Protests and Rebellions are as old as the United States. When the status quo becomes unbearable to enough people, uprisings pressure those in power to make changes that bring us closer to the Land-of-the-Free promise. We’ve pulled together a reminder that we are in a long struggle that did not begin with this moment and will not end with this moment. Below are resources to inspire us and remind us whose shoulders we stand on and whose sacrifices we are honoring as we continue to educate and activate to demand a more just and humane world.
SONGS
Public Enemy, Fight the Power
Tracy Chapman, Revolution
The Beatles, Revolution
The Impressions, People Get Ready
Nina Simone, Revolution
Jimi Hendrix, The Star Spangled Banner
ARTICLES
Your Silence Is a Knee on My Neck, by Natasha Cloud, The Players Tribune
The biggest marches and protests in American history, by Leanna Garfield and Zoë Ettinger Business Insider
MLK's 'I Have a Dream' Speech Was Also About Police Brutality, by Aura Bogado, Colorlines
1969 Alcatraz takeover 'changed the whole course of history', by Nicole Lapin and Jason Hanna, CNN
1969 Stonewall Riots - Origins, Timeline & Leaders, by History.com editors
Talking to Kids About Protesting: 5 Things I Want My Kids to Know, by We Stories
(1964) Malcolm X, "The Ballot or the Bullet", by BlackPast
LISTEN
The History Of Protests In Los Angeles: What Has Changed Since The Rodney King Riots (7 minutes)
How '80s AIDS Activist Group ACT UP Changed The Face Of Medicine (7 minutes)
Standing Rock and beyond (52 minutes)
Letter From Birmingham Jail (55 minutes)
No Meekness Here: Meet Rosa Parks, 'Lifelong Freedom Fighter', (4 minutes)
The Leesburg Stockade Girls, A forgotten part of the Civil Rights Movement (3 Min)
WATCH
I Am Not Your Negro - Future of America, James Baldwin (2 minutes)
How to overcome apathy and find your power, Dolores Huerta (13 minutes)
Colin Kaepernick explains why he won't stand during National Anthem (18 minutes)
MLK Riots are the Voice of the Unheard (5 minutes)
Nick Cannon’s Stand for What (4 minutes)
Nick Cannon’s I Can’t Breathe Again (3 minutes)
An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter (16 minutes)
Fannie Lou Hamer’s 1964 Testimony (9 minutes)
DO
- Learn how to be an Anti-Racist and name your commitment to learn to friends, family, and on your social media posts
- Follow the suggested leaders below
- Find out who your local racial justice organizers are and donate funds
- Donate to bail funds anytime protests rise up
- Attend local protests or pull a group together to organize one in your town.
- Talk, post, share with those in your circle what you are learning about the history of racial injustice and the 400-year-old movement to demand and create justice
- Notice your comfort level with protest and rebellion, especially when they include fire, looting, and violence. If you are uncomfortable, why? What causes more discomfort for you: the status quo or the protest seeking to disrupt and advance beyond the status quo?
- Take care of yourself, this is a marathon, not a sprint
- Convey to all in your circle is that the point of racial justice is not to hate on white people, it’s to create a more loving and humane world for ALL.
- Convey to all in your circle that all lives won’t matter until Black and brown lives matter equally as much as white lives historically have.
FOLLOW
For each of the below we recommend going to the website and from there linking to the social media platforms each person/organization uses.
The Movement For Black Lives
Black Lives Matter
African American Policy Forum
Colorlines
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
From Privilege to Progress
Yamiche Alcindor
Weijia Jiang
The Privilege Institute
Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr
Debby Irving