Black Lives Resources, Recommendations, and Action Items
Books
Frugal Bookstore is a Black-owned bookstore in Roxbury taking orders:
https://frugalbookstore.net, email: frugal_books@yahoo.com, phone: 617-541-1722
Harvard Gazette Reading List on the Issues of Race
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/a-reading-list-on-issues-of-race/
Robbins House Recommended Children’s Books
African American Heritage in Massachusetts: A Coloring Book, written and published by Rosalyn D. Elder, Artists for Humanity, illustrations by Lawrence Pierce
Antiracist Baby Picture Book, by Ibram X. Kendi (Kokila, 2020)
The Bell Rang by James E. Ransome (Simon & Schuster, 2019)
Beyond Freedom by Patricia Q. Wall (Fall Rose Books, 2010)
Child out of Place: A Story of New England by Patricia Q. Wall (Fall Rose Books, 2004) a historical novel set in Portsmouth, NH, and its sequel set in Boston, Mass.
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter (Alfred A. Knopf, 1988)
Juneteenth for Mazie by award-winning author and illustrator Floyd Cooper (Picture Window Books, 2016)
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson (Versify, 2019)
Books Related to the Robbins House History
Black Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum North by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton (Holmes & Meier Pub; Revised edition Jan 2000)
Black Reconstruction: Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860-1880
by W.E.B. Du Bois (Forgotten Books, 2018 Reprint)
Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts
by Elise Lemire (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009)
Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and “Race” in New England, 1780-1860 by Joanne Pope Melish (Cornell University Press, 2000)
Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance
by Cheryl Janifer LaRoche (University of Illinois Press, 2013)
From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, 9th Edition
by John Hope Franklin and Evelyn Higginbotham (McGraw-Hill; 9th edition, 2010)
Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad
by Eric Foner (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015)
Hard Road to Freedom: The Story of African America
by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton (Rutgers University Press, 2001)
Interpreting African American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites by Max van Balgooy (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014)
Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites
by Kristin L. Gallas & James deWolf Perry (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014)
Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America’s Founding Ideas
by David Hackett (Fischer Oxford University Press, 2004)
Memoir of James Jackson, the Attentive and Obedient Scholar, Who Died in Boston, October 31, 1833, Aged 6 Years and Eleven Months, By His Teacher, Miss Susan Paul by Lois Brown (ed.), (Harvard University Press, 2000)
The Minutemen and Their World by Robert Gross (Hill and Wang, 1976; 25th anniversary edition 2001)
Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved Out of Slavery and into Legend
by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina (Harper Paperbacks; Reprint edition 2009)
NPS Patriots of Color, ‘A Peculiar Beauty and Merit’: African Americans and Native Americans at Battle Road & Bunker Hill
by George Quintal, Jr., (National Park Service, 2002)
Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins: Black Daughter of the Revolution
by Lois Brown (University of North Carolina Press, 2008)
The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation
by David Brion Davis (Vintage; Reprint edition 2015)
Sarah’s Long Walk: The Free Blacks of Boston and How Their Struggle for Equality Changed America
by Stephen Kendrick (Beacon Press, 2006)
Schooling the Freed People: Teaching, Learning, and the Struggle for Black Freedom, 1861-1876
by Ronald E. Butchart (University of North Carolina Press, 2013)
Slavery and the Making of America
by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton (Oxford University Press, 2006)
“Slavery in Massachusetts” by Henry David Thoreau in Cape Cod and Miscellanies, Volume 4 of the Manuscript Edition of The Writings of Henry David Thoreau (Houghton Mifflin, 1906).
