LEARN
There is always more to learn
There are SO MANY resources about racism and anti-racism: history, politics, art, economics; globally and across individual countries. The list here is a necessarily incomplete one, but we hope to provide a broad selection with different points of entry. One of the core tenets of anti-racism work is to keep learning--we all live in racist structures and it takes active work to dismantle them in the outside world and within ourselves.
We always welcome suggestions for additional resources--and need to know if a link doesn't work!--so please feel free to contact us at: 846Solidarity@gmail.com
WHAT HAPPENED TO GEORGE FLOYD?
AN OVERVIEW
This Wikipedia entry gives information about George Floyd's murder in great detail. It also provides information on reactions to the incident and the protests. Being a Wikipedia entry, it will be continue to be updated.
25 MAY 2020
The New York Times provides a detailed account based on video and dispatch recordings regarding what happened during the event. WARNING: some of this footage can be very difficult to watch and you may not want to do so.
ONGOING COVERAGE
The Guardian has a feed of their ongoing coverage of the events following Floyd's murder. Other publications of course also have coverage, but the Guardian has it all collected in one place.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SCOTLAND?
PROTESTS
Protests took place in the wake of George Floyd's death across the world; Scotland was no exception. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and others urged people to stay home and protest safely due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, but there were still protests in Glasgow and Edinburgh on 6 June 2020. There were also protests in smaller locales across the country, such as Aberdeen, the Shetlands and Carlisle. A silent protest is planned for the Oban seafront on 19 June at 12:30pm.
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon expressed her sympathy with protestors and those outraged by George Floyd's death in particular and racism in general, while also asking people to stay home and protest safely due to ongoing COVID risks.
In Scottish Parliament, MSP Humza Yousaf read George Floyd's last words while also speaking of Scotland's lack of BAME respresentation in all positions of leadership across the country. He also made clear that "there is no way that Scotland is free from racism," insisting that more work be has to be done.
The Scottish Parliament voted to immediately suspend all sales of tear gas, riot gear and rubber bullets to the US.
HISTORY OF SLAVERY
Scotland has deep ties to the history of the slave trade, and much of its wealth was built on tobacco, cotton and sugar industries, all of which were built on the enslavement and labour of kidnapped Africans. There are growing calls for a reckoning with this history, and the tangible commemorations of those who grew rich from it, such as statues and street names. This article provides a good overview.
Additionally, there have been renewed calls to open a Museum of Slavery in Glasgow.
OTHER ACTIONS
Across Scotland, people are coming together to show their support for Black lives. The island of Mull has posted supportive signs; a family in Helensburgh has petitioned the Scottish government to address racism in schools; Dunoon residents are vowing to repaint and infamously racist rock and more actions are taking place all over.
TO READ
Shorter pieces
TIMELINE
The Root created a timeline of "events that happened leading up to the 2020 Fed-Uprising." Hint: it starts in 1619.
BLACK HISTORY IN THE UK
Article in the BBC about the "black British history you may not know about."
ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM
Campaign Zero is an organisation working to apply research based evidence to devise policy solutions to prolice violence. This twitter thread by their co-founder identifies their recommendations for policy changes that could stop police violence. There are also increasing calls to abolish the police altogether; a collection of pieces on abolition can be found here.
BARACK OBAMA (2020)
President Obama published a statement on "How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change."
BARACK OBAMA (2008)
President Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech from 2008, sometimes know as his "Race Speech."
CROSSING THE POND
These articles consider what US racism has to to with the UK and Scotland. This one looks at the connection between UK & US racism. And this one looks at the links between Scotland and US racism.
EDUCATION
This 2018 Educational Institute of Scotland briefing paper aims to
promote anti-racist education and support members in reinvigorating this area;
inform members of examples of current anti-racist education practice in use across Scotland, drawn from consulting members, to enable the sharing of good practice.
