There’s a lot to keep up with, and more information and pieces are coming out. I realized I would be updating this list forever, so I’m posting it now.
“On Sunday, the Dallas Police Department asked people to send in “video of illegal activity” from the Black Lives Matter protests in the city through the iWatch Dallas app, where people can submit photo, video, or text tips about possible crimes. Instead, it received a flood of pictures and videos of K-pop artists.
In response to the tweeted request from Dallas Police, hundreds of K-pop fans replied with photos and videos of their favorite artists. Many people also claimed to have submitted videos of the police harming protesters, as well as fan edits of K-pop artists, to the iWatch Dallas app.” — Dallas Police Asked People To Call Out Protesters. People Flooded Their App With K-Pop Instead.
“Thanks for reaching out. No. I am not okay. Wouldn’t it be weird if I said I was? Lol.” — A Letter From Your Token Black Friend
“For my white friends who ask if I am okay, the answer is “No, I am not okay.”
To ask that question of me right now amid this COVID-19 pandemic that is disproportionately killing black and brown people in the US, and while experiencing the trauma resulting from the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd is not good.” — No, I’m Not Okay
“You’re probably anti-Black.
Take a moment to breathe through that. To let it sink in. To let the fear and defensiveness subside. Now, read on.” — 10 Habits of Someone Who Doesn’t Know They’re Anti-Black
“While I believe wholeheartedly in protests, acts of resistance, and raising your voice, I have never felt comfortable at physical demonstrations. I often feel guilty about this—especially, when facing the question that’s all over Twitter right now: What would I have done during the Civil Rights Movement? Honestly, I’m not sure how many marches I would have attended. But I still would have taken action.” — 12 Ways You Can Be an Activist Without Going to a Protest
“White allies, check in on your black friends!” the tweet or the screenshot or the IG story will go. Show your solidarity, it’ll read.” — White People, Read This Before You Text Your Black Friends
“For a lot of non-Black people, now feels like a crucial time to reach out to Black friends and loved ones who are grappling with the weight of the moment. Many of you may have good intentions and mean well. “Why not check in?” you wonder. After all, it seems like the right thing to do, and sometimes it is. But if your friend is anything like me, they’re probably processing a lot right now. So, before you send that text, shoot that Instagram DM, or release a carrier pigeon with an ornately written dispatch for your friend, here a few questions to consider.” — How to Check In With Your Black Friends Right Now
“‘Elika, what do I do to help?’ is the most infuriating question,” said my friend and community organizer Elika Bernard. “Because we’ve been telling white people. It’s all there, right in front of their faces, but they haven’t been listening.” — Column: No, white people. You can’t ease your guilt over racism by paying black people via Cash App
“This list is targeted toward academics, but could be relevant for other folks interested in making change. All you “life long learners” … these strategies might be helpful to you.” — 10 Ways For Non-Black Academics to Value Black Lives
“But I want to signal that children’s literature criticism has a problem. Once more, with feeling:
I am trying to signal that children’s literature criticism has a problem.” — Black in Kidlit Thursday
“I have been thinking about all of the calls for white people to “talk to their Trump-supporting friends and neighbors.” Here’s the thing about that: I don’t give a a fuck about Trump supporters. Not right now.” — Ijeoma Oluo
“In honor of Breonna Taylor’s birthday this coming Friday 5 June 2020, here are some concrete action items people can do to commemorate her life and fight to get her justice.” — #BirthdayforBreonna (it’s not too late to do any of these actions even though it is no longer June 5).
“There was a dispute this week about whose street this is,” John Falcicchio, chief of staff for Bowser, a Democrat, said in a tweet. “Mayor Bowser wanted to make it abundantly clear that this is DC’s street and to honor demonstrators who (were) peacefully protesting on Monday evening.”
BUT ALSO
“This is a performative distraction from real policy changes. Bowser has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history. This is to appease white liberals while ignoring our demands. Black Lives Matter means defund the police.” — D.C. Mayor Bowser has ‘Black Lives Matter’ painted on street leading to White House
“For the past few years, it seems like there’s been a “takedown” of Shaun King published every few months, and each one details the boundless duplicity of one of the most popular writers thriving in the post-Ferguson landscape. Among Black activist circles, King is known as a disingenuous opportunist and grifter prone to intellectual thievery—particularly from Black women—and a profiteer of Black trauma with a cult-like following that allows him to repeatedly start new business ventures and initiatives on a loop while collecting piles of money.” — Shaun King Is a White Liberal’s Wet Dream
“Are you looking for a curated summer reading list that celebrates diversity, inclusivity and intersecting identities?” — 2020 Summer Reading List
The mayor proceeded to announce $250 million in cuts to the proposed budget and to reallocate those dollars to communities of color, “so we can invest in jobs, in education and healing.” L.A. Police Commission President Eileen Decker then announced that $100 million-$150 million of those cuts would come from the police department budget. — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Officials Cutting $100 Million-$150 Million From LAPD Budget, Funds To Be Reinvested In Communities Of Color
“The Council’s move is consistent with rapidly-shifting public opinion regarding the urgency of overhauling the American model of law enforcement.” — Minneapolis City Council Members Announce Intent to Disband the Police Department, Invest in Proven Community-led Public Safety
“It’s time to broaden the scope of how we understand police brutality and whose deaths we mobilize around. To allow sexism to affect how we talk about and protest anti-Black racism and police brutality reveals a half-*ssed commitment to racial justice. The police killings of Black women, girls, and trans men need to be addressed in the ongoing struggle to end police violence against Black people.” — The Lack of Mobilized Outrage For Police Killing Black Women Is An Injurious Erasure
“But when Black women and girls like Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Tanisha Anderson, Atatiana Jefferson and Charleena Lyles are killed, it is often out of the public eye. And in a world where the pains and traumas that Black women and girls experience as a consequence of both racism and sexism remain structurally invisible and impermeable to broad empathy, these killings recede from the foreground quietly.” — Why Are Black Women and Girls Still an Afterthought in Our Outrage Over Police Violence?
“I’m Black. My father, mother, brother, and everyone in between are Black. I love being Black. It’s the absolute coolest thing ever….I love us! Even in the midst of screaming, “No Justice, No Peace,” even when I’m weary and exhausted from seeing us hunted like animals…if asked, I would still choose to be Black over and over again.” — Even When They’re Hunting Us, I Would Still Choose to Be Black Over and Over Again
ALL power to the people. Stay safe out there.
The Englishist 
Thanks for this! I had missed the Brittney Cooper and Tiffany Jackson pieces–not shared enough on my social media for me to see. Hmm, I think that might confirm Cooper’s point? Bookmarked both and especially love the Jackson piece.
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