Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Black Lives Matter: Books to Read, Accounts to Follow, Business to Shop, Videos to Watch, and Action Steps to Take

It feels so good to have this post up finally and to share it with y’all. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m the type of person who internally processes things before sharing them. I realize that over the past month, that may not be the most popular approach when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement, and it was never my intention to come across as silent. Instead, I’ve spent time processing my own privileges and learning how to become a better ally for people of color. I think it’s important to note that people do process things differently, and just because they may not be saying something right away, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing their part. My blog has always been on the more frivolous side as I’ve used it as an escape from reality of sorts, and I understand that that may not be popular right. With so much heavy stuff going on in the world, I knew I needed to internalize my thoughts and what I’m learning before taking valuable space from those who may process sooner. I feel beyond lucky to have a platform that I can use to speak about this topic on and appreciate y’alls patience as I processed things. 


The above art is by Danielle Coke (@ohhappydani on instagram) who has become a favorite follow and resource of mine as of late! She is wise beyond her years and creates beautiful posts that are informative.

After watching the news and following along with what happened in Minneapolis, one of the first things I did was sit down to watch Just Mercy with my roommate. She had read the book and was more aware of what was to come, and I hope to read the book soon, given that I was appalled at my lack of knowledge of the events taking place in the book, given the close to home proximity. Despite these events occurring before I was born, Monroeville, Alabama, is a place I frequent, given that my grandparents live there. And the county where the trial took place, that’s where I grew up. Talk about privilege…given that I had no idea until watching the movie. For those of you that haven’t seen it, it’s a hard watch but a worthwhile one that provided a clear sign to me that I have so much to learn. 

And as I’ve been learning, I thought it might be helpful for some of y’all to see the resources I’ve been recommended and exposed to by sharing them here. This is obviously not a comprehensive list in any regard, but a small taste of some of the ways I have and am planning to continue to support the movement and learn from it since we all have work to do. The following two links provide an excellent place to start! 


I would love it if you would share any particularly helpful resources you’ve been exposed to with me in the comments! 

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