Black Lives Matter: Anti-Racism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists

Anti-Racism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists

This post provides a roundup of free anti-racism webinars on-demand, as well as a few resources for people of color such as racial wound healing and therapy/funds dedicated to POC, and many recommended anti-racism books, articles, toolkits, YouTube videos, movies/TV shows, podcasts and self-care resources for all.

During this extremely difficult time, please know that I stand in solidarity with the protests that are happening in New York, Minneapolis, and all over the country (and world). My heart goes out to the friends, families, and victims who have suffered so greatly.

I have much to learn to become an anti-racist and am finding Dr Ibrahim’s Anti-Racism (or how to become an anti-racist) adapted chart below with some ideas pulled from Ibram X. Kendi’s work (from a COVID chart, original author unknown) very helpful in this regard. I need to not only educate myself, but also take more concrete actions such as speaking out when I see racism in action.

To assist in the endeavor for myself and my fellow social workers and therapists, I’ve put together a round-up of various anti-racism resources. Below are several webinars to assist us in taking action!

Please feel free to share any additional helpful finds in the comments section of this post. Also check back often because I’m updating it as I find more gems.

Chart was adapted by Andrew M. Ibrahim MD, MSc from “Who Do I Want to Be During COVID-19” chart (original author unknown) with some ideas pulled from Ibram X. Kendi’s work.

Free Anti-Racism Webinars

• For AAPI Anti-Racism Resources, please see #StandWithAAPI: Anti-Asian Racism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists

• Knee on Our Neck: Living While Black in America – Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice/June 7 – click on link to see replay of talk.
• Solidarity Convos: AAPIs for Black Lives – Asian Pacific Institute/June 8 – “What can we do to make sure our Black communities can breathe without fear?… How can minority communities band together to wipe down white supremacy and systemic racism?… click on link for replay“
• No More Silence: Tools for White People Who Want to Actively Fight Racism – TAGT/June 8 – “practical tools needed to transform from a mere ally to a true co-collaborator in the fight against racism… click on link for replay…“
• Treating Mental Health in the Black Community – Simple Practice/June 9 – “current and historical impacts on mental health, including ways that all mental health professionals can listen and respond to the needs of the Black community.” Click on link to see recording.
• Listening to You about the Ongoing “Racism Pandemic” – APA/June 9 – “opportunity to engage, to provide recommendations, share your thoughts, ideas and questions… click on link for replay… no CE… replay of June 4th talk on this topic”
• White People’s Work to End Racism – Showing Up for Racial Justice/June 9 – “White people have an important role and responsibility for being part of a multi-racial movement to end racism and win collective liberation… click on link for replay“
• Racism: The Ultimate Underlying Condition – American Public Health Association/June 9 – “the multiple levels on which racism operates… physiological impacts of racism and discrimination on health… principles for and barriers to achieving health equity…click on link for recording, slides and transcript“
• Race, Police, and Unarmed Civilian Deaths: What Can Be Done? – Pitt Center on Race & Social Problems/June 10 – click on link for replay.
• Difficult Conversations with Jelani Memory, Author of “A Kids Book About Racism – TAGT/June 10 at 1:30PM EST – “kids and adults permission to talk about such a difficult topic… click on link for replay“
• Drive Real Change in Diversity & Inclusion – NeuroLeadership Institute/June 11 – “join Khalil Smith as he reviews the cognitive science of bias and inclusion… click on link for replay… Take the focus off of difference handout“
• Promoting Organizational and Self-care Strategies for African Americans – National Council/June 11 – “ways in which allies can create courageous spaces to support African American staff and colleagues, and how to build in organizational training and support mechanisms to establish responsive workplaces…click on link to watch recording“
• Black Lives Matter, Protest and Creating Change – Columbia University/June 11 – “addressing racial injustice in our society and the ways in which we can individually and collectively achieve transformative change…click on link for replay…”
• “I Can’t Breathe: Understanding Cultural Trauma, Grief & Mourning Experienced by African Americans” – BASWC Academy/June 11 – “gain a deeper understanding of African American’s history of trauma in America… why African Americans are struggling to breathe and differentiate grieving and mourning… strategies… to help African Americans cope effectively with their justifiable anger and prolonged psychological trauma… click on link for replay and here for powerpoint presentation“
• Free Mental Health Webinars for June 2020 – SWC – also check this list for webinars of interest.
• Allyship: My Unlearning, Calling Myself Out, & Sharing Actionable Steps – /June 12 – “click on link for replay... enter name and email address for access… Come unlearn. Come be better. Come call me out and yourself out. Come give the black and POC communities a break on educating us, they’re tired, y’all… resource guide…”
• Racism in Canada: Covid and Beyond – Pearson Centre/June 12 – “Rather than hide from our problems, this is the time to lay them bare and address them. This panel will bring together various perspectives to the discussion… focus on solutions… click on link for replay“
• White Fragility: A FAN Webinar with Robin DiAngelo, Ph.D. – June 12 – “White fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves… click on link for recording“
• Race and Equity in Child and Family Serving Systems – CEBC/June 15 – “ways that employees can cultivate equity and inclusion among themselves, in order to better serve children and families… click on link for recording and slides.
• How Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity Impact Treatment of Trauma – NCTSN/June 18 – “importance of open conversations related to the roundtable topics as well as the impacts of recent events that have brought racism to the forefront… 1.5 CEs… click on link for replay“
• Addressing Racism: A Call to Action for Higher Education – Columbia University/June 18 – “how we can leverage our collective strengths as an institution of higher education to address this fundamental challenge… click on link for replay“
• Inequality, Vulnerability, and Health Justice: Learning from the Pandemic – Columbia SPS/Aug 5  – perspectives from Texas, Colorado and New York on learning from COVID-19 to work toward justice in health, focusing on Black health, immigrant health and the role of health systems…click on link for replay“
• Stand Against Racism: Voting in a Time of Crisis – Tennessee Human Rights Commission & Metro Human Relations Commission/June 24 – “advocate for our most vulnerably positioned community members to have access to the ballot… click on link for recording“
• Supporting the Resilience of Black Men: Culturally Affirming and Responsive Approaches – BRSS TACS/June 25 at 2PM EST – “conversation about the experiences of Black men with mental illness, substance use disorder (SUD), or both… current research… best practices and promising strategies for supporting the recovery of Black men…”
• Impact of Racism and Trauma on Black Mental Health – NAMI/June 25 – “the historical context of individually mediated and systemic racism towards Black people… mental implications of racism and trauma on Black people within the United States… click link for recording and here for presentation slides“
• A Conversation on Race and Racism – University of Utah/June 29 – “ways… come together to create a more inclusive environment for everyone…” click on link for recording.
• Congressional Briefing: Black Lives Matter: Social Work and the Future of Policing – Center for Social Development/June 30  – “hear from social work and criminal justice scholars as well as law enforcement about models for transformation… click on link for recording“
• Social Work So White – SWCAREs/June 30 – discussion with public academic, writer, and lecturer Rachel Cargle… intersection of white supremacy and social work… click on link for recording“
• Upstream, Same River? Rethinking the Bones of our System – North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault/June 30 – “upstream prevention alone is not always enough to build equity into our systems and why we must take a groundwater approach to violence prevention if we want to end sexual violence… click on link for recording“

