CGS Community Shares Anti-Racism Resources
Students, faculty, and the CGS deans gathered this week for a Town Hall on Civil Rights, Policing and Protest. In the wake of a week of protests following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, members of the CGS community shared their thoughts, helpful resources, and plans of action. We’ve collected the resources shared in Tuesday’s meeting so that all can access them as we seek to dismantle systemic racism in our communities.
Resources Collected by Dean Megan Sullivan
“It began to seem that one would have to hold in the mind forever two ideas which seemed to be in opposition. The first idea was acceptance, the acceptance, totally without rancor, of life as it is, and men as they are: in light of this idea, it goes without saying that injustice is a commonplace. But this did not mean that one could be complacent, for the second idea was of equal power: that one must never, in one’s own life, accept these injustices as commonplace but must fight them with all one’s strength. The fight begins, however, in the heart and it now has been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and despair.” Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
- Resources from Indivisible: https://indivisible.org/resource/taking-action-solidarity-minneapolis?akid=60268.9407.6102Pi&rd=1&t=8
- Boston area-specific resources and organizations
- Western MA: https://www.pioneervalleyproject.org/
- Opportunities for white people to fight for racial justice: https://www.whiteaccomplices.org/
- Bail out protesters: https://bailproject.org/
- Black Visions supports Black communities and leadership in MN: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
- Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
- Communities against Police Brutality: https://www.cuapb.org/
Resources Shared by CGS Community During Town Hall
Anti-Racist/Allyship starter pack with resources to materials white people can read, watch, etc. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bUJrgX8vspyy7YttiEC2vD0DawrpPYiZs94V0ov7qZQ/htmlview?urp=gmail_link
“Why This Isn’t an Isolated Incident” https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxf72hFdZ7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Violence vs Non Violence
- Atlantic article on how King’s Message of Nonviolence has been misconstrued here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/kings-message-of-nonviolence-has-been-distorted/557021/?fbclid=IwAR0_QmiKnpz0bJxnKKkS7F-ng2-0FICB449RCLdi7il8MZ2n5u6f8yGhO7c
- “If George Washington didn’t get independence for this country nonviolently, and if Patrick Henry didn’t come up with a nonviolent statement, and you taught me to look upon them as patriots and heroes, then it’s time for you to realize that I have studied your books well. Our people, 22 million African-Americans are fed up with America’s hypocritical democracy.” —Malcolm X https://www.icit-digital.org/articles/malcolm-x-on-the-black-revolution-april-8-1964
Campaigns and GoFundMes
- https://www.gofundme.com/f/boston-university-so-fight-for-social-justice
- Justice for Breonna Taylor https://www.gofundme.com/f/9v4q2-justice-for-breonna-taylor
- George Floyd Memorial Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
Changes in Policing or Social Changes
- Learning about White Privilege in Higher Education https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/09/23/black-history-white-privilege-course-graduation-requirement-column/2389375001/?fbclid=IwAR0piXgrWfDcnrhbfQPku2f-jZYPSyuLs9WrvO4M0ac9Iqxm4RU8hBFfcdk
- https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-police-degrees-20140930-story.html
- Episode of The Daily that highlights why it is so difficult to hold police accountable: https://www.nytimes.com/podcasts/the-daily
- Resources on policing and alternatives – we’re looking for systemic changes and I’m learning a lot from these places https://www.mpd150.com/?fbclid=IwAR0hSfQRhBBEY0xzoby4yL8i7monXvSALfzLvOUMxyT7qGb3nHTV7o6NCC8
- Movements to defund police system broken down in this article —> https://www.fastcompany.com/90511824/is-it-time-to-defund-the-police
- Reclaim the Block’s website has free resources and downloads for info and current events https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home/#about
- Campaign Zero analyzes police practices across the country and researches effective solutions https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
Ways to Get Involved
- Local politics matter! https://www.futurenow.org/states/
- CAS SO230 is a fantastic class for learning more about police brutality and mass incarceration.
- Letters for Black Lives has translated letters that explain BLM in many languages. https://lettersforblacklives.com/tagged/translation
- Better Elections Now! will be starting a “let us vote” campaign. You can find their group on Facebook for now, or email betterelectionsnow@gmail.com anytime
- https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
Resources for Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC)
Queer Activist Collective, BU’s LGBTQ+ student group, has compiled a regularly-updated list of wellness resources for queer and trans people of color (QTPOC), including support groups, therapy options, legal resources, safety tips while protesting, relevant events, etc. The full document is available here.