Black Lives Matter To Freelancers (Resources and More)
What is the connection between the Black Lives Matter movement and freelancing? It’s simple: as freelancers, we exist as part of a community. And when one part of our community is systematically oppressed, it affects all of us. We may not have created the system, but as participants we have a responsibility to try to improve it. That is why The Accidental Freelancer stands with the Black Lives Matter movement.
As freelancers, we have a greater opportunity because we are not tied to a single organization as our employer. This means we have touchpoints with multiple businesses and, therefore, multiple opportunities to effect change.
With this opportunity comes the responsibility for us to act, but also to engage in self-reflection and self-education for the gaps in knowledge that come from our individual privileges. We have compiled a list of resources that we are reading, watching and listening to, in order to become better freelancers and do our part to create an equal and just society.
Articles
Maintaining Black Professionalism in the Age of Death by Shenequa Golding
What I Need from Allies by Megan Carpenter
How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change by President Barack Obama
“Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin
RaceAhead Fortune Magazine’s daily newsletter on race written by Ellen McGirt
Black Workers, Already Lagging, Face Big Economic Risks by Jeanna Smialek and Jim Tankersley, The New York Times
Minneapolis Police Use Force Against Black People at 7 Times the Rate of Whites by Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Lazaro Gamio, The New York Times
“America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer, The Atlantic
The Intersectionality Wars by Jane Coaston, Vox
Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
Who Gets to Be Afraid in America? by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, The Atlantic
Books
Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold
Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga
When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
Social Media Accounts
Audre Lorde Project: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Black Women’s Blueprint: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Color Of Change: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Colorlines: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
NAACP: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Podcasts
Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
Justice in America hosted by Josie Duffy Rice
Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
Movies and TV Shows
13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 (Göran Olsson) — YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Sling
Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu, HBOMax, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and others
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Vudu
Dear White People (Justin Simien) — YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and others
Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and others
I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin) — YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and others
If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and others
Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Free on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime this month in USA
King In The Wilderness (Martin Luther King, Jr.) — Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime
See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
Selma (Ava DuVernay) — YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and others
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (Stanley Nelson Jr.) — YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and others
The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime
When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
More Resources
10 Anti-Racist Podcasts and Talks That Are Helping Me Become a Better Ally
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
Rachel Ricketts’ Anti-racism Resources
Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism
Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac
100 Year Hoodie Overview of Police Brutality
In preparing this list, we leveraged the hard work of Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein who created a list titled “Anti-racism Resources for White People” in May 2020. Their full list is available here: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES.
If you come across other resources that would benefit our community, share them in the comments or in the Contact Us page.
Thumbnail photo by Jumana Dakkur from Pexels.