Anti-Racism Webinars On-Demand

• Hey, White Therapist, Here’s Where We Start – Clearly Clinical – 1 CE podcast… Practical, compassionate guidance for white therapists wanting to be more effective in their work with people of color…” 
• How Racism Impacts those We Serve and How We Serve: Are We Meeting Participants Where They Are? – McSilver Institute – 1 CE  – “history of racism, how it impacts participants, and what organizations can do to reduce structural barriers for individuals impacted by racism and discrimination…”
• Identity, Bias, and Cultural Humility: Connecting to Ourselves and Others – McSilver Institute – “cultural humility…
  Understanding one’s own identity… Recognizing your biases… Recommendations and practice guidelines, including best practices for cultural humility…”
• Legacies of Pain and Resilience: Clinical Implications for Understanding Historical Trauma and Race – McSilver Institute – 1 CE  – “Historical Trauma (HT) refers to the psychological distress experienced by survivors or descendants of human initiated acts of oppression… importance of resilience in helping individuals and communities recover and cope with HT…”
• Microaggressions and the Therapeutic Alliance: Exploring Ethnically and Racially Diverse Clinician-Participant Relationships – McSilver Institute – 1 CE – “common instances of microaggressions and strategies for how clinicians can challenge racial stereotypes to more effectively work with participants of color…”
• Racial Injustice and Trauma: How Therapists Can Respond – Pesi and Psychotherapy Networker – two 1-hr panel discussions…how we can bring issues of race into therapy, and how we can address racial disparities in our field and professional communities…”
• Race-based Traumatic Stress and Psychological Injury – McSilver Institute – “race-based traumatic stress, ways of working with participants who have experienced racism, and implications for the assessment of trauma beyond the DSM-5…”
• The Role of Racial Trauma in Psychotherapy – McSilver Institute – 1 CE – “role of race and racial identity in the therapeutic relationship, and offer best practices for clinicians working with persons of color…”
• Social Work, White Supremacy, and Racial Justice Symposium – UHGCSW – “Social work has a complex history of upholding White supremacy alongside a goal to achieve racial justice. Moreover, our profession simultaneously practices within racist systems and works to dismantle them. In the wake of a fervent #BlackLivesMatter movement and persistent racial disparities in key social welfare institutions, these paradoxes have come to the forefront of discussion in academic and practice circles… reimagine an anti-racist future.”
• Understanding Structural & Institutional Racism – BUSSW – “3 hour free online course… expand your knowledge of the interlocking social systems and ideology that are the foundations of racial inequality in our society.”

Paid Trainings Offered by POC

• Healing from Internalized Whiteness – Re-Becoming Human – Sandra Kim’s 10-week online training for white allies committed to racial justice and collective liberation… shift from just an intellectual knowing into an embodied understanding – gained from actually doing the practices repeatedly… between $197 to $497 depending on income”

