Here we are again, friends. Tensions are high for a multitude of very valid reasons. Let’s take some deep breaths before we act/react, check in on our Black friends, and be aware of what we’re prioritizing right now (and speaking of prioritizing, here are some bail funds you can donate to) Let’s dive in.
This article explains why I said Black in my previous sentence instead of POC
Here is a multi-medium Anti-racism resource. Books, podcasts, videos, movies, organizations to follow. Lots of options to educate yourself in the mediums that work best for you.
If you’re like me and you love to read, here is a great list of books and articles.
I’ve added a meditation and journaling practice to my morning routine and this Black Lives Matter meditation for allies/accomplices has been in heavy rotation this past week.
As I’m writing these out, I’m imagining an audience of white women. I’m hearing women’s voices ask “What can I do? How do I talk to my kids about this? Where can I make a difference?” And that’s great. That’s important. That’s progress. But I find myself asking “Where are the white men?” Rebecca Solnit has something to say about how masculinity is negatively impacting…well, everything.
If you’ve been here for any length of time, you know I think everyone needs/deserves therapy. I’ve been lucky to find wonderful therapists at different times in my life that made me feel safe, seen, and heard; thanks, in no small part, to them looking like me and coming from (at least superficially) similar backgrounds. Therapists are disproportionately white so what are POC to do when they want to be seen and heard by someone from their same cultural background? A new app has launched that connects people of color with therapists from their own cultural background.
Here’s another app that lists Black Owned businesses near you.
Society/capitalism moves at a break-neck pace these days (this article mentions that we literally walk faster now than we did in the past!) and our news cycle length has gone from months to days. This article checks in on what we’ve been up to since the Industrial Revolution and how the pandemic is creating/forcing a slow down. Hopefully that means you can slow down and read through these resources and choose how you want to engage.
Thank you for sticking with those possibly hard but definitely necessary pieces. Here are some other random things that are keeping me occupied and entertained this week:
One of these cookies was in my Universal Yums box this month and it was so delicious that I found them online and ordered more! Can’t wait to eat them with afternoon coffee.
Did you know that Gucci makes wallpaper?! I told myself it was the silliest thing I’d ever heard but then I saw THIS and it’s absurd and amazing and I’m trying to decide where I can put it in my house.
That’s all for now. I hope this gives you some resources and some things to think about. Take what you like and leave the rest.
Have fun, be safe, and love on each other (in CT safe ways)
Alix