RACIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE CALENDAR

We invite all Irvington students, parents, faculty, and staff to spend 10 minutes a day for 1 month, starting on Monday, June 22, to become more informed about African American history and racial injustice and take one step closer to becoming an active ally to the black community.

This calendar is adapted from a resource compiled by Autumn Gupta with Bryanna Wallace’s oversight for the purpose of providing a starting place for individuals trying to become better allies.

Over the course of the month, you will have spent 5 hours intentionally learning how to be an active ally of the black community. That’s less than the amount of time it takes to watch all of Tiger King (~ 5.5 hours). It is no longer enough to just be “not racist” — you must put deliberate effort into becoming actively anti-racist, and this calendar is a great first step. Remember, the black community lives the reality of the information you will learn — so while these five hours might bring you some discomfort, it’s your duty to educate yourself and understand the need for drastic change. All the resources and links are also listed below the calendar.

Important Note: This should just be the beginning. Please do not stop learning after you complete this calendar. “Additional Resources” includes other useful content, so go above and beyond to educate yourself.

JUNE

JULY

All The Links:

Watch

• “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” TED Talk
• “Let’s Get to the Root of Racial Injustice” TED Talk
• “How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Towards Them” TED Talk
• “How We’re Priming Some Kids for College and others for prison” TED Talk

Read

• “America’s Racial Contract is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer
• “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Ibram X. Kendi
• The 1619 Project from the New York Times
• “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh
• “The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston
• “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• “Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups” developed by Craig Elliott

Listen

• “Your Body Being Used” CodeSwitch Podcast from NPR ~ 6 min
• “When Civility is Used as a Cudgel Against People of Color” CodeSwitch Podcast NPR ~ 6 min
• “The Power of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Anger” CodeSwitch Podcast NPR ~ 5 min
• “Opinion: My Father Stood for the National Anthem for the Same Reason Colin Kaepernick Sits” CodeSwitch Podcast NPR ~ 4 minutes
• “When Calling the Po-Po is a No-No” CodeSwitch NPR ~ 4 min

Act

• Help reallocate city budgets by defunding the police. The following link leads to Defund12.org which generates an email template pre-populated with elected officials’ emails. Simply fill in some of your information and the body of the message (advocating for defunding the police in that city) is automatically filled in for you. Automatic Email Template Link
• Register to vote! If you are serious about real change, your individual vote does matter. Use this link to register to vote, check your registration, vote by mail, get election reminders, pledge to register if you are <18, find the nearest polling place, and fill out your 2020 census form. Take today’s action a step further by sharing this link with friends and planning time into your schedule to vote in the closest upcoming election - city, state, or national. (Thanks to Pamela Duncan for this suggestion!)
• Google whether your city or town currently employs evidence-based police de-escalation training. The racial make-up of your town doesn’t matter — This needs to be standard everywhere. Write to your city or town government representative and police chief and advocate for it. Multiply your voice by soliciting others to advocate as well, writing on social media about it, writing op-eds, etc.

1. (Source: 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice)

• Donate to anti-white supremacy work such as your local Black Lives Matter Chapter, the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, the NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, United Negro College Fund, Black Youth Project 100, Color of Change, The Sentencing Project, Families against Mandatory Minimums, A New Way of Life, and Dream Defenders. Join some of these list-serves and take action as their emails dictate.

1. (Source: 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice)

• If you or a friend is an educator, buy said friend books that feature POC as protagonists and heroes, no matter the racial make-up of the class. A few good lists are here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And/or purchase educational toys that feature POC, such as finger puppets, Black History Flashcards, etc for their classroom. Use these items year-round, not just in February. The racial make-up of students doesn’t matter — kids of every race need to know American history and be exposed to people from different races, religions, and countries. If the friend is interested, buy them for your pal’s classroom. Don’t be shy to ask Facebook friends that you haven’t actually talked to in ten years.

1. (Source: 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice)

Additional Resources:

• Most of the links in this doc were pulled from: Anti-Racism Resources and 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice
• IUFSD Racial Justice Resources
• Black Lives Matter: Ways You Can Help
• Read the stories of African American Irvington students, both past and present, on the student-run “Black At Irvington” Instagram page.