Some Resources for People of Color

Healing Racial Wounding

• 44 Mental Health Resources for Black People Trying to Survive in This Country – Zahra Barnes/Self – “a list of resources that may help if you’re looking for mental health support that validates and celebrates your Blackness…”
• Black Therapists Rock –  “Within the community, members can share their experiences, build relationships, and occasionally vent… Wednesday’s at 7PM EST”
• Community Healing Network – “organization focused exclusively on building the global grassroots movement for emotional emancipation—mobilizing Black people across the Diaspora to heal from, and end, the trauma caused by the most powerful weapon ever formed against us: the lie that we are inferior.”
• Emotional Emancipation Circle is a free biweekly online healing space for Black people, led by Erika Totten, the co-instigator of Black Lives Matter DC.
• Ethel’s Club –  “wellness and workout sessions, livestreamed classes and salons… $17/month subscription… healing spaces that center and celebrate people of color through conversation, wellness and creativity…”
• Grounding Gatherings – Sandra Kim’s free weekly circle for BIPOC wanting to get grounded and be together during these burning times… Every Tuesday at 7 – 8:30 pm ET…”
• How Restorative Yoga Can Help Heal Racial Wounding – “A focus on breath while silently repeating “I breathe in rest, I breathe out resilience” supports balancing the nervous system…”
• Academics for Black Survival and Wellness – resources for Black people to heal in community including a week long survival week Friday, June 19 – Thursday, June 25, 2020 < weeklong personal and professional development initiative for academics to honor the toll of racial trauma on Black people, resist anti-Blackness and white supremacy, and facilitate accountability and collective action.
• Mending Racialized Trauma: A Body Centered Approach — Resmaa Menakem/Connectfulness – “Resmaa shares that in order to mend racialized trauma we need to move the conversation from race to culture and cultivate a somatic abolitionist mindset and community…”
• Racial Anxiety Relief – Tapping Meditation – The Tapping Solution – “resource created with our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community in mind… The pain we are feeling is justified, and our bodies still need a break… we need to take care of ourselves so that we can connect to our own power…”
• Responding To Biased or Offensive Comments – H/T Jessica Isom MD MPH – Diane J. Goodman – “There is no one right way to respond. Deciding how to respond depends on the situation, the context, the people involved, and your mood, among other things. Part of the challenge in responding effectively is determining what is right for you and the other person in that situation…”
• Rights If a Family Member or Friend is Arrested – O’Mara Law Group – “guide includes information about the steps to take after the arrest, what their rights are, and what to be aware of if your loved one has mental health issues or disabilities, if they are a minor, and more.”
• Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People article – Kelsey Blackwell/The Arrow – “need places in which… can gather and be free from the mainstream stereotypes and marginalization that permeate every other societal space…”
• TherapyforBlackGirls Podcast – specifically
  • Session 21 – How Racism Impacts Our Mental Health
  • Session 27 – Mental Health and Terrorism
  • Session 42 – Race-Related Stress
  • Session 46 – Mental Health Needs of Activists
  • Session 49 – Angry Black Women
  • Session 134 – Impact of Racial Trauma
  • Session 148 – Talking to Kids About Race

Therapy/Funds Dedicated to People of Color

• Black Virtual Therapist Directory – BEAM – If you are a mental health provider that offers telemental health services, add your listing.
• CT Therapists and Healing Practitioners of Color – Janelle Posey-Green – The trauma of racism and how one local social worker is helping the black community cope.
• Loveland Therapy Fund – provides financial assistance to Black women and girls nationally seeking therapy.
• Representation Matters in Social Work: We Need More Black Therapists – Relando Thompkins-Jones – “Must practitioners always share the same identities of the people they support? No. Are understanding identities and their connection to power, privilege and oppression in relation to others important? Yes.”
• Sharing Hope: Speaking with African Americans about Mental Health – NAMI – “hour-long presentation that can help increase mental health awareness in African American communities…”
• Therapy for Black Men – “African Americans are 20% more likely to have serious psychological distress than whites are… directory to help men of color in their search for a therapist…”
• Trauma Healing Fund for Black Folks – Project Lets provides microgrants of up to $150… prioritize Disabled, queer, and trans Black folks…”

Created by Jane Mount

Resources For Self-Education About Racism in The US

Recommended Books H/T @janemount [see her above image for more books] (affiliate links)

A few questions to consider after reading H/T to Natalie McCabe Zwerger :

How did [what you read or watched] impact how you engage, relate, react, speak, love?

How did it impact how you work, supervise, manage, receive feedback, participate?

What did it prompt you to do, read, watch, and learn next?

What did it show you that you need to spend more time learning? How are you doing that now?

• American-born Foreigner: A Black Woman’s Story H/T and by Sherryl Nadine Weston – “part memoir and part social commentary from the perspective of a multicultural Baby Boomer… storytelling toward self-reflection for activist-minded people… ideas for deeper academic research, policy changes…”
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehesi Coates – (from the NYT review: written in the form of a letter to a black teenage boy… Coates emphasizes over and over the apparent permanence of racial injustice in America, the foolishness of believing that one person can make a change, and the dangers of believing in the American Dream…”
• Biased: : Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt – “A bias for our own cohort… is a built-in feature of the human brain; it is not in itself a marker of racism, sexism, or any other -ism. The extent to which that bias remains somewhat benign, or instead metastasizes into an active bias against another cohort, is more often a product of the prevailing norms and cultures in which we are raised…” from Washington Independent.
• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald – (from Harvard book review: “hidden biases are revealed through hands-on experience… glimpse into what lies within the metaphoric blindspot – the Implicit Association Test… allow well-intentioned people to better achieve that alignment…”
• Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination by Alondra Nelson – University of Minnesota Press has made this free to read online… “The Black Panther Party’s health activism—its network of free health clinics, its campaign to raise awareness about genetic disease, and its challenges to medical discrimination—was an expression of its founding political philosophy and also a recognition that poor blacks were both underserved by mainstream medicine and overexposed to its harms…”
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein – “We have created a caste system in this country, with African-Americans kept exploited and geographically separate by racially explicit government policies,” he writes. “Although most of these policies are now off the books, they have never been remedied and their effects endure.” from NYT book review.
• Embodying Antiracist Allyship: A Workshop for Non-Black Allies – North Node Organization – monthly on second Sundays 2-4PM EST – “space for non-Black people to do the real work of dismantling their racism. You will be invited to awaken to painful truths about the white supremacist beliefs that operate within yourself and the spaces you occupy. With radical compassion and self-acceptance, you will be guided on the first steps of a lifelong journey of dismantling these destructive and traumatizing systems of belief and power.”
• Have Black Lives Ever Mattered by Mumia Abu-Jamal – “essays that draw attention to lesser-known victims of police violence, particularly women of color whose stories never reached the mainstream media…” from Publishers Weekly
• How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi – “At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value… see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves…” Also listen to Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist
• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson – “memoir, aggregates and personalizes the struggle against injustice in the story of one activist lawyer…. evil can be overcome, a difference can be made…” from NYT book review
• The Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation (Justice and Peacebuilding) by Thomas Norman DeWolf – H/T STAR training – “Coming to the Table’s approach to a continuously evolving set of purposeful theories, ideas, experiments, guidelines, and intentions, all dedicated to facilitating racial healing and transformation…”
• Me and White Supremacy: A 28-Day Challenge to Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad – H/T NYU Silver – “stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on black, indigenous and people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too…”
• Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out by Ruth King – “Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture… we recognize our thoughts and feelings as they arise. We don’t push them away. Or judge ourselves for having them. They are simply what the mind constantly produces. So we allow them to come and go. But we critically investigate them, too…”  from book review
• Racism in the United States: Implications for the Helping Professions by Joshua Miller – H/T Shimon Cohen – “I cannot stress enough how great this book is. Clear and easy to understand. So great for educators looking for antiracism texts for classes…”
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo – “How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist?… How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?… honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life…”
• Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi – “racist thought is alive and well in America – more sophisticated and more insidious than ever… if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society…”
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander – “how the US justice system works against black people… If Jim Crow was an effective means of controlling the black population, then modern mass incarceration, Alexander argues, is its successor… from the Guardian“
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele – “what it means to be a Black woman in America… transformed her personal pain into political power, giving voice to a people suffering inequality and a movement fueled by her strength and love to tell the country—and the world—that Black Lives Matter… from MacMillian Publishers“

