Black Lives Matter and
Anti-Racism Resource Guide
By Jennifer Sharp PT, DPT, CCS, and Janna Marshall, SPT
We are currently battling two pandemics: COVID-19, beginning roughly 9 months ago, and racial injustice, beginning over 400 years ago. We are still struggling to process the senseless killings of members of our Black communities. But in these painful times there is also hope. People are coming together to fight against racial injustice. JHR would like to offer these suggested resources, in a variety of platforms, to help our readers educate themselves, self-reflect, and either begin or add to their journey toward being anti-racist.
Civil Rights Leader John Lewis’s Last Words to the Nation, Published on the Day of His Funeral
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html
ART
“A Changing America: 1968 and BEYOND”
National Museum of African American History & Culture
https://nmaahc.si.edu/changing-america
#1960Now: Photographs of Civil Rights Activists and Black Lives Matter Protests—Shelia Pree Bright
https://www.amazon.com/dp/145217072X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_MvpfFbRHJ9J71
We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965 – 85
https://caamuseum.org/exhibitions/2017/we-wanted-a-revolution
https://youtu.be/wIjeVUKTP_0
These Ten Artworks from the High’s Collection Poignantly and Passionately Acknowledge the Black Experience in the United States (High Museum of Art. Atlanta, Georgia. June 12, 2020)
https://medium.com/high-museum-of-art/these-ten-artworks-from-the-highs-collection-poignantly-and-passionately-acknowledge-the-black-eda42fd2d393
Titus Kaphar https://kapharstudio.com/
Collections and specific works by Titus Kaphar to explore:
Analogous Colors (2020, Time Magazine cover)
Asphalt and Chalk (2015)
UnSeen: Our Past in a New Light
https://npg.si.edu/exhibition/unseen-our-past-new-light-ken-gonzales-day-and-titus-kaphar
TED Radio Hour- Titus Kaphar: How Can We Address Centuries of Racism in Art?
https://www.npr.org/2017/11/10/562836477/titus-kaphar-how-can-we-address-centuries-of-racism-in-art
The National Portrait Gallery may be currently closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but they have online exhibitions featured on Google Arts and Culture.
Portraits of African Americans
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/portraits-of-african-americans/xQJisgUMzpY9Lw?mc_cid=a1b64e28dd&mc_eid=0d44a7c872
BEAUTY
The history of Eurocentric beauty standards
This article highlights the idea of beauty and the origin of the physical features it entails.
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/02/06/685506578/is-beauty-in-the-eyes-of-the-colonizer
The history of cosmetics
This article talks about the lack of inclusion in the makeup industry and the potential reasons behind it.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6537327/makeup-dark-skin/
Crown Act: a movement to prevent African-Americans from being discriminated against based on their hair.
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/04/15/crown-act-movement-seeks-protect-black-people-racial-discrimination-based-hairstyles
Black Hair Laws Passed Stop Natural Hair Discrimination Across US (USA Today, 10/14/2019)
This article is about the discrimination against African Americans in the workplace, schools, etc. based on the texture and style of their hair.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/14/black-hair-laws-passed-stop-natural-hair-discrimination-across-us/3850402002/
Hair Love: An Oscar-winning, animated short film about an African American father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNw8V_Fkw28
DANCE
‘Revelations’ by Alvin Aliey
https://www.alvinailey.org/performances/repertory/revelations
“Raised By Krump” Documentary by Director Maceo Frost (GOODBLACKNEWS on May, 24, 2017)
https://goodblacknews.org/tag/marquisa-miss-prissy-gardner/
ETHICS
Implicit bias
This is a test developed by Harvard that explores one’s own implicit bias. A clinician’s implicit bias can affect the quality of care that a patient experiences.
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
Henrietta Lacks
This short film is about the harvesting of Henrietta Lacks’ cancer cells without her knowledge or consent. While this did contribute to many advances in science, the knowledge gained has unethical origins.
https://youtu.be/SPLSp7Tf3bw
Tuskegee Syphilis studies
This excerpt is about the ethically unjustified “study” on the effects of untreated syphilis on African American males.
https://www.tuskegee.edu/about-us/centers-of-excellence/bioethics-center/about-the-usphs-syphilis-study
Discrepancies in salaries
This is a brief blog post about the differences in salary based on race that persist within our nation.
https://www.epi.org/blog/racial-and-ethnic-income-gaps-persist-amid-uneven-growth-in-household-incomes/
Health disparities: there are large disparities in the care of Black lives
This article highlights the relationship between race, racism and health status. It also proposes strategies to evoke systemic change to help improve the quality of health care.
https://www.abfe.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Health-Care-Institution-Population-Health-and-Black-Lives.pdf
HEALTH ISSUES
How Are Income and Wealth Linked to Health and Longevity?
This article is about the relationship between socioeconomic class and health status.
