First things first: Black Lives Matter. Unequivocally. We at Knitted Wit are committed to anti-racism, and there is no place in our community for anything else. We are white women, so we are not the ones you should come to to get educated, but we do have some resources that we’d like to share with you, our fellow white women who are committed to anti-racism, too. As you are learning, make sure you pay for the labor that’s been done. Many of the educators we are sharing have books out that you can purchase, Patreons that you can subscribe to, Ko-Fis that you can donate to, etc.
Why Black Lives Matter is important (and why saying All Lives Matter is dangerous):
Rachel Cargle (a wonderful anti-racist educator) wrote this piece in 2016: Why You Need to Stop Saying “All Lives Matter.” Read it, and then follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Patreon.
The workbook:
Layla F. Saad’s book White Supremacy and Me is THE resource for deep-diving into the deeply-ingrained racism. Follow her on Instagram, support her on Patreon, and buy her book.
Books to read and re-read:
Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race is a life-changing primer on racism in America. Purchase the book, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and support her on Patreon.
Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning (a history of anti-black racism in America) and How to be Anti-Racist are must-haves on your anti-racism book shelves.
People we follow on Instagram:
This is a list of Black women we follow on Instagram from whom we’ve learned a lot. Please remember that we are guests in these educators’ spaces, so our role is to listen and learn (and to pay them for the work they’re doing and the education they are sharing). This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good start:
- Sonya Renee Taylor
- Ericka Hart
- Austin Channing Brown
- Leesa Renee Hall
- Tamika D. Mallory
- Brittany Packnett Cunningham
- The Conscious Kid