Anti-Racism Resources to Explore, Educate and Organize

We acknowledge that pain from centuries of abuse and discrimination lingers for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). We also understand where race intersects with autism, mental health issues and special needs, these BIPOC individuals face even more pronounced challenges, which can lead to misdiagnosis, lack of understanding and violence against them.

We want to provide resources for parents and families to educate themselves about race and racism, as well as how to be active anti-racist allies. This resource page includes videos, podcasts, articles, books for children and adults, workshops and organizations to be involved with. Together, we can stand and fight against racism.

Videos

• 4 Black Lives Matter Myths Debunked - MTV
• Talking to Children Authentically about Race and Racism - PBS
• How to be an “Ally” to the Black Community – CBS
• The First Time I Realized I Was Black - CNN

Podcasts

• Code Switch “A Decade Of Watching Black People Die” – This looks at the long history of police brutality against people of color, what role video plays in that, and whether anything has changed or will change.
• The Diversity Gap – This podcast looks at ways for people and businesses to create spaces that are authentically diverse, equitable and inclusive.
• Still Processing “Kaepernick” – This episode looks at Colin Kaepernick’s protest of taking a knee during the national anthem, the response and Nike’s use of Kaepernick in ads.
• Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast – “Co-hosts Chevon and Hiba give their unique takes on race and pop culture, and uplift narratives of hope, struggle and joy, as they continue to build the momentum needed to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions and culture.”
• Revisionist History “Miss Buchanan’s Period of Adjustment” - This takes a deeper look at the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which desegregated schools.
• Terrible Thanks for Asking “Policing and Racial Trauma with Angela Davis” - This episode is a collaboration between APM and MPR and puts “a spotlight on the trauma of Black Americans and how it intersects with policing.”

Articles

• “Walking While Black” by Garnette Cadogan
• “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism” by Audre Lorde
• “When Feminism Is White Supremacy in Heels” by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle
• “Why Seeing Yourself Represented on Screen Is So Important” by Kimberly Lawson
• “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• “For Mothers of Black Children with Disabilities, Living with Twice The Fear” by Allison Norlian
• “Black People ‘Loot’ Food…White People ‘Find’ Food” by Van Jones
• The 1619 Project – The New York Times Magazine

Books

For Adults

• A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota by Minnesota writers including Taiyon J. Coleman, Heid E. Erdrich, Venessa Fuentes, Andrea Jenkins, and Bao Phi
• White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehishi Coates
• How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
• So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Why I No Longer Talk to White People about Raceby Reni Eddo-Lodge

Children’s Books

0-2

• Shades of People by Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelley
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Ages 3-8

• Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
• Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes
• My Hair is a Garden by Cozbi A. Cabrera
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
• Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
• Skin Again by bell hooks
• I Am Enough by Grace Byers
• Something Happened In Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Justice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard, and Jennifer Zivoin
• Layla's Head Scarf by Miriam Cohen
• The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

Ages 10 and up

• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Not My Idea: A Book On Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
• This book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
• When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Workshops

• Sign up for this online workshop, which provides a comprehensive course on the Humanize My Hoodie Movement's approach to preventing racist attacks on Black People, Indigenous People, and other People of Color.
• The YWCA Minneapolis offers workshops that examine issues of race, racism and racial justice. They’ve shifted, or are in the process of shifting, these workshops online. Check back for updates.
• The Woke Coach is a business that helps educate businesses and individuals about racism and the injustices that affects everyone in their communities. “The Homework Sessions” are workshops that help you understand more about racism, bias and injustice.

Ways to Donate and Get Involved

• The Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) has created the Autistic People of Color Fund. The fund is direct support, mutual aid and reparations for autistic people of color.
• Women for Political Change works to take action on political issues that affect young women and trans & non-binary people in Minnesota. You can donate to their mutual aid fund, which gives money to people struggling with financial hardships during the coronavirus pandemic.
• National Black Deaf Advocates provides black deaf and hard of hearing youth training, workshops, forums and other leadership opportunities. You can donate here.
• National Black Disability Coalition is a national organization dedicated to “examining and improving: community leadership, family inclusion, entrepreneurship, civil rights, service delivery systems, education, information and Black disabled identity and culture through the lenses of ableism and racism.”
• The Color of Autism Foundation was founded by an African American mother who struggled to get her son diagnosed and wants to help other African American familes pursue a diagnosis and support.
• The Disability Visibility Project is “a online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture.”
• The BIPOC Project works to build solidarity among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) to “undo Native invisibility, anti-blackness, dismantle white supremacy and advance racial justice.”
• Black Lives Matter is a global organization working “to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.” You can donate here.
• Black Visions Collective is a Twin Cities-based group that “believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.”
• NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund fights for racial justice through advocacy, public education and litigation. The group works to eliminate disparities and fight for equality for all Americans. You can donate here.