I would like to preface with this article that I am neither anti-black or anti-police. I am pro-human, pro-equality, and pro-liberty and justice for all.
It is 2020 and obviously all lives matter, but right now we're focused and advocating for the lives that need it. Black Lives Matter is a movement that a lot of people choose to brush off because they feel as if the tagline means that only black lives matter and none others. Let me add something to it so that everyone can understand, black lives matter too.
I very much believe that although there are tons of police officers that go into the profession for good, or to be a hero, there are also some that go into it for the power involved and to use their power for intimidation and harm rather than help. However, the same way that there's ignorant police officers, there is ignorant people of all races and sexual orientations. Too, there are great people that wear a badge and great people of all races and sexual orientations that are advocating for human rights of all kinds.
In the current climate of the world, I felt that it would be irresponsible of me to not address the topic of black lives matter and to not use my platform to educate people. While I don't have all the answers, I do understand all the opinions and views flying around. I want to help the movement by using my platform to offer some literature and educational resources so that everyone is able to make an informed opinion for themselves.
Read
Here are a few pieces of literature that will help you understand the current state of the black lives matter movement:
-White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
-How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
-The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
-Divided Sisters by Midge Wilson and Kathy Russell
-The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
-Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
-They Can't Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery
-I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
-Fatal Invention by Dorothy Roberts
-Locking Up Our Own by James Forman
-The Miner's Canary by Lani Guiner and Gerald Torres
-The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
Watch
Here are a few films that will help you understand the current state of the black lives matter movement:
-13th (Netflix)
-American Son (Netflix)
-Dear White People (Netflix)
-See You Yesterday (Netflix)
-When They See Us (Netflix)
-If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu)
-King in the Wilderness (HBO)
-The Hate You Give (Cinemax)
Listen
Here are a few podcasts and auditory presentations that will help you understand the current state of the black lives matter movement:
-Work in Progress podcast hosted by Sophia Bush with Melina Abdullah
-1619 (New York Times)
-About Race
-Code Switch (NPR)
-Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberle Crenshaw
-Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
-Pod for the Cause (Leadership Conf on Civil & Human Rights)
-Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
-Seeing White
-Parenting Forward podcast (episode 'Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt')
-Fare of the Free Child Podcast
No matter what you believe, it is your human and civic duty to get educated. After utilizing these resources, you should be able to formulate an educated stance and understand that no matter what you look like or you feel on the inside, a human is a human and we all deserve to be treated equally.