siznax / blacklivesmatter

Antiracist self-education information and resources

Black Lives Matter

Antiracist self-education information and resources

"Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others. —John Lewis (1940-2020)

Historical research has shown that the idea of "race" has always carried more meanings than mere physical differences; indeed, physical variations in the human species have no meaning except the social ones that humans put on them. Today scholars in many fields argue that "race" as it is understood in the United States of America was a social mechanism invented during the 18th century to refer to those populations brought together in colonial America: the English and other European settlers, the conquered Indian peoples, and those peoples of Africa brought in to provide slave labor.

—American Anthropological Association 17 May 1998

It was freedom fighter Angela Y. Davis who said, “In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” And, there are important differences between non-racism and anti-racism. To be non-racist is to simply abstain from participation in racist beliefs or actions. It is the decision not to participate in racist ideas about others. That’s it. It has no social component. No manifestation within one’s social networks. It’s a laissez-faire political attitude on race that might prevent further harm, but does nothing to repair existing damage.

To be anti-racist is to actively work toward the eradication of racism wherever it exists. Anti-racism requires intention and disruption. Anti-racist work is not done quietly nor is it performed only once. Anti-racist work is more than Facebook posts and Twitter threads. Being anti-racist is about putting one’s self at personal risk so that the risk for Black people is reduced.

—Jenn M. Jackson 11 May 2020

Racism is litigated over and over again when another video depicting another atrocity comes to light. Black people share the truth of their lives, and white people treat those truths as intellectual exercises.

They put energy into being outraged about the name "Karen," as shorthand for entitled white women rather than doing the difficult, self-reflective work of examining their own prejudices. They speculate about what murdered black people might have done that we don't know about to beget their fates, as if alleged crimes are punishable by death without a trial by jury. They demand perfection as the price for black existence while harboring no such standards for anyone else.

Some white people act as if there are two sides to racism, as if racists are people we need to reason with. They fret over the destruction of property and want everyone to just get along. They struggle to understand why black people are rioting but offer no alternatives about what a people should do about a lifetime of rage, disempowerment and injustice.

—Roxane Gay 30 May 2020

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

—John Lewis 30 July 2020

Begin here

• "State of Emergency Speech" by Tamika Mallory
• Talking About Race
• How To Be Antiracist
• Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation

Reverse chronology

Mar 2021

• 18 March 2021: Senator Raphael Warnock gives first speech in the Senate

July 2020

• 26 July 2020: John Lewis carried by a horse-drawn caisson over Edmund Pettus bridge
• 22 July 2020: Portland mayor tear-gassed speaking to proteters
• 19 July 2020: Trump says Portland federal seige will end when local authorities cooperate
• 19 July 2020: Seattle protestors rise up against federal involvement
• 13 July 2020: Washington Redskins announce retirement of name and logo
• 4 July 2020: Trump threatens protesters from the Black Hills for fourth of July
• 3 July 2020: 15-26M Americans have protested in now the largest protest in US history
• 1 July 2020: Trump deploys federal forces to several U.S. cities

June 2020

• 30 June 2020: By this date, 30 people had died in protests and over 14,000 arrested
• 26 June 2020: Trumps orders federal troops to protect federal monuments in the states
• 19 June 2020: Statues of Junípero Serra toppled by protestors
• 10 June 2020: Corporations change some consumer products
• 9 June 2020: By this date, 30 states had deployed 32,000 National Guard troops
• 9 June 2020: Statues of Christopher Columbus toppled by protestors
• 8 June 2020: 38% rise in the stock market
• 5 June 2020: Far-right counter-protesters become visibly active
• 5 June 2020: U.S. Military begins to ban display of Confederate Flags
• 4 June 2020: 1.7 miles of fencing added around the White House
• 3 June 2020: 200 U.S. cities impose curfews
• 1 June 2020: Some states begin banning police chokeholds
• 1 June 2020: Some states begin removing Confederate Flags
• 1 June 2020: Limited state and federal police reforms proposed
• 1 June 2020: Trump orders attack on protesters for church photo-op

May 2020

• 29 May 2020: Trump tweets "when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"
• 26 May 2020: National and international protests begin
• 25 May 2020: George Floyd killed by police in Minneapolis over a $20 bill

Early 2020

• 26 March 2020: US overtakes China and Italy with most COVID-19 cases
• 20 February 2020: Stock Market Crash of 2020

Leading up to 2020

• Facebook reaches 2.3B active users (2018)
• Smartphones (2007-)
• September 11 Attacks (2001)
• World Wide Web (1991-)
• Personal Computer (1974-)
• Jim Crow laws overruled (1965)
• Indian Relocation Act (1956)
• Vietnam War (1955-75)
• Civil Rights Movement (1954-68)
• Cold War (1947-1991)
• First Transcontinental Flight (1923)
• World War (1914-45)
• First Transcontinental Railroad (1869)
• American Civil War (1861-65)
• First Transcontinental Telegraph (1861)
• Indian Removal Act (1830-41)
• Slavery in the United States (1789-1865)
• Constitution of the United States (1787-)
• Declaration of Independence (1776)
• American Revolution (1775-83)
• First enslaved Africans arrive (1619)
• Native American Genocide (1492-)
• Pre-Columbian Settlement (10,000 years ago)

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