Anti-Racism Resources + Our Action Plan

Graphic by Stuff Grace Made

I have a lot of work to do to become the ally I want and need to be for the Black community, as a white person who benefits from my white privilege every day. It is my job as a white person, and as a parent, to both unpack what my privilege means and to be actively anti-racist. It is my responsibility to make sure I speak up, set an example for the next generation, amplify other voices from whom I’m learning from, use my financial resources to donate and hold people accountable for their actions, even if it’s uncomfortable.

All white people share this responsibility so today I am sharing resources that I have learned and am still learning from and that have given me direction for taking action and starting conversations.

We must demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and every other Black person who has been the victim of injustice and racism in this country.

This list is far from comprehensive, but I hope these will provide a place for us to begin the conversation if it hasn’t already begun, within ourselves, within our homes and within our communities. 

Listen + Learn

Systemic Racism

Here is a four minute video that explains systemic racism.

Here is a six minute video that explains housing segregation.

Anti-Racism Resources + Learnings

Here is a list of anti-racism resources for white people to learn from. Books, podcasts, articles, TV shows and more.

Parenting Resources

Are your kids too young to talk about race? (Nope)

Here is a link to join The Conscious Kid’s Patreon group. They share book lists to help support your conversations with your kids about racism, as well as books that feature Black and non-black POC characters, among other things. 

Here is a letter to white parents.

Black parents explain how to deal with the police.

The “What” and “Why” of Defunding the Police

A guide to what “defunding” the police means.

Defunding the police means re-funding social services.

Here is an informative thread on how many people already exist in a world without police and prisons.

School statistics on police presence vs the presence of nurses, social workers and counselors.

Before Taking Action

Here is a list of things to consider before taking action.

A video about doing more than saying sorry.

Here is a graphic that explains why “all lives matter” is the wrong response.

Here is a list of innapropriate and appropriate responses when you hear about another murder or racist act.

Take Action

Most importantly: This is lifelong, this thread explains how to continuously fight for current and systemic change.

Here is a template for holding your employer accountable for racial justice.

A guide to talking to your family about racism.

Add your name to support and learn more about a future where we divest in the police and re-invest in Black and Brown communities.

Sign this petition to support Black Lives Matter’s efforts in defunding the police.

Here are 50 black owned bookstores across America to purchase the any books in the list(s) I linked above from.

Also consider donating to The Conscious Kid’s fund to get books about race and racism into classrooms across America.

Here is a list of places (swipe through the slides to see) to donate, by city, to help protestors in your area.

Here are additional places to donate, if you are able:

• Black Lives Matter – Working to eradicate white supremacy and build local resources to intervene when violence is inflicted on black communities
• Black Visions Collective – Focuses on dismantling systems and changing the narrative to create long-term solutions
• Equal Justice Initiative – Working to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment and racial inequality

If You’re In Los Angeles

Here is a list of black-owned restaurants in Los Angeles to support.

Here is an account to follow for information about local protests and initiatives.

Our Action Plan

I want to provide an action plan for our company and family, so that this community knows that we too are taking action in our daily lives and business decisions. I want to reiterate that it is important to do the work, and not do the work for the sake of a pat on the back or praise. But in an effort for transparency and accountability, I wanted to outline some clear action steps we have already begun to act on as a company and family:

• Including more Black-owned businesses, voices and artists in our content and (paid, of course) contributor opportunities.
  • NOTE: We are always accepting submissions from artists and graphic designers for future projects in our Jobs inbox, please email jobs@studiodiy.com if you’d like to submit your work. In particular, I am actively looking for artist(s) that are interested in doing home/interior decor illustrations for an upcoming project.
• Holding our partners and sponsors accountable for their actions by inquiring about the influencers they’ve reached out to, to ensure that includes Black and other POC creators, and turning down those who are not open to working with a diverse group of talent for their campaigns.
• We will be donating a portion of our profits from our sponsored campaigns and Can’t Clutch This each month to a different organization or initiative. This month, we donated a portion of our May profits to The Conscious Kid’s Anti-Racist Children’s Books Education Fund. If you have any organizations you think we should know about as we continue to explore ones for the future, please leave them in the comments below.
• Having conversations about racism and anti-racism in our home, with our families, with our friends and within the physical and digital communities we are a part of.

I will make mistakes, but will continue to learn from them and take constructive feedback from this community as I do. We all must continue to listen, amplify, learn, support, sign, call, text, have conversations and donate our time or money. Let’s get to work. And keep at the work, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year and beyond.