Juneteenth

• Celebrating Juneteenth with Tools for Support, Understanding, and Solidarity – Greater Good – “African Americans celebrate emancipation from slavery… please help with the work of building a society where everyone’s humanity is recognized and upheld…”
• How companies and individuals can use Juneteenth to practice active allyship – Fast Company – “June 19th is a celebration of freedom. By more broadly recognizing it as such, we can bring attention to an essential part of U.S. history and spark important conversations about what work we have left to do to truly realize freedom for Black folks…”
• Juneteenth Celebration – NYT – “As someone who has celebrated Juneteenth for a long time, I think we need it now — not in lieu of the freedom, justice and equality we are still fighting for — but in addition, because we have been fighting for so very long…”

Articles

• 6 Things White People Can Do To Reach Friends and Family Members to End Racism – Kimberly Dark/Everyday Feminism – “o things that make sense for your interests and personality… Learn about the actual circumstances of people of color in the U.S. and then talk about what you’ve learned…”
• 10 Ways Teachers Can Fight Racism and Teach Tolerance – Jeanne Croteau/WeAreTeachers – “get and stay informed… speak up… give your class a diversity audit… bring empathy into your classroom…”
• The assumptions of white privilege and what we can do about it – NCR – “understand the difference between being uncomfortable and being threatened… The only reason for racism’s persistence is that white people continue to benefit from it…Stay in the discomfort, the anxiety, the guilt, the shame, the anger… only when white people become upset enough to declare, “This cannot and will not be!” — only then will real change begin to become a possibility…”
• The Case for Reparations – Ta-Nehisi Coates/The Atlantic – “Having been enslaved for 250 years… In the North, legislatures, mayors, civic associations, banks, and citizens all colluded to pin black people into ghettos… Something more than moral pressure calls America to reparations… All of our solutions to the great problems of health care, education, housing, and economic inequality are troubled by what must go unspoken…”
• A Civil Rights Expert Explains the Social Science of Police Racism – Lydia Denworth/Scientific American – “we enslaved people, black people. To hold people in bondage as property, you had to look at them as less than human. You see that continuing to happen today in [what] I refer to as the criminal legal system… I think we all need to admit that it’s not a few bad apples; it’s a rotten apple tree…”
• Code of Ethics for White Anti-Racists – Good Men Project – “Acknowledge our racial privilege (in general and in our anti-racism work)… Develop/deepen our connections to people and communities of color to help maintain anti-racist accountability… Be prepared to alter our approach if and when people of color give feedback or criticism about our methods and practices…“
• Dear White People: Let’s not continue to be our ancestors – Natalie McCabe Zwerger/Everyday Race – “This is the time for our call to action, for us to explicitly and intentionally demonstrate to Black people that we understand the weight of our racism, the weight of our privilege, the weight of our ignorance…”
• The Difference Between First-Degree Racism and Third-Degree Racism – John Rice/Atlantic – “policing black citizens much differently than whites… calling somebody the N-word to show them who is boss… racism in the first degree… opposing or turning one’s back on anti-racism efforts… racism in the second degree…”
• Dinah, Put Down Your Horn: Blackface Minstrel Songs Don’t Belong in Music Class – Katya Ermolaeva/Gen Medium – ““Oh! Susanna,” “Jimmy Crack Corn,” and “Camptown Races”… these songs (and many others) have racist roots in the tradition of blackface minstrelsy…”
• ‘Discomfort is part of change’: How to be an ally in fighting anti-black racism – Adina Bresge/Canadian Press – “ongoing commitment to educating yourself about anti-black racism and your role within it, listening to and amplifying black voices and speaking up when they go unheard…”
• A History of Race and Racism in America, in 24 Chapters – NYT – “the most influential books on race and the black experience published in the United States for each decade of the nation’s existence — a history of race through ideas, arranged chronologically on the shelf…”
• How Amy Cooper and George Floyd represent two versions of racism that black Americans face every day – The Washington Post – “Few would call themselves racist, and yet we see the inequality all around us… Economic exclusion is the engine of inequality…”
• How to Be A Racial Transformer – Youthrex/Colorlines – “helpful infographic… watch out for coded racism and expose it… dig in and do the work – not just talk – of racial justice…”
• How to Fight Racial Bias, According to a Stanford Psychologist – Next Big Idea Club – “series of [free] short videos… Dr. Jennifer L. Eberhardt shares the science of how bias really works, and what we can do to overcome it…”
• How to Increase Your Empathy – Six Seconds – “5 practical tips to increase your empathy in any situation…”
• How to Support the Protests and Fight for Racial Justice – Idealist – “If you’re joining the protests, it’s important to know how to stay safe and to know your rights… seeking out a mutual aid group near you is a great way to get involved…”
