In June we featured a story about effecting change and allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire us to act for justice. Some days, even though we pray, inspiration and energy do not seem to stir in us. On those days, we may find our way through other’s words and inspiration. Here are some practical resources that can help.
We discussed at a recent online coffee hour that telling our leaders what we expect needs to be followed by checks on their accountability. In the same way, we need to continue to hold ourselves accountable. Commit to one action for justice regularly. Whether you schedule it every day or every Tuesday, just like physical exercise, each act will help you build on the last and strengthen your core of justice.
Consider this 21-day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge. The challenge includes both a tracking form and extensive resources to read, listen, watch, notice, connect, engage, act, reflect, and stay inspired. While this challenge is specific to understanding white privilege, it is adaptable to other justice work and includes information about how to do that.
This book for young readers is also a road map—the title says it all: This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell.
If your first response to a problem or new idea is to read for understanding or inspiration, the Internet is full of lists. Every February—Black History Month—delivers new “best of” lists from almost every periodical, blogger, and educator. Consider something on one of these lists:
- Social Justice Books recommends Black history for every reading-level and educators. The site also has a Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books
- Book Riot’s Anti-Racist books for middle-grade readers. Check out Book Riot’s other resources, including podcasts about books and publishing.
- 7 Books About Race to Read to Your Kids from The Strategist
A Good Time for the Truth is “a collection of essays by 16 Twin Cities writers of color, edited by poet and essayist Sun Yung Shin. The book has been named the next “One Book/One Minnesota” read, and it is available for free download from the eBooks Minnesota website. Read the book, think about the issues, and then join Shin for an online discussion in August. More information is online with the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library. Minnesota Historical Society Press.” [StarTribune, June 25, 2020]
Support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) and community businesses—perhaps buy one of those books from:
- A Black-Owned Bookstore (unfortunately there are none in the Twin Cities)
- Or any local bookstore within the South Minneapolis community:
- The Irreverent Bookworm is just down the street from NHLC at 52d and Bloomington
- Moon Palace Books, known for its support of justice activists, is on Minnehaha Ave, just off Lake Street.
- Birchbark Books is a Native-owned (author Louise Erdrich) “locus for Indigirati — literate Indigenous people who have survived over half a millennium on this continent.”
- Boneshaker Books is a volunteer-run, radical bookstore based in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN.
