We are taking action across all of our platforms to learn from and amplify the messages of the black lives matter movement.
Black lives matter. There is a lot we as white people can, and must do to act against racism in all of its forms. This is our work to do. We understand that the surge of activism during the past few weeks is only one chapter in a lifetime of steps towards meaningful change.
Here are some steps we have taken this past week to do better. We are sharing with hope these steps will make a small contribution towards a broader and deeper anti-racism effort from coast to coast.
Wishing you peace and care.
Read these books
- The Bluest Eye
- Beloved
- Straight Licks and Crooked Sticks
Fund
- Black Youth Helpline
- Justice for Regis
- Homeless Black Trans Women Fund
- Black-led Mental Health Supports
- Provost Farms: Cultivating Equity
Demand
We wrote to a publisher of children's workbooks (Caractere) to demand more diverse representation among its characters (don't even get us started on this one). We will strive to share stories of diverse parenthood and postpartum experiences and to represent positive images of visible minority lives in our content.
Hear
Learn
- Take a test to learn about your implicit bias and some steps you can take to work against it here.
- If you're white, discover your stage of white identity development and steps you can take here.
- Refer to this resource on how to be an ally.
- Watch 13th on Netflix. Question how Canada's penal system is similar or different.
Discuss
Along with our nearest and dearest we have broken the whitewashed nature of a few of our closest white-dominant friend circles. Our weekly virtual friend hangout has transformed into three hour long seminars to share what we have learned and how we can do better. It has been a deeply connecting and vulnerable experience. In other spaces we're committing and supporting one another in the straight up uncomfortable work of calling out racist rhetoric.
Thank you for reading and for sharing further resources, corrections, clarifications... We remain students.
