Resources for Learning More About Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Watch the following (in this order):
Biased: How Unconscious Bias Shapes Behavior: Jennifer Eberhardt (with Julie Lythcott-Haims) 
How Microaggressions are Like Mosquito Bites 
Microaggressions Explained 
Teenagers Discuss Microaggressions and Racism #HatchKids 
Understanding Microaggressions  
Responding to Microaggressions 
How to Create an Inclusive Classroom 
Why Is Everything White - Muhammed Ali 
Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D. - author of Microaggressions in Everyday Life, Micro Intervention Strategies 

Helpful Steps to Take in Becoming Familiar with DEIB Resources:

As first steps, keep in mind the importance of knowing the definitions of and distinctions between keywords such as racism, bigotry, colorist, bias, discrimination, and prejudice. After watching the YouTube videos, reading articles and/or books, and attending a Training, Workshop or Webinar, I suggest that you:

• Write out and journal your initial reaction(s);
• Begin to compare and contrast your reactions; and
• Determine of what you’d like to have a clearer understanding. Some approaches to use to test your understanding would be to:
• Continue to review, think about, and differentiate the definitions (of racism, bigotry, colorist, bias, discrimination, and prejudice);
• Select 3-4 of your favorite movies, TV shows, sports, books, or another form of entertainment and record how what you now see and/or hear differs; and
• Use and apply your racial equity lens to observe and assess verbal as well as non-verbal communication.

Additional Resources:

YouTube Videos:

• Tim Wise’s talk at Mt. Holyoke on White Privilege;
• Robin DiAngelo’s talk about her book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism;
• Tiffany Jana’s TEDx talk: The Power of Privilege;
• Seeing White Podcast (Episode One);
• The Iroquois Confederacy-America’s First Democracy; and
• Ex-Slaves Talk About Slavery in the USA.

Articles:

• White Culture (Paying Attention to White Culture and Privilege: A Missing Link to Advancing Racial Equity) by Gita Gulati-Partee and Maggie Potapchuk;
• Confronting racism is not about the needs and feelings of white people by Ijeoma Oluo (March 28, 2019, The Guardian);
• I Wanted to Know What White Men Thought About Their Privilege, So I Asked by Claudia Rankine (July 17, 2019, NY Times);
• The Thing About Safety by Ijeoma Oluo (August 28, 2019, The Medium); and
• The Great Dispossession: The Mississippi Delta’s History of Black Land Theft (September 12, 2019, The Atlantic).

Documents:

• The Oral Narrative of the Iroquois Constitution (November 1, 2016 Blog by Alaka Wall)
• The Declaration of Independence
• The US Constitution
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Books:

• A People’s History of the United States (1492-Present) by Howard Zinn;
• Why Are All of the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? By Beverly Daniel Tatum;
• Strength for Their Journey by Robert L. Johnson and Paulette Stanford;
• Everyday Genius by Peter Klein;
• Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary-Frances Winters. Her book defines and explores Black fatigue as the multi-generational impact of systemic racism on the physical and mental health of Black people...and how to combat its pernicious effects. Also discussed is how Black fatigue manifests differently for women, men, those with intersectional identities; and children; and what we can do about it;
• Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho. The author takes on all the questions many white Americans are afraid to ask – yet to which all Americans need answers. Also, Mr. Acho hosts a viral series of the same name as the book title;
• Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt;
• White Like Me by Tim Wise;
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo;
• Waking Up White by Debby Irving;
• Seeing White: An Introduction to White Privilege and Race by Jean Halley, Amy Eshleman, and Ramya MahavedanVijaya;
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo;
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein;
• Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People by Benjamin Crump, Esquire;
• Citizen by Claudia Rankine;
• Mary Ann Shadd Cary: The Black Press and Protest in the 19^th Century by Jane Rhodes; and
• Raising Our Hands: How White Women Can Stop Avoiding Hard Conversations, Start Accepting Responsibility, and Find Our Place on the New Frontlines by Jenna Arnold;
• White Tears/ Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad;
• Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland by Jonathan Metzl;
• Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams. She offers a blueprint to end voter suppression and empower American citizens.
• A Promised Land by Barack Obama. The 44th President offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power as well as singular insights into the dynamics of US partisan politics and international diplomacy.
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson.

Summary:

The above-listed materials may appear overwhelming and daunting from the perspective of sheer numbers. However, they represent only the “tip-of-the-iceberg” and a mere “start”. By presenting a range of offerings from which to choose for discussion that demonstrate examples of “inequity”, “exclusion”, the causes thereof; and the awareness necessary in order to confront, combat, and address the issues, you are able better to determine where you are with respect to the marathon. Also, the list of resources provides multiple options to give you the opportunity for growth regardless of where you are in the process and, as a part of the collaborative effort, I am available to assist and guide you.

It is important to keep in mind throughout this journey of enlightenment that: “Awareness is the first step to change”. Let our actions moving forward reflect the words of Mary Ann Shadd Cary*: “We should do more and talk less. Also, known as the adage: “Let our actions speak louder than our words.”

*Note: Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893) was an American-Canadian Activist. She was the first Black woman publisher in North America, the first woman publisher in Canada, and the first Black woman to attend law school in the United States.

Ms. Stephanie W. Montgomery