The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition
by Manisha Sinha (Yale University Press, 2017)
Stampled: Racism, Antiracism, and You – A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 7th g and up, 2020)
Ten Hills Farm: The Forgotten History of the North
by C.S. Manegold (Princeton University Press, 2009)
To Set this World Right: The Anti-slavery Movement in Thoreau’s Concord
by Sandra Harbert Petrulionis (Cornell University Press, 2006)
Understanding and Teaching American Slavery
by Bethany Jay & Cynthia Lynn Lyerly
Woke Baby, by Mahogany L. Browne (Roaring Brook Press, 2019)
We Are Your Sisters: Black Women in the Nineteenth Century
Edited by Dorothy Sterling (W. W. Norton & Company, Revised ed. 1997)
Audiobooks
Libro.fm offers anti-racist audiobooks to further educate yourself, your family, or your community. Allows you to buy audiobooks directly through your local bookstore with Libro.fm.
https://libro.fm/?fbclid=IwAR2VYAjMtC9vESKfZs9Sy0IobljJjdkwKYFPr7H5Q53anzoS_tc2pWG3Exw
Learning Tools
Learn about Implicit Biases
Making people aware of their implicit biases doesn’t usually change minds. But here’s what does work:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/making-people-aware-of-their-implicit-biases-doesnt-usually-change-minds-but-heres-what-does-work?fbclid=IwAR1I8he3pyQ3ITXbsWf0w8USXLyYrlYwxPJRhZhcmdbVTRatVb6lDSUg4yI
Implicit Bias Test available here:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Overt and Covert White Supremacy Chart
A recently updated chart, which presents *some* of the ways people practice and reinforce white supremacy that they may not be aware of, or even think of as “white supremacy White racial advantages occur at both a collective and an individual level. Posted on The Conscious Kids Facebook page.
Image Source: Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (2005). Adapted: Ellen Tuzzolo (2016); Mary Julia Cooksey Cordero (@jewelspewels) (2019); The Conscious Kid (2020).
https://www.facebook.com/theconsciouskid/photos/a.1133944430045136/2698277956945101/?type=3&theater
Summary of the Stages of Identity Development
This document includes white identity development models, as well as models for people of color:
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/racial_identity_development_agenda_3_hour_session.pdf
Talking About Race, a New Online Portal
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) launched Talking About Race, a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity, and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture.
Explore and share these digital tools, online exercises, video instructions, scholarly articles, and more than 100 multi-media resources tailored for educators, parents and caregivers—and individuals committed to racial equality.
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race
Black Films Free through June 2020
Criterion Lifts Paywall to Stream Black Films for Free through June 2020
The Criterion Channel is highlighing films that focus on Black Lives, including works by early pioneers of African American Cinema such as Oscar Micheaux; classics by Maya Angelou, Julie Dash, William Greaves, Kathleen Collins, Cheryl Dunye, and Charles Burnett; contemporary work by Khalik Allah and Leilah Weinraub; and documentary portraits of black experience by white filmmakers Les Blank and Shirley Clarke. Even if you aren’t a subscriber you can watch them for free.
Audiobooks
Libro.fm offers anti-racist audiobooks to further educate yourself, your family, or your community. Allows you to buy audiobooks directly through your local bookstore with Libro.fm.
https://libro.fm/?fbclid=IwAR2VYAjMtC9vESKfZs9Sy0IobljJjdkwKYFPr7H5Q53anzoS_tc2pWG3Exw
Learning Tools
Confronting Prejudice: How to Protect Yourself and Help Others published by Pepperdine University’s online Master of Psychology program. The purpose of this resource is to educate readers on the prevalence of prejudice and implicit bias in society, including information about what marginalized groups are most likely to be affected by prejudice. The resource features information about how one can be an ally and an advocate for change, as well as how people experiencing discrimination can build resilience against these types of behaviors.
Learn about Implicit Biases
Making people aware of their implicit biases doesn’t usually change minds. But here’s what does work:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/making-people-aware-of-their-implicit-biases-doesnt-usually-change-minds-but-heres-what-does-work?fbclid=IwAR1I8he3pyQ3ITXbsWf0w8USXLyYrlYwxPJRhZhcmdbVTRatVb6lDSUg4yI
Implicit Bias Test available here:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Overt and Covert White Supremacy Chart
A recently updated chart, which presents *some* of the ways people practice and reinforce white supremacy that they may not be aware of, or even think of as “white supremacy White racial advantages occur at both a collective and an individual level. Posted on The Conscious Kids Facebook page.