SHEKU BAYOH
Bayoh was Black man killed by police in Kirkaldy, Scotland in 2015. The officers involved have never been disciplined. In fact, there has not been a conviction in the UK for an unlawful killing by a service police officer since 1969, though there have been ~1700 deaths in police custody in England and Wales alone since 1990. Additionally:
In the UK, the proportion of BAME deaths in custody:
where restraint is a feature is over two times greater than it is in other deaths in custody
where use of force is a feature is over two times greater than it is in other deaths in custody
where mental health-related issues are a feature is nearly two times greater than it is in other deaths in custody
In support of Sheku, you can also hashtag #ShekuBayoh and follow @BayohJustice on Twitter.
SCHOOL TRAINING
Show Racism the Red Card has a course called "Promoting Equality and Tackling Racism in Schools."
Reading Lists
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Education list from BLM
SCAFFOLDED RESOURCES
This is a working document for scaffolding anti-racism resources. The goal is to facilitate growth for white folks to become allies, and eventually accomplices for anti-racist work. These resources have been ordered in an attempt to make them more accessible. They will continue to add resources.
THE GUARDIAN
BUSTLE
EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
THE ABUSABLE PAST
Reading Towards Abolition: A Reading List on Policing, Rebellion, and the Criminalization of Blackness. The Abusable Past is a digital venue that emerges from the work of the Radical History Review, a publication that stands at the nexus of historical scholarship and active political engagement.
JUSTICE IN JUNE
A day-by-day reading (and action) list compiled by August Gupta
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
5 Things Written by Martin Luther King Jr. That Everyone Should Read from Time magazine.
IBRAM X. KENDI
Anti-Racist Reading List from Ibram X. Kendi on the Chicago Public Library website
THE SMITHSONIAN
158 Resources on the History of Racism in the US
FOR KIDS
There are lots of lists out there; here's a couple places to start: Embrace Race and Commonsense Media.
TO LISTEN TO
LIST OF UK PODCASTS
A list of 40 podcasts from Bustle about the Black British Experience and Race in the UK
EDUCATION
The Anti-Racist Educator, an organisation based in Scotland, has a podcast.
SCENE ON RADIO
A 14-episode podcast on the history and meaning of whiteness from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in North Carolina, USA.
CODE SWITCH
Code Switch is a podcast from the US's National Public Radio (NPR) by a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in our lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting.
TO WATCH
Short(er) clips
BLACK & SCOTTISH
A short 2019 documentary by Stewart Kyasimire from BBC Scotland.
SOME BLACK BRITISH VOICES
The BBC's Shamaan Freeman-Powell speaks to black British people to find out how the death of George Floyd has affected them.
SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD
SRtRC Scotland recently (though before COVID lockdown) produced this video on Challenging Racism in the Workplace.
BARACK OBAMA
Video of Obama delivering his 2008 speech, "A More Perfect Union."
FANNY LOU HAMMER
Documentary episode from "American Experience" about Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist from Mississippi
JAMES BALDWIN
James Baldwin was a fierce critic of racism who was prolific in the 1950s and 1960s. He was an American, although he spent a lot of time in France. Many of his interviews can be viewed online. He also wrote extensively, essays, nonfiction books and novels.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Selection of some of MLK's speeches from the US public broadcasting station, PBS.
TREVOR NOAH
Shortly after George Floyd's death, Trevor Noah (a South African comedian who hosts The Daily Show in the US) posted this video.
Feature Length & Series
13TH
A 2016 documentary on the 13th amendment of the US Constitution, which abolished slavery except in the case of felons.
WHEN THEY SEE US
A 2019 documentary series about the "Central Park Four," who were wrongly convicted for the attack and rape of a woman in New York in 1989.
DO THE RIGHT THING
A Spike Lee film from 1989 depicting the eruption of racial tensions on one hot summer day in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn,
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
A 2016 documentary about James Baldwin, a fierce and prolific critic of racism in America, who was most active during the 1960s.
FOUR LITTLE GIRLS
Also by Spike Lee, this 1997 documentary focuses on the death of four young girls as a result of the1963 bombing of an African-American church in Alabama.
DOCUMENTARIES
A list of 10 documentaries "to watch about race instead of asking a person of colour to explain things for you" from DocPlay.
12 FILMS ABOUT RACISM AND PROTEST
"12 Movies to Watch to Educate Yourself About Racism and Protest History, Recommended by Experts" from Time Magazine
TO FOLLOW
Social Media accounts