Antiracism Resources

Stand Against Racism: Until Justice Just Is is a series of events designed to engage the community in discussing racism, encourage individuals to confront bias in their own lives, and is celebrated across the country. Our collective efforts can root out injustice, transform institutions, and create a world that sees women and girls of color the way we do: Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable. In addition to our Community InterAct Session and our Stand Against Racism Book Club, we want to provide additional resources to the community for those that want to go deeper into their own self-examination, education, advocacy, and antiracism work. Below are some recommended resources related to this year’s Stand Against Racism: Until Justice Just Is Campaign.

But first, what is antiracism? In How to Be An Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi writes: “To be antiracist is to think nothing is behaviorally wrong or right -- inferior or superior -- with any of the racial groups. Whenever the antiracist sees individuals behaving positively or negatively, the antiracist sees exactly that: individuals behaving positively or negatively, not representatives of whole races. To be antiracist is to deracialize behavior, to remove the tattooed stereotype from every racialized body. Behavior is something humans do, not races do."

ANTIRACISM ACTIONS -

• Take the Pledge: YWCA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. I am joining the movement for racial justice with YWCA and hundreds of thousands of people across the country. Join us and YWCA in advancing justice — until justice just is.

• Take Action: At YWCA, we are doing the work of justice everyday – through our advocacy, our leadership, and our work in communities. Join us and keep up to date on our YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region Calls to Action blog.

• Racial Profiling Education System Checklist: Oppose racial profiling in education with the Racial Profiling Education System Checklist.

• Racial Profiling Community Checklist: Oppose racial profiling in your community with the Racial Profiling Community Watch Checklist.

• Mentally Healthy Workplaces Checklist: Mental Health Affects Productivity and the Economy. An estimated 1 in 5 adults experience a mental illness each year. Research suggests that employees experience an average of 3.46 “poor mental health days” per month each year in the U.S., which negatively affects productivity and earnings. There is both a business case and a moral imperative for employers to take actions to help improve the mental wellbeing of their workforce.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ANTIRACISM AND RACIAL JUSTICE -

• Learn about Racial Justice and Civil Rights: Learn about our racial justice and civil rights policy priorities national, and as applicable, in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

• Organize Your Butterflies Podcast: Launched in July 2019, our Organize Your Butterflies podcast discusses the ways women are working to organize, strategize, and mobilize around issues like equal pay, domestic violence, entrepreneurship, and more.

  • Stand Against Racism: Exhibiting History and Curating the Future with Dr. Ariana Curtis

  • Stand Against Racism: Building a Compassionate World with Michelle Kim

  • Honoring the Importance of Racial Equity Education This Black History Month

  • A Conversation About Racial Justice Training

  • Hearing Fear, Not Acting On It: Discussing Conversations About Racism

• Dismantling White Supremacy Culture: This is a list of characteristics of white supremacy culture that show up in our organizations. They are damaging because they promote white supremacy thinking. Because we all live in a white supremacy culture, these characteristics show up in the attitudes and behaviors of all of us – people of color and white people. Learn to recognize these characteristics as well as implement the antidotes!

• Roles Within a Social Change Ecosystem: Read Deepa Iyer's exploration of Roles in a Social Change Ecosystem and reflect with the guiding questions provided in this short article. You can also use these abbreviated descriptions for each role to support your reflection. (Approximately 30 Minutes).

• Ally vs. Co-Conspirator: Watch this video (less than 7 min) in which Dr. Bettina Love shares her perspective on the difference between an ally and a co-conspirator.

• Alicia Walters's Keynote Address: at our Racial Justice Summit in 2020 in which she explores Centering Blackness as a Path to Liberation for all of us. (Approximately 1hr) 

• Episode 3 of Race: The Power of an Illusion: If race doesn't exist biologically, what is it? And why should it matter? (Approximately 1hr) 

• Archeology of Self Practice Invitation by Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz: In this video, you can connect with the critical importance of exploring our own personal stories in the context of historic and systemic racial inequity and intersectional oppression. (Approximately 3 minutes)

• Episode 2 of the documentary Race: The Power of an Illusion: It's true that race has always been with us, right? Wrong. Ancient peoples stigmatized "others" on the grounds of language, custom, class, and especially religion, but they did not sort people according to physical differences. It turns out that the concept of race is a recent invention, only a few hundred years old, and the history and evolution of the idea are deeply tied to the development of the U.S. (Approximately 1hr) 

YWCA USA and YWCA GLBR wants to thank and acknowledge Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., Debby Irving, and Dr. Marguerite Penick for their leadership in the interest of racial equity as exhibited in their 21-Day Racial Equity and Habit Building Challenge and the movement they helped to initiate. YWCA’s content is independently designed, written, and curated by YWCA staff as part of racial equity and social justice programs offered to the community.