• I Don’t Need ‘Love’ Texts From My White Friends – Chad Sanders/NYT – “When you text me and tell me you’re “just thinking of me” because this fear is momentarily evident to you after seeing the atrocities depicted on CNN, you create work for me. You invite me to… tell you that it’s not your fault and that you are special. That attacks my dignity. That dehumanizes me…”
• A Letter To White Women Who Keep Asking What They Can Do To Combat Racism From A Black Woman – Geri Brown – “It’s the inwardly “indifferent” racists that scare the living bleep out of me. The ones who tout, online that they support black and brown people but in reality only practice indifference towards them…”
• Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale – Camara Phyllis Jones – “framework for understanding racism on 3 levels: institutionalized, personally mediated, and internalized… allegory about a gardener with 2 flower boxes… how to intervene to mitigate the impacts of racism on health…”
• Moving from Cultural Competence to Antiracism – NICABM – “validate your clients’ experiences, emotions, perceptions… it is their moment. Its also a moment to review your own emotions , experiences and perceptions- and to take ownership…”
• Now Is the Time for a Rights-Based Approach to Social Work Practice – Jane McPherson – “Through a rights-based lens, we see that in many societies access to healthcare, unemployment benefits, housing, social security, education, etc.—the social and economic rights first promised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations 1948)—are actually privileges reserved for some rather than rights guaranteed to all…”
• An open letter to my nonblack friends: My life matters more than your comfort – Nicole Ruthmarie Watkins/
  The Lily – “Your black friend is tired of educating you… Your black friend is tired of reading status after status about being “shocked and surprised” that racism is still this bad… Your silence, your need to be a devil’s advocate, your white allyship without work is no longer acceptable…”
• Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here’s What to Do Instead) – Holiday Phillips/Forge – “Act with your wallet… Simply “saying stuff” is easy. You know what’s hard?… Calling out other white people when they say something clearly racist…”
• The Politics of Empathy and Race – Susan Lanzoni/Psychology Today – “Today we are witnessing the unbearable cost of empathy’s absence in national politics and in American society… we must translate empathy’s moral vision into specific policies to empower those who for so long have endured the evils of racism…”
• Race Matters: How to Talk Effectively About Race – SWC – “Kenneth Hardy, Ph.D…10 Underlying Principles to Consider… Power is relational, contextual and inequitably distributed… Draw distinction between intention and consequences…”
• Racism: Educate Yourself. Speak Up. Here’s How. – Rabbi Jill Zimmerman – “This is the moment to stand up for justice for all and quash systemic racism. Whether you are on the streets protesting, or at home because of Covid19 or other health issues, each one of us can do something…”
• Racism is America’s Human Stain; Black Lives Matter – Mildred “Mit” Joyner – “learn more about institutional and systemic racism… it will assist you as a social worker to lead meaningful conversations in communities, at the workplace… to effectively advocate for those we have committed to serve…”
• A Timeline of Events That Led to the 2020 ‘Fed Up’-rising – The Root – [strong language alert]… starting in 1619…”
• Understanding Racism and its Connection to Sexual and Domestic Violence – “including WCSAP’s free eLearning Unit… introduce learners to racial dynamics in the United States…”
• What Anti-racist Teachers Do Differently – McKamey/Atlantic – “Anti-racist teachers take black students seriously. They create a curriculum with black students in mind, and they carefully read students’ work to understand what they are expressing…”
• What it really means to be an anti-racist, and why it’s not the same as being an ally – Hillary Hoffower/Business Insider – “Anti-racism is an active and conscious effort to work against [the] multi-dimensional aspects of racism…one is either racist or anti-racist: There is no room for neutrality and there is no such thing as a “non-racist…”
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism – Robin DiAngelo/Good Men Project – “Our socialization renders us racially illiterate… While individual whites may be against racism, they still benefit from the distribution of resources controlled by their group… We experience a challenge to our racial worldview as a challenge to our very identities as good, moral people…”
• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack – Peggy McIntosh – “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege…I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me…”
• The White Space – Elijah Anderson – “Overwhelmingly white neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, restaurants, and other public spaces remain. Blacks perceive such settings as “the white space,” which they often consider to be informally “off limits” for people like them…”
• Why Are African Americans Struggling To Breathe? – Dwayne Buckingham/RHCS – “We are struggling to breathe because some Americans are well-intentioned, but are naïve about the stronghold and negative impact of racism…”

