Racial Justice
ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES
To create a community where everyone can fully participate and have equal opportunity to succeed, we must address the historical roots of racism and discrimination that impact us all. This includes creating tools to address systemic and institutional racism that exists in many workplaces.
In our recent city-wide survey on community perceptions of racism across Greater Victoria, 61% of residents felt that supportive practices and anti-racism policies in workplaces were critical to addressing issues of racism within Victoria.
Every individual, business and organization has a responsibility to take action to fight racism. If we don’t know how, we need to learn how.
Here are some reading, watching, listening, acting and supporting options to do so. The list is by no means exhaustive.
Bystander Intervention Training
The Bystander Intervention Training Program is designed to equip individuals and organizations with practical skills and tools to be anti-racist allies and create cultures that promote dignity.
WATCH
Films:
- 13th (Netflix)
- When They See US (Netflix)
- The Hate They Give (Cinemax)
- American Son (Netflix)
- Dear White People (Netflix)
- See You Yesterday (Netflix)
- If Beale St. Could Talk (Hulu)
- King in the Wilderness (HBO)
Videos:
- Systemic Racism Explained
- 5 Things You Should Know About Racism
- Lawrence Hill on Racism in Canada, U.S after George Floyd’s Death
- Desmond Cole: Are we there yet? The struggle for racial equity in Canada
- CTV: Canadians should not be blind to racism in our own country, SFU prof says
- Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers (50:48)
- “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion”| Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)
READ
Books:
- How to Be an Anti-Racist – by Dr. Ibrahim X. Kendi
- White Fragility – by Robin DiAngelo
- Between the World and Me – by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The New Jim Crow – by Michelle Alexander
- Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression – by J. Sidanius & F. Pratto
- The Bluest Eye – by Toni Morrison
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria – by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- So You Want to Talk About Race –by Ijeoma Oluo
- I know Why the Caged Bird Sings – by Maya Angelou
- The Can’t Kill Us All – by Wesley Lowery
- Black Feminist Thought – by Patricia Hill Collins
- Divided Sisters – by Midge Wilson and Kathy Russell
- Locking Up Your Own – by James Forman
- Their Eyes Were Watching God – by Zora Neale Hurston
- Fatal Invention – by Dorothy Roberts
- The Miner’s Canary – by Lani Guiner and Gerald Torres
- The Wretched of the Earth – by Frantz Fanon
- 25 Books About Being Black in Canada
Articles/Essays:
- How Meritocracy Harms Everyone-Even the Winners – by Sean Illing
- The 1619 Project Articles –The New York
- White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack – by Peggy McIntosh
- The weight of change should not rest on the shoulders of Black people
- Stratagem Virtual: 10 Habits of Someone Who Doesn’t Know They’re Anti-Black(Make sure to buy a ticket to Stratagem Virtual)
Letters:
- In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police in the U.S., Maclean’sasked Black Canadian writers to pen open letters to America addressing the recent upheaval and the task of confronting racism that—deny it as some Canadians might—persists in their own country.
Listen
Podcasts to subscribe to:
Donate
- Hogan’s Alley Society
- Black in BC Community Support Fund for COVID-19
- Black Lives Matter Vancouver
- Black Women’s Program at Battered Women’s Support Services
- The Black Mental Health Matters-Youthlink (Toronto)
- Eritrean-Ethiopian COVID Solidarity Fund (Toronto)
- Justice for Regis
- Vancouver Black Therapy & Advocacy Fund
ACT – THINGS YOU CAN DO
- 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
- Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action
- 26 Ways To Be in The Struggle Beyond the Streets:
- Performative Allyship is Deadly (And What to Do Instead)
- Authoritarian State or Inclusive Democracy? 21 Things We Can Do Right Now
More anti-racism resources to check out:
- Take the Harvard Implicit Bias Test
- 11 Anti-Racist Accounts That Are Worth Following
- Commission of Canada Truth & Reconciliation Summary Report
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism
- Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac
- Showing Up For Racial Justice’s educational resources
- The [White] Shift on Instagram
- “Why is this happening?” — an introduction to police brutality from 100 Year Hoodie
Mental health care and substance use prevention in the BIPOC community
- Live Another Day – Live Another Day was founded to provide equal access to life-saving resources. They offer dozens of resources for finding help for mental health and substance use
- Resources for AAPI Students – 28 mental health and substance use resources for Asian American students, carefully curated by experts at Lexington Addiction Center
- Detox Local – An excellent resource that features abundant information including mental health and substance use resources specifically for the AAPI (American Asian and Pacific Islander) community
- A Guide for Addressing the Loneliness Epidemic – Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recently issued a special report on the public health crisis of loneliness in America. The Summit Wellness Group has put together this incredible guide with dozens of mental health and substance use resources that can help.
Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children:
Books:
- Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: books for children and young adults
- 31 Children’s books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance
Podcasts:
- Parenting Forward podcast episode ‘Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt’
- Fare of the Free Child podcast
- Integrated Schools podcast episode “Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey”
Articles:
- PBS’s Teaching Your Child About Black History Month
- Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup from Pretty Good
The Conscious Kid: follow them on Instagram and consider signing up for their Patreon
CREDIT (Resources Compiled with references from)
- Meneka Repka
- Towani Duchscher
- Feminist Deliver
- Sarah Sophie Flicker,
- Alyssa Klein
- Evita Ellis
Tools for Equity
ICA’s Tools for Equity training program for businesses and organizations, addresses racial disparities and employment barriers faced by immigrants, refugees, and communities of colour in the Capital Regional District.
GVLIP Anti-Racism at Work
Anti-Racism at Work is everyone's job. Organizations from small to large will find local resources to help implement anti-racism strategies at work.
Local Immigration Partnership (GVLIP)
Greater Victoria Local Immigration Partnership (GVLIP) focuses on strategic partnerships to develop equitable policies impacting governance, education, health care and housing in our community.