Summary of the Stages of Identity Development
This document includes white identity development models, as well as models for people of color:
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/racial_identity_development_agenda_3_hour_session.pdf
Talking About Race, a New Online Portal
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) launched Talking About Race, a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity, and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture.
Explore and share these digital tools, online exercises, video instructions, scholarly articles, and more than 100 multi-media resources tailored for educators, parents and caregivers—and individuals committed to racial equality.
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race
Black Films Free through June 2020
Criterion Lifts Paywall to Stream Black Films for Free through June 2020
The Criterion Channel is highlighing films that focus on Black Lives, including works by early pioneers of African American Cinema such as Oscar Micheaux; classics by Maya Angelou, Julie Dash, William Greaves, Kathleen Collins, Cheryl Dunye, and Charles Burnett; contemporary work by Khalik Allah and Leilah Weinraub; and documentary portraits of black experience by white filmmakers Les Blank and Shirley Clarke. Even if you aren’t a subscriber you can watch them for free.
Local Black-Owned Businesses
Chocolate Therapy – Hand Crafted Chocolates
https://thechocolatetherapy.com/
A line of fine, antioxidant-rich chocolates that will indulge your senses, treat your body and soothe your soul – open for curbside pickup in Framingham from 10-4.
Frugal Bookstore is a Black-owned bookstore in Roxbury taking orders:
https://frugalbookstore.net, (617) 541-1722, frugal_books@yahoo.com
Handcrafted Works of Art by Artisan Lisa Lee of Boston (ALLOB)
https://www.facebook.com/artisanlisaleeboston/ https://www.behance.net/artisanlisaleeboston
Multi-media Artist Lisa Lee performed stunning spoken poetry for The Robbins House’s Concord celebration of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Lisa creates leather rings, leather collars, beaded earrings with sterling silver findings, saddlebags, hats, leather purses, and extraordinary greeting cards.
Monument Style Salon, located in Concord’s Colonial Inn
https://m.facebook.com/monumentstyle/
Offering relaxed expertise in hair styling, flat ironing, updos, coloring, weaving, extensions and relaxer & scalp treatments; manicures; facials; men & women brow staining/shaping; natural hair texture care; hot towel service w/gentleman’s cuts; and bride & groom wedding party consultations. (978) 987-1319
For more Black-owned businesses in the Boston area, go to: https://blackboston.com/list-of-black-owned-companies-in-the-boston-area-who-requested-referrals-from-aboutblackboston-online-buyblack/
Black-owned Businesses around the Country to Support
Amalgam Comics specializes in comics, toys & figurines, games, comic related magazines, apparel – and if you’re in North Philadelphia, coffee & espresso related beverages and baked goods.
https://amalgamphilly.com/
Black-owned Etsy stores – Explore the creativity
https://etsy.me/2Z0ZuV8
Blk & Bold sells specialty coffee and loose-leaf teas, with a subscription service.
https://blkandbold.com
Diop offers diaspora-inspired facemasks – perfect for attending BLM events in masks – and street wear. Located in Detroit.
www.weardiop.com
Flare & Square is a suit accessories company specializing in ties, pocket squares, and socks. Denver, CO.
https://www.flareandsquare.com/
Glamourina is the go-to activewear brand for culturally conscious women of all different shapes, shades, and countries.
http://www.glamourina.com
Golde is an independent, Brooklyn-born brand centered in making superfood-boosted essentials for health and beauty.
https://golde.co/
The Honeypot Company is the first complete feminine care system powered by herbs. Available at Debra’s Gourmet in West Concord and Wegmans.
https://thehoneypot.co/
The McBride Sisters Wine Collection is a story of two sisters living continents apart who discovered each other and their passion for wine. Located in Oakland, CA.
