship to white supremacy for all people of color within a U.S. context. (The BIPOC Movement).


Podcasts

“1619” is a New York Times audio series, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, that examines the long shadow of American slavery.



Hosted by journalists of color, "Code Switch" tackles the subject of race head-on. We explore how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between. 

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!