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On doing the work and my racial equity reading and listening list

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I should have shared this a long time ago. Of course, I meant to share it last month during Black History Month, but I’ve actually had the basis of this post for longer than that.

This is a racial equity reading and listening list I put together in August 2020 because I wanted to dive deeper into understanding systemic racism, uncovering my unconscious biases, and move away from my ignorance on the subject.

Side note / disclaimer: I shared this list with a few people at work through my office’s Leadership & Diversity Advisory Council (LDAC) so for some people it may look familiar, but in honor of Black History Month, I wanted to share it here too.

I believe strongly that if something makes you uncomfortable, you have a responsibility to dig into that discomfort and educate yourself. You can’t grow without pushing yourself to learn and change.

I’ve grappled with how to be more anti-racist in a way that feels authentic to me. To me it doesn’t feel right to march in the streets and it doesn’t feel right to post on social media. I’ve struggled to understand if this stems from not wanting to get uncomfortable, my white privilege, a sheltered and safe upbringing, my perception of the behavior I should model as a military officer, the feeling of those methods not being effective at actually moving the needle, fear of retaliation, or a combination of all those things. I’ve questioned if those were all just excuses.

I’ve struggled with feeling like I need to say something when people say that ‘if you’re not speaking outright against racism, then you’re part of the problem.’ And every time I read a post like that, I hold back again because I know that if I post then, it will be reactionary and not authentic.

Before I share the work I’ve done and the work I’m doing, I wanted to put all those thoughts out there. Maybe those feelings are mine alone, but I have a feeling that others may have felt some of those same things over the past several months.

But excuses or not, as we shift from Black History Month to Women’s History Month, I wanted to take the opportunity to share my Racial Equity Reading and Listening List. I haven’t read or listened to all the resources listed here. I’m a work in progress. I also will not get through this whole list in a month or a year. I believe that if we want to move towards a more inclusive and equitable future, we need to be educating ourselves on Black History for more than just one month out of each year. The way that I’m using this list is by mixing them in with the rest of my reading list for the year. To me this list is not something I can just get through and then get back to what I normally read or listen to. To me, this is the beginning of being more intentional about surrounding myself with stories and perspectives that are different from mine. I think that’s how we develop empathy and understanding and make long-term sustainable change.

It’s not easy work. Just like get-rich-quick schemes don’t usually work, get-unracist-quick schemes aren’t a thing either. But I believe it is important work because uncovering and working on our blind spots is not only important to each of our personal growth, it’s deeply important to human connection and the future of our society as a whole.

My Racial Equity Reading and Listening List

BOOKS

Non-fiction

Fiction

PODCASTS

Single Episode

  • Straight Up with Trent Shelton (HOLLIS): Episode 26: Angry? So Am I. Here are Four Ways You Can Help Today (47 min)
  • The Michelle Obama Podcast (Higher Ground): Protests and the Pandemic with Michele Norris (from 25:30 to 48:20 – 23 min)
  • Untying Knots (The Activist) hosted by Nikhil Raghuveera and Erica Licht: Episode 1 – Transforming Wealth Inequity Through Anti-Racist Funding (41 min)
  • PolicyCast (Harvard Kennedy School) hosted by Thoko Moyo: 216 A historic crossroads for systemic racism and policing in America (45 min)

Whole Series

VIDEOS

ARTICLES

REFERENCES / ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Cheers!

Sarah

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