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/49116/2000178-How-are-Income-and-Wealth-Linked-to-Health-and-Longevity.pdf
Breaking the Intergenerational Cycle of Disadvantage: The Three Generation Approach
This review highlights the health burden of low socioeconomic class and social disadvantage and how to break the generational cycle.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4894258/
Stress Management
This video series by Dr. Bruce Rabin dives into the mental and physical effects of stress on a person’s health, and offers healthy ways to cope with stress.
https://www.alephne.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/4713968/jewish/Stress-Management-Video-Presentation.htm
Black Lives Matter: Mental Health Resources For And By People of Color
https://www.talkspace.com/blog/black-lives-matter-resources-people-of-color/
Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
The BLHF is a foundation that focuses on bringing awareness and support to mental health issues within the African American community.
https://borislhensonfoundation.org/resource-guide/
Two Black Men a Week (2016, documentary, available on Amazon Prime Video)
This documentary speaks to the statistics that two Black men a week are killed by police in this country.
HUMANITIES EDUCATION
Lack of Black History in Curriculum
This is a timeline highlighting events of African American U.S. history.
https://www.nps.gov/saga/learn/education/upload/african%20american%20history%20timeline.pdf
The Status of Black History in U.S. Schools and Society by LaGarrett J. King
This article addresses the lack of African American history in the standard curriculums throughout the country. It highlights the importance of learning the identities of different groups of people to fully understand each other and improve our nation.
https://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/publications/articles/se_810117014.pdf
Black Inventors
An interesting list of inventions by African Americans who may not be well-known.
https://interestingengineering.com/the-a-z-list-of-black-inventors
THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN ACADEMIA AND THE WORKPLACE
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
A book about growing up as an African American male in the south in the 1950s.
https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Man-Ralph-Ellison/dp/0679732764
NY Times: “Study Examines Why Black Americans Remain Scarce in Executive Suites” by Lauretta Charlton
“A new report, ‘Being Black in Corporate America,’ outlines why diversity and inclusion efforts are falling short for African-American professionals.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/us/black-in-corporate-america-report.html
How Black Women Describe Navigating Race and Gender in the Workplace by Maura Cheeks
This article discusses the different challenges faced by African American women in the workplace.
https://hbr.org/2018/03/how-black-women-describe-navigating-race-and-gender-in-the-workplace
MOVIES
Fruitvale Station
“A story based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man who was killed in 2009 by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station in Oakland.”
When They See Us
This chilling documentary is about the lives of the infamous “Central Park Five.” Their journey will keep you on the edge of your seat as you watch the justice system fail these young men and incarcerate them for 14 years.
Just Mercy
A Harvard grad returns to defend the wrongfully convicted who cannot afford proper representation. His first case is an inmate on death row whose innocence is obvious. This movie explores the racism the lawyer experienced for trying to legally prove his client’s innocence.
Harriet Tubman
“From her escape from slavery through the dangerous missions she led to liberate hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, the story of heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman is told.”
MUSIC
HipHopEd Protest Playlist – Spotify
Featuring almost 11 hours of music, #HipHopEd created a playlist on Spotify inspired by the current Black Lives Matter movement. In their words, “Listen to learn, listen to feel and listen to heal.”
#HipHopEd is a nonprofit educational organization. Follow on Twitter and join their weekly chat on Tuesdays at 9 PM EST.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6C7PTNxK3OH800urEC896A?si=n6RmlqJoSVamqwwXdWftHw
2020 Riots: How Many Times by Trey Songz
This song was inspired by protests following George Floyd’s murder. Proceeds of this song will benefit BLM and National Bail Fund network.
They Don’t by Nasty C & T.I.
This song addresses racial injustices. Proceeds from the single will go to Until Freedom and The Solidarity Fund.
WRITINGS
Consider buying your books from a Black-owned bookstore in your area https://aalbc.com/bookstores/list.php
The Tradition by Jericho Brown
2020 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Jericho Brown tackles topics of terror in our homes and communities in this collection but at the same time describes the beauty that surrounds us.
https://youtu.be/r9LGIbG5o3Y
And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
“You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise.”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise
Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington
This book offers a comprehensive history of the mistreatment of Black Americans by the medical field as unwitting and unwilling experimental subjects.
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
The author will guide you on a 28-day self-reflective journey. She includes journaling prompts to help the reader examine their own white privilege, which she hopes leads to awareness and action.
How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
“Kendi dissects why in a society where so few people consider themselves to be racist the divisions and inequalities of racism remain so prevalent. How to Be an Antiracist punctures the myths of a post-racial America, examining what racism really is—and what we should do about it.”—Time
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
The white author is an antiracist educator and with her work seeks to bring awareness to the phenomenon of white fragility. She demonstrates how white fragility upholds racial inequality and what we can actively do to dismantle this phenomenon.
FURTHER RESOURCE LISTS
Mind the Gap: a resource created to help clinicians identify skin changes and disorders on POC.
An Antiracist Reading List
Racial Equity Tools: A Fundamental Resource List
TED Talk Playlist: Celebrating Black History Month
TED Talk Playlist: Understanding Racism in America
Harvard Countway Library: BLM: Antiracism and Health Suggested Resources
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