Anti-Racism Resources
As a small brand, we have been trying to find the best way to help in the fight against racism and the racial injustices still going on in the world. We are a company with the aim to spread happiness, but we also want to learn, listen, educate, and use our platform for worthy causes. Although we have spent time (admittedly too much time) trying to work out our approach, it is best to get active. There's no excuse for our silence, so going forward we want to spread more love, and more happiness. We've compiled a directory of resources for everyone to use to help educate and spread awareness. We will be adding to this continually, and if we make mistakes or miss things out, please let us know!
If you're in Brighton, there are two peaceful protests taking place on Saturday 13th of June. Lots of our team will be joining. Here are the links for details:
Keeping safe whilst protesting:
- Only attend if you're NOT showing any signs of COVID-19
- Follow government guidelines on social distancing, stay 2 metres apart
- Wear a mask, suncream, comfortable shoes, and cover identifying tattoos
- Carry water, snacks and hand sanitiser with you
- It's worth having a portable phone charger if you can
Petitions to sign now:
Suspend UK export of tear gas, rubber bullets and riot shields to USA - https://www.change.org/p/suspend-uk-export-of-tear-gas-rubber-bullets-and-riot-shields-to-usa
Justice for Belly Mujinga - https://www.change.org/p/govia-thameslink-justice-for-belly-mujinga-justiceforbellymujinga
Petition to take down all statues of slave traders in the UK - https://www.change.org/p/uk-government-petition-to-takr-down-all-statues-of-slave-traders-in-the-uk
Stop the police using horses during the Black Lives Matter protests - https://www.change.org/p/police-stop-using-horses-during-the-black-lives-matter-protests
Justice for Tony McDade - https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-tony-mcdade
Books to read:
-
Why I’m No longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
- I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
- Natives by Akala
- Dark Days by James Baldwin
- Diversify by June Sarpong
- Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri
- White Supremacy and Me by Layla F. Saad
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- Freedom Is A Constant Struggle by Angela Davis
- They Can’t Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery
- Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde
- White Girls by Hilton Als
- Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch
- Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga
- The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla
- How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
Films/Documentaries to watch:
- 13th - Netflix
- American Son - Netflix
- When They See Us - Netflix
- Dear White People - Netflix
- See you Yesterday - Netflix
- The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution - Amazon
- Just Mercy - Instagram Film
- I am Not Your Negro - Amazon
- Fruitvale Station - Amazon
- Clemency - Youtube
Charities to support/donate to:
US based charities and organisations:
Black Lives Matter - Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc. is a global organisation in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
NAACP - founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s foremost, largest, and most widely recognized civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, leading grassroots campaigns for equal opportunity and conducting voter mobilization.
Black Visions Collective - a black LGBTQ+ led US based charity dedicated to developing Minnesota’s “emerging Black leadership to lead powerful campaigns in pursuit of dignity and equity for all.
Marsha P. Johnson Institute - The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. We do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power.
Color Of Change is one of the largest online racial justice organisations in the US helping people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 1.7 million members, they move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America
The Minnesota Freedom Fund - a fund established to tackle the fact that “people of colour and immigrants face higher rates of arrest, harsher sentencing, and disparities in the setting of bail compared to white citizens.”
Please note: They are no longer accepting donations but have lots of resources and other funds to donate to.
Reclaim the Block - a community led-initiative calling for the Minneapolis and city council members “to move money from the police department” and into communities that need it. A shift to a more community led approach to safety will save lives.
Campaign Zero - launched in 2015, Campaign Zero is a police reform campaign and a comprehensive platform of research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in America, proposed by activists associated with Black Lives Matter. The plan consists of ten proposals, all of which are aimed at reducing police violence by limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability.
Women for Political Change - holistically invests in the leadership and political power of young women and trans & non-binary individuals throughout Minnesota.
Brooklyn Community Bail Fund - Provides radical intervention in a legal system that treats people differently based on wealth, skin colour, immigration status and influence
Unicorn Riot - a decentralised, non-profit media collective that originated online in 2015. The group is known for reporting on far-right organisation and sources of racial and economic injustice in the US.
BYP100 - Founded in 2013, BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100) is a member-based organisation of Black youth activists creating justice and freedom for all Black people.
Founded by Rachel Cargle, the Loveland Foundation is committed to showing up for communities of colour in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls.
The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.
Split a donation between 60+ community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers
UK based charities and organisations:
Show Racism the Red Card - The UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity using “educational workshops, training sessions, multimedia packages, and a whole host of other resources, all with the purpose of tackling racism in society.”
The Runnymede Trust - Runnymede is the UK's leading independent race equality think tank. Runnymede generate intelligence to challenge race inequality in Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement.
Black LGBTQIA+ Therapy Fund - Fundraiser to raise money to pay for therapy sessions for Black LGBTQIA+ persons aged 18+.
Stop Hate UK - UK-based service for victims of race hate crimes, founded in 1995 in direct response to Stephen Lawrence’s murder.
UK Black Pride - UK Black Pride is a safe space to celebrate diverse sexualities, gender identities, cultures, gender expressions and backgrounds and we foster, represent and celebrate Black LGBTQ and QTIPOC culture through education, the arts, cultural events and advocacy.
Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) - Bristol based service user/community-oriented agency in the UK that provides support and advice to victims of hate, and promotes equality and good relations between people with protected characteristics as defined by law.
HOPE Not Hate Charitable Trust - works in the UK to build communities and celebrate shared identities. They campaign for a world free from mistrust and racism. It was established to offer a positive and community-focused way of doing anti-fascism. Across Britain, HOPE Not Hate Charitable Trust has worked tirelessly on the ground with local people to defeat the politics of hate.
The fund will be the first permanent national UK resource for its kind for those affected by deaths in custody, making small grants available for families and their campaign groups across the UK.
The 4Front Project is a member-led youth organisation empowering young people and communities in the UK to fight for justice, peace and freedom. They support members with experiences of violence and the criminal justice system to create change; in their own lives, communities and society.
Black Minds Matter - linking as many black individuals and families in the UK with certified, professional, black practitioners for sessions as soon as possible. Their aim is to use the money raised to pay in full for therapy sessions for those in need.
Thank you to everyone who has, and is continually helping to add and develop this list. We have learned so much already, and we have so much more to learn.
Some parts have been taken from other resources such as a post from Lucy & Yak, Queer the Pier resources for BLM, and Fuse Manchester. Please be sure to check those out for more.
Please also check out this checklist of practical ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement from the UK, compiled by Nandini Mitra (@_nmtr) - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1x65xLdIUDWMUl4_nkuD-EeP98UuJ2nuknUDsqUm7R9s/htmlview