https://www.mcbridesisters.com/
What we can do now:
Send Books to Little Free Diverse Libraries
Arlington’s Sarah Kamya created the Little Free Diverse Library Project to revise the canon of children’s literature to feature authors of color and texts that portray a diverse range of experiences. The books purchased here will fill Little Free Libraries in Arlington, MA, and other communities to amplify and empower black voices: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2N6G2DIBWQDIT?ref_=wl_share
Make Masks for Chelsea, MA COVID Hotspot
Send to: Chelsea Collaborative, Inc., 318 Broadway, Chelsea, MA 02150-2808
https://www.chelseacollab.org
Homemade mask directions and patterns can be found here:
- CDC homemade cloth face cover guidelines & instructions: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
- How to sew cdc-compliant face masks: https://www.schooloffashiondesign.org/masks-covid19
Resources for Accountability and Actions for Black Lives
This is a working document for compiling actions you can take now to reduce racism, as well as learning tools.
Includes:
Petitions to sign
Politicians to contact
Where to donate
Ways to support aside from donating
Resources for protesters
Organizations & Publications
http://bit.ly/BlackLivesAction
Webby Awards Resources in Defense of Black Lives
Includes:
Support Black Voters
Voices to Follow
Ways to Heal / Aid Healing
How to Become a Better Ally
Media on the Black Experience in America
Resources for Parents & Family Members
https://www.webbyawards.com/news/resources-in-defense-of-black-lives/
Anti-racism Resources
This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work. Compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020.
Includes:
Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children
Articles to read
Videos to watch
Podcasts to subscribe to
Books to read
Films and TV series to watch
Organizations to follow on social media
More anti-racism resources to check out
Tufts-Tisch College of Civic Life – JUNE 17, 2020
Racial Justice Resources for Educators, Youth, and Families
Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History’s resources address racism, anti-semitism, and prejudice at pivotal moments in history; we help students connect choices made in the past to those they will confront in their own lives. Resources for educators can be found at https://www.facinghistory.org/educator-resources
Letters for Black Lives
Letters for Black Lives is a set of crowd-sourced, multilingual, and culturally-aware resources aimed at creating a space for open and honest conversations about racial justice, police violence, and anti-Blackness in our families and communities.
https://lettersforblacklives.com/
Social Emotional, Civic Learning, and Mindfulness Resources (UPDATED this month)
See the following resource list that was developed by Deborah Donahue-Keegan, Tisch College Senior Fellow and Director of the Initiative on Social Emotional Learning and Civic Engagement. Deborah is dedicated to advancing education practices that foster social-emotional development, deep learning, and cultural competence.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u3cYotE23V8FTf6ghT8Ni6DvCGMMc_HVmGcuDybzGqw/edit
Resources for Communities and Organizations
ACLU Massachusetts- Take Action
Looking for ways to become active in making social change? Please visit the ACLU of Massachusetts’ page on taking action for your community. Find ways to stay civically involved in your community through events, donations, petitions, and letters to government officials.
Haley House
“Haley House uses food with purpose and the power of community to break down barriers between people, empower individuals, and strengthen neighborhoods. We believe in radical solutions: solving problems at their root by challenging attitudes that perpetuate suffering and building alternative models.” They have assembled a substantial list of resources for racial justice that can be found here:
http://haleyhouse.org/resources-for-racial-justice/
Lawyers for Civil Rights
Lawyers for Civil Rights fosters equal opportunity and fights discrimination on behalf of people of color and immigrants through legal action, education, and advocacy.
http://lawyersforcivilrights.org/what-we-do/
NAACP 2017 Equity, Access, and Opportunity Boston Report Card
After almost four years of data collection and intensive research, the NAACP Boston Branch released “Equity, Access, and Opportunity: the Walsh Administration’s Efforts and Results,” a report card assessment of the administration. The document assesses the efforts of the administration to improve conditions within communities of color focusing on four areas of importance highlighted by then-candidate Walsh in 2013: (1) Economic Development; (2) Education; (3) Public Safety; and (4) Staffing Diversity.
http://naacpboston.com/mt-content/uploads/2019/11/2017-bosnaacp-report-card.pdf
Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition – Resources for Educators, Students and Families
Explore free resources to help educators, students, and families continue teaching and learning civics remotely.
