Here's How White People Can Support The Fight Against Police Brutality
Places to donate, things to read, and other ways to understand how your own privilege can be used to fight systemic racism and police brutality.
Being an antiracist is a lot like going to therapy. It's not an on and off switch or a badge you get to wear after you do something right one time. It's a process that requires showing up regularly, learning and unlearning, and a lot of self-reflection. You can't pull it out and use it only after something bad happens. You need a foundation of knowledge, the intention to use it and you only know it's working when you can apply it to something happening in the real world.
So we've compiled a list of resources for white people who want to do that work. Non-white people may find these helpful, too, of course! But some of these resources are specifically about how your experience as a white person is entwined with the systemic oppression of Black people in America, how structural racism is different than individual racism and how you can use your white privilege to support the fight for racial justice. Many of these resources came from longer guides that were compiled by other activists and organizers, listed at the bottom, and who could use your support.
If there are resources you don't see here that have been helpful to you or that you would like to see, please let us know in the comments or DM me on Twitter, and we'll continue to update this post.
PLACES TO DONATE
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Direct Contributions
George Floyd Memorial Fund (GoFundMe)
Ahmaud Arbery Fund (GoFundMe)
Tony McDade Fund (GoFundMe)
Support for Protesters
A list with more local bail funds (Note that many local funds are overwhelmed with donations and suggesting other places to donate. Check the most recent posts from your local fund before giving.)
Here's a twitter thread with a list of mutual aid funds to support.
Other Organizations Working Toward Racial Justice
Be The Bridge
Center for Policing Equity
The Innocence Project
The Black Youth Project
National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
Donate to multiple groups at once on ActBlue, and see more on Black Lives Matter’s resource page, How to Support the Struggle Against Police Brutality on The Cut, or this Instagram post.
ACTIONS TO TAKE
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Sign a petition.
Attend or Support a Protest
Learn how to safely attending a protest during a pandemic here and here. And see how you can virtually protest if you can't attend in person.
Contact Your Representatives
Learn about policy changes to ask your local and elected officials about. Here's the directory to find your Representative, and here's one to find your Senator. Or you can call the Senate switchboard directly to be connected to your congressperson at +1 (202) 224-3121. Don't know what to say? 5calls.org has created scripts to help you voice concerns on things like police reform, with the help of organizations like Campaign Zero.
ARTICLES TO READ
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“Racism Defined” by Dismantling Racism Works
“Welcome To The Anti-Racism Movement — Here’s What You’ve Missed” by Ijeoma Oluo
"Why the CVS Burned" by Louis Hyman
"How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change" by Barack Obama
"A Very Abbreviated History of the Destruction of Black Neighborhoods" by Gabrielle Bruney
“The Subtle Linguistics of Polite White Supremacy” by Yawo Brown
"Amy Cooper, White Spaces and the Political Project of Whiteness" by Lara Witt
"The Case for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
"How to Talk to Your Family About Racism on Thanksgiving" by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle
”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh
“Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
“America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer
"The 1619 Project" (series of articles) in The New York Times Magazine
VIDEOS & MOVIES TO STREAM
Available to Stream
"What happens when I try to talk race with white people" (YouTube)
"White People, Enough: A Look at Power and Control" (YouTube)
"How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion" (YouTube)
13th (Netflix)
Dear White People (Netflix)
When They See Us (Netflix)
If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu)
The Hate U Give (Hulu)
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix)
Available to Rent
Do Not Resist ($2.99 on Google Play and YouTube)
Fruitvale Station ($3.99 on Google Play, Amazon Prime and YouTube)
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution ($3.99 on Amazon Prime)
Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 ($2.99 on YouTube and Google Play)
I Am Not Your Negro a James Baldwin documentary ($2.99 on Google Play, Amazon Prime and YouTube)
PODCASTS TO LISTEN TO
Single Episodes
"Dismantling White Fragility" from The Goop Podcast (Stitcher / Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
"Let's Talk about Whiteness" from On Being with Krista Tippett (On Being / Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher)
“Why The Coronavirus Is Hitting Black Communities Hardest” from NPR’s Code Switch (NPR / Stitcher / Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
“Miss Buchanan’s Period of Adjustment” Season 2, Episode 3 of Revisionist History (Stitcher / Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
Seasons or Series
Seeing White on Radio (Stitcher / Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
1619 from the New York Times (Stitcher / NYT / Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
BOOKS TO READ
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD (Amazon / Bookshop)
How To Be Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi (Amazon / Bookshop)
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson (Amazon / Bookshop)
Raising Our Hands: How White Women Can Stop Avoiding Hard Conversations, Start Accepting Responsibility, and Find Our Place on the New Frontlines by Jenna Arnold out June 23, 2020 (Amazon / Bookshop)
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele (Amazon / Bookshop)
How To Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal M Fleming (Amazon / Bookshop)
So You Wanna Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (Amazon / Bookshop)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (Amazon / Bookshop)
White Tears, Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad (Amazon / Bookshop)
The End of Policing: How the police endanger us and why we need to find an alternative by Alex S. Vitale (Amazon / Bookshop)
See more in our Essential Reading Guide For Fighting Racism.
OTHER EXERCISES & CONVERSATION STARTERS
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A comic about why it's not OK to say All Lives Matter from Chainsawsuit
Anti-Racist Checklist for Whites from Robin DiAngelo
Implicit Bias Test from Harvard University
Journal prompts for exploring white privilege & white supremacy from Lisa Olivera Therapy
Template for holding your employer accountable for racial justice from Rachel Elizabeth Cargle
How to go from Actor to Ally to Accomplice in the fight for racial justice on whiteaccomplices.org
Twitter thread on Non-optical Allyship from @mireillecharper
"Save the tears" a white woman's guide from Tatiana Mac
HOW TO FIND BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT
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Here's a thread with a list of Black-owned businesses that were damaged in the protests and how you can support them. Here's another list compiled by Black Lives Matter.
Check Instagram for accounts that curate makers and store-owners in your area, like @BlackOwnedBrooklyn, @BuyBlackATL and @BuyfromBIPOC.
Official Black Wall Street has a directory you can search by category or location. They also have an app for iOS and Android.
And see some of our favorite products here:
CREDITS & OTHER RESOURCES
Some of these resources were pulled from the following guides that you should check out for more ideas (and support their creators in any/all ways you can):
Anti-Racist Resource Guide from @Tatortash (Venmo: @tatortash)
Anti-Racism Resources for White People from Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein
Anti-Racism Resources from Rachel Ricketts (Support on Patreon)
Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism from Jon Greenberg and Citizenship & Social Justice
The Great Unlearn curriculum by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle (Support on Patreon)
Anguish and Action a resource guide from the Obama Foundation