Blacks in Academia

How to Talk to Our Kids About Racism and Anti-Racism

• CNN/Sesame Street racism town hall – “Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms takes questions along with CNN’s Van Jones and Erica Hill about how to combat racism, and shares a message with kids about how to make a change”
• Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News – Child Mind Institute – “validate their feelings… don’t avoid talking about it… be clear, direct and factual…Even with young children, use clear language… say: “This is about the way that white people treat black people unfairly.”… also a talk between two experts“
• Raising Antiracist Kids: Ibram X. Kendi with Derecka Purnell.
• Talking to kids about race – Heather Greenwood Davis/National Geographic – “Children as young as three years old are aware of race and skin color, and they aren’t afraid to ask questions… listen for… any value judgments kids may be unknowingly placing on those differences, and then gently correct them…”
• Why white parents need to do more than just talk to their kids about racism – Margaret A. Hagerman/Time – “Rather than focusing solely on what they say to kids about race, white parents should think more critically and carefully about how what they do on an everyday basis may actually reproduce the very racist ideas and forms of racial inequality that they say they seek to challenge…”

Anti-Racism Resources/Guides/Toolkits

• 21 Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge – Debby Irving – “For 21 days, do one action to further your understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity…”
• 21 Day Racial Equity Habit Challenge – Elisha Goldstein – “In less than 10 minutes a day you’ll be given curated content to either watch, listen to, read, notice or act on. This will unlock one day at a time so you only need to pay attention and reflect on one thing a day…”
• Afrofuturism – Amplifying Black Futures and Voices: A Resource for Change Workers – Social Work Futures – “Afrofuturism can connect the problems we experience now with the past, our current reality and futures yet to be determined, but vibrant, living and robust…”
• Anti-Black Racism Resources for Autism Clinicians – MSU Autism Lab – “intersection of anti-Black racism and autism services…some concrete recommendations and resources… to address anti-Black racism.”
• Anti-Racist Research Practices and the Value of Teach-Ins – H/T Dan Hirschman – “A group of amazing @BrownSociology grads led a teach-in at @PSTC_Brown, and they produced a fantastically useful list of anti-racist research practices.”
• Being an Upstander: Racism – Diversity Best Practices – “Speaking Up Against Injustice IQEE… interrupt [Excuse me, can I just clarify what I think I heard?]… question [why do you feel that way?]… educate [I’d like to share a different perspective]… echo [when someone else speaks up, echo and reinforce]…”
• Black History Month Library – Charles Preston – tons of pdfs of valuable resources.
• Black History Month NY Public Library – “Biographies and memoirs uncover the life stories and enduring legacies of some of the most prominent and influential Black Americans in U.S. history, from the pioneering abolitionist Frederick Douglass to the first Black president of the United States, Barack Obama.”
• Black Lives Matter – list of resources from the library of the University of Buffalo.
• Black Lives Matter Translated – crowdsourced repository of materials in Asian & Pacific Islander diasporic languages… to navigate difficult discussions about Black Lives Matter, anti-blackness, Black history, immigration history, and police/state-sanctioned violence with our families and communities.”
• Black New Yorkers on Their Experiences with Anti-Black Racism – NYC Commission on Human Rights – “Anti-Black racism has been a part of life in New York City for centuries… campaign identified five scenarios— walking while Black, renting while Black, driving while Black, working while Black and shopping while Black—each of which was referenced by focus group participants…”
• Calling People in Around “Violence – SURJ toolkit – “best practices, talking points, and lines of conversation to explore with other white folks in your life to bring them into the fight for racial justice and to #EndWhiteSilence” Also Racism 101: Understanding Race and Racism.
• Check Your Privilege workbook – Myisha T. Hill – a guided journey that deepens your awareness to how your actions affect the mental health of Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color, or BBIPoC…
• The Code Switch Guide To Race And Policing – NPR – “To help explain how the United States got to this point, we looked back at some of our coverage of race and policing, both from the podcast and the blog…”
• Critical Race Theory – H/T Kristen Slack – “amazing resource by UCLA students, developed 13 years ago… See p. 37+ for application of critical race theory to social work pedagogy…”
• Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders – Derald Wing Sue et al. – “new strategic framework developed for addressing microag- gressions that moves beyond coping and survival to concrete action steps and dialogues that targets, allies, and bystanders can perform (microinterventions).”
• Dismantling white supremacy in social work education – SWCAREs – “learn more about anti racism, white supremacy, and how they show up in social work practice and education… resources for you to use for yourself, your research, or in your classrooms…”
• Guide to Being an Ally – Women of Color for Progress… “don’t lead, follow… Model and Support /Amplify and Endorse… Being an ally is not an identity to wear…”
• Healing Ethno-Racial Trauma in Latinx Immigrant Communities: Cultivating Hope, Resistance, and Action – “Latinx immigrants living in the United States often experience the negative effects of systemic oppression, which may lead to psychological distress, including ethno-racial trauma.”
• Healing the Hidden Wounds of Racial Trauma – Kenneth V. Hardy – “It is important for the helping professional to convey a general understanding and acceptance of the premise that race is a critical organizing principle in society… One of the most debilitating aspects of racial oppression is that this is a nameless condition, difficult to describe, quan- tify, or codify…”
• Helping Children of Color Heal from Collective Trauma – OnlinePsychology@Pepperdine – “Addressing collective trauma in children of color requires a comprehensive approach, including the affirmation of children’s experiences, support of their psychological development, and advocacy for the needs of their parents…”
• How to Be Anti-Racist: A Social Worker’s Perspective – USC – “Micro Level: Reflecting on personal biases and working to unlearn them… Mezzo Level: Identifying unjust norms and working to address them as a group… Macro Level: Using influence and privilege to dismantle racist practices and policies…”
• How to Be Less Stupid About Race – Crystal Fleming – “resource for discussion groups, book clubs and institutions wanting to begin the work of confronting white supremacy…”
• Inclusion Learning – a list of 24 books selected by Sherryl N.Weston, a social worker and author.
• List of resources to highlight the experiences of QTBIPOC – H/T Laura Hoge – QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, & Indigenous People of Color)
• Making Computing Anti-racist: An Impossible Project – University at Buffalo – “Starting with the specific case of the use of predictive policing algorithms, they [UB students] proposed computational and non-computational solutions to the problems exacerbated by technology in society… final program“
• Pop-Up Book Club for June 2020 – White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo – Mindful Living Collective (free membership) – the Book Club is found under Groups… In this area we can connect, share thoughts and questions as we read…”
• Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome Resources by Dr. Joy DeGruy – “P.T.S.S. is a theory that explains the etiology of many of the adaptive survival behaviors in African American communities throughout the United States and the Diaspora. It is a condition that exists as a consequence of multigenerational oppression of Africans and their descendants resulting from centuries of chattel slavery…”
• Racial Equity Resources – NCWWI – “tools, guides, assessments, and curricula which are used to increase understanding, facilitate dialogue, deliver training, analyze current policies, and implement sustainable strategies…”
• Racism Articles from the Association for Psychological Science – from Being ‘Merely Tolerated’ May Put Minority Members at Risk to Children Can ‘Catch’ Social Bias Through Nonverbal Signals Expressed by Adults to Motivation to End Racism Relies on ‘Yes We Can’ Approach…”
• RECASTing Racial Stress and Trauma: Theorizing the Healing Potential of Racial Socialization in Families – Riana Elyse Anderson and Howard C. Stevenson – “For youth and adults of color, prolonged exposure to racial discrimination may result in debili- tating psychological, behavioral, and health outcomes…”
• Resources and Ways to Take Action – @chasevp_15 – “resource guide with mental health resources centering black communities… ways to safely protest… take action and demand justice for the innocent black lives being taken”
• Say Their Names – Chicago Public Schools – toolkit to help foster productive conversations about race and civil disobedience.
• Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources – comprehensive source of resources for white people wanting to expand their
  awareness and accountability. These resources have been ordered in an attempt to make them more accessible including stages of white identity (how to move from one stage to the next) and what to do next.
• Stop Hesitating – Elizabeth McCorvey – how to start having real conversations with your clients of color and how to address racial trauma in session.
• Talking About Race – National Museum of African American Art and Culture – “tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation…”
• Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity Throughout Data Integration – AISP – “Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPoC)4 and/or people living in poverty are often over- represented within government agency data systems, and disparate representation in data can cause disparate impact… we can co-create data infrastructure to promote racial equity and the public good... “
• A Toolkit for non-Black Latinxs Who Choose to Address their anti-Blackness – Immigration, Critical Race, And Cultural Equity (IC-RACE) Lab.
• Undoing Racism Resources from Mary Pender Greene
• Uprooting Whiteness [Supremacy & Domination] – William R. Frey –  wide range of resources from places to donate to books on whiteness and education to books for children to organizations to follow to Black ⌇ Indigenous-owned bookstores and more.

