Hello. We’ve got something to share with you all today, and wanted to say something beforehand.
Queenie:
Having come from an incredibly privileged background as a Chinese woman, I’ve been both the racist and the victim of racism. An exceeding amount of anti-Blackness still exists in the Chinese community, and being able to work and educate my community would not be possible without the Black educators, especially women, who’ve led the way in the fight against racism. As @standforhumanity says, “we ALREADY owe Black women the world without even knowing it”.
As more of us join the anti-racism and #BlackLivesMatter movement, we must begin from the point of understanding that our actions must be intersectional. Male privilege, light skin privilege, skinny privilege, heterosexual privilege, able-bodied privilege. We must understand how these intersect with White privilege and therefore, how we combat against them. How can we say that we care about Black lives when we only look at it one-dimensionally?
Aimen:
As a woman of color I’m fighting white supremacy and the anti-blackness inside me – holding the dual role of oppressed and oppressor. As a South-Asian and Middle Eastern person, it’s important we look beyond our respective issues and understand that across cultures, darker people are treated worse. We need to fight the anti-blackness to elevate everyone, not just black people.
Black women, particularly black trans women, have built the foundations of liberation movements and given us the tools to talk about feminism, queer theory and racism via academic publication. We owe an incredible amount, including the origins of Pride as a protest and the feminist movement, to the work of black women. This pack should open your eyes to the importance of BLM beyond hashtags and Insta posts. We ask that you’re accepting, kind, and realise this will be a lot of work (even if you’re a person of color yourself).
I also ask that you are quite serious about wanting to protect, love and support black people – because the institution of whiteness is quite serious about dehumanising blackness.
Putting your money, time and energy where your mouth is
Step 1, we’ve recognised anti-blackness. Step 2, do the actual work.
Over the past few days, we’ve been compiling a series of actions. Causes you can give to, literature you can read, art you can watch or listen to, influencers to follow, businesses you can support, and things you can do all from your home. We know that there have been many lists out there, but what we hoped to do was to also encourage you all to amplify Black voices and decentralise Whiteness. Not just for their anti-Racism work so far, but because of the joy and value they bring to the world, and that we have ignored for far too long. As Layla F Saad, said…
We want you to realise that anything a white person has to say, a Black person has probably said it (and louder too) – we just wouldn’t listen. So, let’s listen now. You wanted tangible actions after posting the black squares? Here you go. We’ve given you tips on the top of each section on how you can mindfully engage with every piece of resource that is in there. Please, read it before you dive in.
We don’t want this to be a resource that you flick through and then move on from. We want you to come back to this time and time again (as we update it – you can provide suggestions here). We want this to actively be your first choice when you:
- Receive your pay check (Give)
- Ponder what to put next on your reading list (Read)
- Flick through Netflix but not sure what to watch (Watch)
- Need to rest your eyes but engage your brain (Listen)
- Want to be inspired, informed and engaged on your social media feeds (Follow)
- Want to raise your voice and speak up for others (Do)
- Want to put your money where your mouth is (Support)
We need to recalibrate how we view the world, and amplify and support Black voices.
Before we share the resource, one last thing. A lot of time, work, and energy from our community has gone into creating this bank of resources. We recognise that the free consumption of these materials will provide awareness, but providing finances for these inciredible funds will lead to tangible actions. So please donate to:
For every person in your echo chamber you share this with, you share it with someone who isn’t. Fight racism with every aspect of your life and choices. Link below.
What Would Queenie Do? 
One reply on “Black Lives Matter Resource Pack”
[…] For resources on Black Lives Matter, find an easy-to-use list here. […]
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