ATX Together: Confronting Racism

Posted on June 11, 2020

ATX Together: Confronting Racism was broadcast live on Facebook Monday, June 8. The show is now available to watch online. To keep the conversation going, Austin PBS has compiled additional actions and resources.

Confronting an issue so large requires deep research and significant action. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, it will get you started on your journey to an equitable society for all.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

When were you first aware of your racial identity? What were the circumstances and how did you feel? What, if anything, were you told, taught or shown about “your” race?

What are some evidences of institutional racism in your community? Church? Families?

What can you do to support people of color in your community?

What are your local politicians' policies on ending police brutality?

How do you plan on helping the fight to end racial discrimination and systematic oppression?

How can you use anti-racist knowledge to change and progress conversations with friends, family, colleagues and peers?

How can you be actively anti-racist instead of simply "not racist?"

In what ways does your proximity to whiteness afford you the privileges that aren't extended to Black and Brown people? In what ways have you been conditioned to believe in the superiority of whiteness?

In what ways have you engaged in rhetoric that promotes othering or stereotyping of Black people?

ACTIONS TO TAKE

Check in on your Black friends, family, partners and colleagues.

Educate yourself and read up on what it means to be anti-racist with books, blogs, podcasts, television shows and documentaries.

Follow organizations on social media that are in the fight.

Screenshot, share and repost resources to educate those around you.

Don't center the narrative around you. Identify privilege and condemn it.

Stop supporting organizations that promote hate.

Be an ally and advocate after the outrage ends.

Continue to donate to fund and support initiatives you care about, if you have the means.

READ

Educate yourself by reading books, articles and blogs.

BOOKS Austin bookstore Black Pearl Books is owned by a Black woman.

America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis
Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
Deep Denial by David Billings
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, PhD
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
Shadows of a Sunbelt City by Eliot Tretter
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga
When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD

ARTICLES AND BLOGS

"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh
"Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?" by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | The Atlantic (May 12, 2020)
"America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us" by Adam Serwer | The Atlantic (May 8, 2020)
"My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant" by Jose Antonio Vargas | The New York Times Magazine (June 22, 2011)
"The Intersectionality Wars" by Jane Coaston | Vox (May 28, 2019)
"Answering White People’s Most Commonly Asked Questions about the Black Lives Matter Movement" by Courtney Martin
"75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice" by Corinne Shutack | Medium (August 13, 2017)
"Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race" by Reni Eddo-Lodge | The Guardian (May 30, 2017)

RAISE ANTI-RACIST CHILDREN

BOOKS

Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: books for children and young adults 31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance

PODCASTS

Parenting Forward with Cindy Wang Brandt episode "Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons"
Fare of the Free Child
Integrated Schools: Conversations About Integration episode "Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey"

ARTICLES

"Teaching Your Child About Black History Month" | PBS KIDS for Parents (February 15, 2018)
"Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup" | Pretty Good

WATCH TELEVISION SHOWS AND DOCUMENTARIES

Watch PBS - on air or stream at pbs.org/video

Austin PBS has curated a playlist of Arts In Context pieces featuring local artists focusing on issues of race, inclusion and justice in their works. This Arts In Context playlist includes the powerful song “Rise” from SaulPaul.

America in Black and Blue 2020 airs Monday, June 15 at 8 p.m on Austin PBS
Decibel air Fridays at 7:30 p.m. on Austin PBS
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross online
Reconstruction: American after The Civil War online
Black American Since MLK: And Still I Rise online
Independent Lens – The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution online

STREAMING

13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — available to rent
Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — available to rent
Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
Emanuel (Stephen Curry, Viola Davis, Mariska Hargitay) — Amazon Prime
Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — available to rent
I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — available to rent or on Kanopy
If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
King In The Wilderness — HBO
ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cook (Kelly Duane de la Vega) — Netflix
See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
Selma (Ava DuVernay) — available to rent
Seven Seconds (Veena Sud) — Netflix
Strong Island (Vance Ford) — Netflix
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — available to rent
The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax
The Innocence Files — Netflix
When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

LISTEN TO PODCASTS

1619 (The New York Times)
About Race
Beyond Prisons
Code Switch (NPR)
Ear Hustle
Intersectionality Matters! with Kimberlé Crenshaw
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights)
Pod Save the People with Deray (Crooked Media)
Radical Imagination
Seeing White

TAKE ACTION IN AUSTIN

TAKE ACTION NATIONALLY

SUPPORT LOCAL BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES

Greater Austin Black Chamber Black Owned Businesses in Advertising & Media, Arts, Culture & Entertainment; Automotive & Marine; Business & Professional Services; Computers & Telecommunications; Construction Equipment & Contractors; Family, Community & Civic Organizations; Finance & Insurance; Government, Education & Individuals; Healthcare; Home & Garden; Legal; Lodging & Travel; Manufacturing, Production & Wholesale; Personal Services & Care; Public Utilities & Environment; Real Estate, Moving & Storage; Restaurants, Food & Beverage; Shopping & Specialty Retail; Transportation

LOCAL BLACK OWNED RESTAURANTS

11 Degrees Daiquiri (Pflugerville)
Anything’s Baked Potato
Aster’s Ethiopian Restaurant
Baby Greens
Bahadi’s Chicken & Lounge (Pflugerville)
BB’s Home Cooking (Georgetown)
Big Easy Bar and Grill
Bigg Belly BBQ Co. (Food Truck)
Bird Bird Biscuit
Brown’s BBQ (Food Truck)
Burgerlicious (Food Truck)
Country Boyz Fixins
Crimson Creek Smokehouse
Da “Boot” Poboys
Da Slice ATX
Dirty Glove Midwest BBQ
Down South Texas BBQ (Food Truck)
Emmer & Rye
Emoji’s Grilled Cheese Restaurant
Fowler’s Smokin’ Soul Food
Galloway Sandwich Shop
Gossip Shack
Grub House
Habesha
Hello Sweetie BBQ (Georgetown)
Hoover’s Cooking
Island Fork (Pflugerville)
J. Leonardi’s Barbecue
JP’s Pancake Company (Food Truck)
Krab Kingz Seafood (Pflugerville)
Kowon Bakery (Online)
Kreyol Korner
Lucille’s Catering
Luv Fats Ice Cream Meal Proz (Meal Prep)
Mr. Catfish
New Awlins Cajun Cafe
Niella Catering
Paradise On Ice (Pflugerville)
Redd’s Table (Catering)
Reflectionz BBQ
Roland’s Soul Food & Fish
Rolling Rooster
Sam’s BBQ
Sassy’s Vegetarian Soul Food
Sans Bar
SLAB BBQ & Beer
Soul Popped Popcorn (Online)
Suga’s Cakery (Online)
Sweetniz Cake Shop (Online)
Taste of Ethiopia
The Black Vegan Company
The “G” Spot Wangs n’ Thangs (Food Truck)
The Original New Orleans Po-boy Gumbo Shop
Tony’s Jamaican Food (Pflugerville)
Top Tier Bakery (Online)
Trinidad and Tobago Cafe (Round Rock)
V’s Catering and Events
Wasota Vegan Paradise
Wild Magnolias
Winners BBQ (Pflugerville)
Winston’s Kitchen (Food Truck)
Word of Mouth Catering
Y’all’s Cafe (Round Rock)

OTHER BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES

Austintacious Themed gift boxes featuring Austin and Central Texas vendors
MIA The Event Diva Event planning services
The Gift Bag Gift wrapping