Black Lives Matter: the books to read, films to watch & podcasts to listen to

Thanks to the power of social media, the Black Lives Matter movement is now louder than ever, following the widespread public outrage over the death of George Floyd.

On Tuesday June 2nd, Atlantic Records execs Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang launched #TheShowMustBePaused campaign - a day for the music industry to take a break from business as usual in order to reflect on changes it can make to encourage BAME individuals to thrive in a system that is not tailored to them. 

Millions have signed petitions and donated money towards BLM-associated causes, from bail out funds for protestors to anti-racism charities. These are all positive steps, but the battle doesn’t stop there.

(This embedded post has since been removed)

Here at Skiddle, we recognise that as a company and as a society we need to better educate ourselves and actively encourage anti-racism, and that while meaningful, structural and governmental change is necessary, it is the responsibility of individuals to play their part in that change.

This won’t be easy, but neither is being black. 

There are plenty of resources going around on social media, but if you’re feeling like you don’t know where to begin, we've put together this list of recommendations (which we're working through ourselves).

This is by no means an exhaustive list, so if you would like to recommend we add something to the list don’t hesitate to @ us.  

Pleasantly surprised to see all of the books about racism on the bestseller list this week. This book is a game changer. #RacismInAmerica #BlackLivesMatter @RobinDiAngelo #whitefragility pic.twitter.com/xjEX6GN0Vv

— Julie Kratz (she/her) (@nextpivotpoint) June 5, 2020

What to read:

White Fragility (Robin DiAngelo) 

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Reni Eddo Lodge) 

Me and White Supremacy (Layla F Saad)

I Tried to Change So You Don’t Have To (Loni Love)

Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) 

An American Marriage (Tayari Jones) 

So You Want to Talk About Race (Ijeoma Oluo)

Such a Fun Age (Kiley Reid)

All American Boys (Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely)

They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us (Hanif Abdurraqib) 

What to watch:

13th (Netflix)

When They See Us (Netflix)

The Black Power Mixtape (Amazon)

The Hate You Give (Amazon)

Dear White People (Netflix) 

LA 92 (Netflix)

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (Amazon) 

(This embedded post has since been removed)

What to listen to (podcasts):

Witness Black History (BBC World Service)

About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge (Reni Eddo-Lodge/Renay Rich)

Slay in Your Lane (Studio71 UK)

Code Switch (NPR)

No Country for Young Women (BBC Sounds)

What else can you do?

Donate to George Floyd’s GoFundMe; The Bail Project; Black Lives Matter; Runnymede (charity and think tank that aims to challenge race inequality in Britain through research and policy engagement); Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust; Stand Against Racism and Inequality (SARI) (provides support for people who have suffered hate crime, including attacks that were racist, homophobic, transphobic and/or sexist), and Stop Hate UK Organisation.

Sign petitions; confront our own biases; talk to friends and family; call out racism; email our MPs, and register to vote.

More resources can be found at blacklivesmatters.com