Not Much of a Reader? Check Out These Anti-Racism Videos/Movies/TV Shows/Podcasts

Ted Talks/YouTube

• • Color blind or color brave? with Mellody Hobson
  • Cultural Humility – “30-minute documentary by San Francisco State professor Vivian Chávez, that mixes poetry with music, interviews, archival footage, and images of community, nature and dance to explain what Cultural Humility is and why we need it.”
  • Dying of Whiteness – The Politics of Racial Resentment with Dr Jonathan Metzl
  • Dying While Black: Intergenerational Impact of Racism and Segregation w/ Vernellia Randall
  • Exploring EMOTIONS on racial inequality: Can emotional intelligence END racism? with Six Seconds
  • Get comfortable with being uncomfortable with Luvvie Ajay
  • Four Women– Lisa Simone, Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright, and Angélique Kidjo sing about what it means to be black women.
  • How do we span the racial wealth gap? with William A. Darity Jr.
  • How to be an Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi – “only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it…”
  • Juneteenth 2020 with Clinical Professor Tyan Parker Dominguez
  • How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time by Baratunde Thurston
  • Privilege Explained in a $100 Race
  • A Reckoning: An Appeal to White America – Austin Justice Coalition – “how we must move forward…”
  • The Success of Nonviolent Civil Resistance with Erica Chenoweth.
  • The US protests and the global effect of the BLM movement – International United Nations Watch
  • Why “I’m Not Racist” is Only Half the Story
  • A World of Difference – 2020 Interview – Blue Eyes Brown Eyes with Jane Elliott

Movies & TV Shows (H/T to Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein)

• • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
  • 1,000 Cut Journey – a VR simulation about the trauma of racism H/T Laurel I Hitchcock
  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent
  • Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
  • Invisible Portraits H/T to Laura Nissen, PhD, LMSW – “Beautiful. Powerful. Inspiring… You need to see it and share it and learn!! Celebrating all the Black women and their voices in this gorgeous film, and everywhere…”
  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S. [I just finished watching this movie. It was such a powerful illustration of just how biased our justice system was, and how innocent POC were arrested and sentenced to death row because of “justice” needing a conviction for a crime.] see the discussion guide developed by Just Mercy and Define American.
  • King In The Wilderness — HBO
  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent
  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax
  • When Antiracism Becomes Trauma w/Drs. Isom & Opara – discussion is inspired by lived experiences of racial trauma.
  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

Podcasts (H/T to twitter and Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein)

