The First Step To Addressing Inequality, Racism, and Social Injustice
The first step to addressing inequality, racism, and social injustice begins with gaining knowledge. Here are some resources to further your education and understanding regarding historical injustice and the current civil movement.
As a personal development coach and a thought leader for my growing community, it is my responsibility to encourage and teach on topics like Communication, Self Awareness, Courage, and Influence.
I believe that, as leaders of our families, communities, cities, and beyond, it's our responsibility to speak up when we see injustice in the world.
And now--more than ever--is the time to have the courage to speak up, and take action against injustice, racism, and inequality.
Silence breeds more injustice. True Courage to lead is when we are willing to put ourselves on the line to stand up against injustice, even if our voices are trembling.
THREE STEPS TOWARDS GROWTH AND CHANGE
- Learn More. The first step is to educate ourselves so that we have a better understanding of the issues that face us, where we've been, and where we are going.
- Do the Work. The second step is to then do the self work to address and challenge our individual and collective belief systems and the behaviors that stem from them.
- Make Change Happen. Finally, we must take action to make change happen. This is true on the micro as well as the macro level. Change begins with the individual and then needs to spread to the family, the community, and to the greater culture, nation, and world at large.
Knowledge Gained + Belief Systems Challenged + Taking Action = Change
INTRODUCTION
The following is a beginning list of resources. It is not comprehensive and by no means represents all facets of the conversation. If you have suggestions to add to this list, please email me at [email protected].
I am not a social justice expert, and speaking up in the conversation does not make me one. I offer you my humility, my heart, and my own willingness to grow and change as well.
I am merely directing you to the history, research, and voices who are experts. It's a place for us to begin. All of us. Because it will take all of us working together to change the current thinking, dialogue, and systems.
The faster that change happens towards a more equitable, fair, and just world, the faster we can evolve towards our higher potential as humans to love, to have empathy, and to work together.
Here are some places to start:
LEARN HOW TO HAVE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
Nonviolent Communication, A Language of Life: Life-changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Dr. Marshall B. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D.
It's Time to Talk (and Listen): How to Have Conversations About Race, Class, Sexuality, Ability & Gender in a Polarized World by Anatasia S. Kim, PhD, and Alicia del Prado, PhD
A Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation: Creating safe environments for conversations about race, politics, sexuality, and religion by Wayne Jacobsen, Arnita Taylor, and Bob Prater
How to Have Difficult Conversations with David Harris (Simon Sinek's podcast "a bit of optimism")
LEARN HOW TO LEAD
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown (You can also read my synopsis of this book on my blog.)
READ ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY & HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt, PhD
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness by Rhonda V. Magee and Jon Kabat-Zinn
READ HISTORY and HISTORICAL NARRATIVES AND ESSAYS
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965 by Juan Williams
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community by Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The Black Book by Harris, Smith, Levitt, Furman, and Morrison
Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones
READ BIOGRAPHIES
Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
READ MORE BOOKS (MULTIPLE NONFICTION GENRES)
The Origin of Others (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) by Toni Morrison
How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
READ FICTION
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Deacon King Kong: A Novel by James McBride (a June, 2020 Oprah Book Club selection)
WATCH TALKS AND LISTEN TO CONVERSATIONS
TED Talks List entitled "Talks to Help You Understand Racism in America"
PBS 3 part short video series on Black Codes: Laws to Criminalize Black Life, Pig Laws and Imprisonment, and The Origins of Black Codes (each of these videos is less than 3 minutes long)
Justice for All full CBS News Special
26 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias, and Identity with Students by the New York Times
WATCH DOCUMENTARIES
WATCH MOVIES BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
GO TO WEBSITES WITH RESOURCES AND EDUCATION
LISTEN TO PODCASTS
GET INVOLVED AND/OR SUPPORT
Find how to contact your local and state governments here.
LEARN ABOUT THE POLICING SYSTEM IN AMERICA
New Era of Public Safety: An Advocacy Toolkit for Fair, Safe, and Effective Community Policing (From an initiative of the Policing Campaign at the Leadership Conference Education Fund, the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and was supported by the Google Foundation.)
New Era of Public Safety: A Guide to Fair, Safe, and Effective Community Policing (Also from an initiative of the Policing Campaign at the Leadership Conference Education Fund, the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. and was supported by the Google Foundation.)
CONCLUSION
There is no way this list can be comprehensive. It's merely a place to start. Please contact me if you feel that I have left out a resource that you believe must be on this list.
In addition, I know my audience is global, and Black Lives Matter is a global movement. This is not an issue that is limited to just Americans.
If you want to be a part of the conversation or provide resources and information for your country, I would very much appreciate your additions and input. Please contact me at [email protected].
I do recognize that this list also implies and exhibits my position and beliefs on the importance of racial equality and social justice. The fact that millions of people worldwide also believe this and have made their voices heard means that there is a widespread consensus that demands for change.
While I have a very long way to go and a lot to learn, I know that I must stay congruent with my core values . . . both in my life and in my business.
And I believe this:
Harm, violence, and hatred to any other human being is ultimately harm, violence, and hatred to ourselves and to humanity.
In my role as a coach, educator, and thought leader, my responsibility is to help you to find your own truth by guiding you through your own personal development.
In my role as a human being who believes in living into my own truth, I will always seek to rise towards love, understanding, enlightenment, and empathy.
We can get there together. It's going to take a lot of work. But I believe in us.
CALL TO ACTION
- Start by changing the communities in your own back yard.
- Look at how you do business, your core values, and how you can have more diversity (and not "vanity diversity") in your organizations.
- Invest your earnings back into the programs and causes you believe in.
- Be courageous and willing to challenge your own belief systems, your government, and your peers.
- Get involved, vote, speak up, ask questions, and demand answers.
If you'd like to join a community of female entrepreneurs and business owners who are making a difference and are committed to change by changing the way we do life and biz, we'd love to have you in our circle.