• • 1619 (New York Times)
  • About Race
  • Brené with Austin Channing Brown on I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made – “connect on her book I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, and… online television show, The Next Question…”
  • Code Switch (NPR)
  • Examining the Pandemic’s Disproportionate Impact on Black Americans – “Enrique Neblett, a leading expert on racism and health, explains how and why the coronavirus pandemic is causing Black Americans to be infected, hospitalized and die at a higher rate than other populations—and what we as individuals and communities can do to dismantle the systemic racism that is the root cause of these health disparities.”
  • Genetically informed family research, and anti-racism in mental health research – ACAMH – “how categories of race and ethnic group are outdated and inadequate, what scientists can do to correct their vocabulary, and what researchers should think about in order to prevent or break cycles of racism in research.”
  • Good Ancestor – Layla F. Saad’s conversations with change-makers and culture-shakers (H/T NYU Silver)
  • Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
  • Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
  • Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence – On Being – “Interview w/Resmaa Menakem… New York Times best-selling book, part narrative, part workbook, is My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies…”
  • The Pandemic’s Impact on Education and Work for People of Color
  • Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
  • Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
  • Seeing White– Scene on Radio -“Police shootings of unarmed African Americans. Acts of domestic terrorism by white supremacists. The renewed embrace of raw, undisguised white-identity politics…Why? Where did the notion of “whiteness” come from? What does it mean? What is whiteness for?“
  • Towards a Framework for Repair – On Being – “Resmaa Menakem: White folks don’t even know that we’re not even speaking the same embodied language. We don’t see the world in the same way… DiAngelo: when I use my white position to break with silence and white solidarity and speak up, I am simultaneously healing the lie that I am inherently inferior because I grew up poor…”
  • White Supremacy in Social Work H/T Doin’ The Work interview w/Charla Cannon Yearwood and Laura Hoge

Specific Black Men and Boys Podcasts (H/T CTAC)

• • Addressing Historical Trauma – “Black boys and men are the subject of negative racial and gender-based stereotypes that significantly impact their health and social standing within the U.S…”
  • Police Brutality and Trauma – Black Men and Boys podcast – “Police brutality and other forms of racial trauma often elicit race-based traumatic stress and psychological injury…”
  • Raising Our Black Sons: Perspectives From Mothers – “While families come in many forms, we often downplay the role that mothers have in the lives of young Black boys… mothers of Black boys, the unsung heroes are who are more than deserving of our praise…”
  • Resilience and Steps Forward – “Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It is the characteristic or trait that allows people to thrive despite inconceivable hardship and experiences of trauma

Anti-Racism Organizations to Support:

• 50 WOC-Led Organizations in the U.S. That We Should Support – “only 0.6 percent of foundation giving was targeted to women of color… money moves power… a list of 50 organizations led by women of color in the U.S. to support…”
• Campaign Zero – many resources, from studies and articles to methods of activism.
• Continue The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL)’s Week of Action
• Showing Up For Racial Justice – is involved in community organizing, mobilizing, and education in NYC and beyond.

Poetry/Music

• The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed – moving orchestral choral piece… to break our hearts and perhaps to heal them as we consider the racial injustice in this country… Kenneth Chamberlain, “Why do you have your guns out?”
  Trayvon Martin, 16 “What are you following me for?” Amadou Diallo, 23 “Mom, I’m going to college.” Michael Brown, 18 “I don’t have a gun. Stop shooting.” Oscar Grant, 22 “You shot me! You shot me!” John Crawford, 22 “It’s not real.” Eric Garner, 43 “I can’t breathe.”
• Protest poetry and Black Lives Matter Anthology – “Poets have been at the forefront of wielding language to create change for the people. Explore the work of Elizabeth Alexander, Agha Shahid Ali, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Marilyn Chin, Aracelis Girmay, Langston Hughes, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Claudia Rankine, Roger Reeves, Adrienne Rich, and Muriel Rukeyser, to name just a few…”

Self-Care

• Build Resilience in Isolation, Master the Art of Time Travel – Adam Grant/NYT – “rewinding to remember the past and fast-forwarding to envision the future. With practice, we can use it to… experience moments of happiness in the midst of sadness and make time feel like it’s passing faster or slower…”
• Hosting Healing Circles – “In an online space, where people are sitting in their own homes and know that they will probably never meet the people they see on the screen, the deep dive into vulnerability and trust happens more quickly than when people are sitting in the same room…”
• Thriving and Making Comfort Conference – Person Centered Tech – June 12 -26… pay what you can…two tracks for delving into caring for both yourself and your practice during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond…”
• Here’s What the Five Stages of Grief Get Totally Wrong – Charles Duhigg/Slate – “what we say to people when they’re in pain isn’t necessarily helpful… Instead of saying, “Let me know if you need anything,” think about the things that you could offer and what that other person might need…”
• Free Mind Matters Online Series – Dibble Institute – on demand recordings – “self-care… develop skills and coping mechanisms to overcome anxiety and build resilience…”
• The neuroscience of happiness – 4 minute video with Professor Richard Davidson.
• Relaxation Response – 10 minute practice video with Dr. Herbert Benson.
• Self-Care A-Z – The Politics of Self-Care: Toward Radical Decolonization – Jalana S. Harris/New Social Worker – “For those who are members of marginalized groups, self-care is wrapped up in our liberation… Decolonized radical self-care means unpacking our personal, generational, and historical trauma and the ways our people have survived…”
• ICYMI, 30 Free Self-Care Tools – including “meditations, apps, coloring pages, ebooks, videos, support groups, toolkits to manage anxiety, and online yoga and exercise classes”

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Last updated July 19, 2023.