While we can never forget historical and continued anti-Black violence, we also can never forget there is more to the story.

Never Forget Black Activism

As the United States still reckons with racism and inequality, [historical] activists…can serve as models of activism for young people today. – Robert H. Mayer

• In the Name of Emmett Till: How the Children of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle Showed Us Tomorrow, an ebook by Robert H. Mayer
• The ebook African American Arts: Activism, Aesthetics, and Futurity by Carrie Mae Weems
• Angela Davis: An Autobiography
• We March, a children’s book by Shane Evans
• Black Lives Matter, an online guide

Never Forget Black Resilience

Resilience comes out of the words of mechanics . . . springs are resilient. No matter how much pressure you put on it, or how small you compress it, it waits patiently, and when the weight is alleviated it regains its previous shape. Black people have been under a heavy weight for some time now, but we are pushing back, and results are being seen. – Dr. Robert Wright, paying tribute to the influence of Martin Luther King Jr.

• Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream, a visual history written by Blair Imani and illustrated by Rachelle Baker
• Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own by Joy Cox
• Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration by Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts
• Goin’ Back to T-Town, an online video that tells the story of Greenwood, an extraordinary Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that prospered during the 1920s and 30s. Told through the memories of those who lived through the events, the film is a bittersweet celebration of small-town life and the resilience of a community’s spirit.
  • Check out the Early Greenwood and Black Wall Street Pioneers pictorial galleries from the Greenwood Cultural Center!

Never Forget Black Joy

When joy is Black, it is the radical demonstration of our humanity–our laughter, our ancestral mandate to keep moving in a rhythm all our own–set in a cultural context and struggle specific to our experiences as members of the African Diaspora. – Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts

• Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors by Rue Mapp (you can request a copy from Summit since ours hasn’t arrived yet!)
• Textures: The History and Art of Black Hair
• Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation: Another Way of Knowing, an ebook that “challenges racist images and discourses, both historically and in its persistence in contemporary society, while reclaiming the innate brilliance of Black women through personal narratives, political acts, connections to place, moments of pleasure, and communal celebration”
• Black Lives and Black Research Matter: How our Collective Emotions Continue to Drive a Movement, a scholarly article by Angel Dunbar
• Whiteout: A [cozy romance] Novel
• The Politics of Black Joy by Lindsey Stewart
• The Art of Black Joy, an article in Essence by Charli Penn featuring photos and words from actress Danielle Brooks, TikTok roller skater Kelsey Guy, wellness expert Devi Brown, and actress & cook Tabitha Brown
• Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin

Never Forget You Can Take Action

Activism is about raising awareness for change, and participating to make change a reality. – Joy Cox (emphasis added)

• The White Ally Toolkit Workbook: Using Active Listening, Empathy, and Personal Storytelling to Promote Racial Equity by Dr. David Campt
• Stay Woke: A People’s Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter by Tehama Lopez Bunyasi and Candis Watts Smith
• Looking Back in History to Help Inform and Improve Future Race Relations, a PBS NewsHour online video
• Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
• The ebook Teaching Race: How to Help Students Unmask and Challenge Racism by Stephen Brookfield
• Uncensored: My Life and Uncomfortable Conversations at the Intersection of Black and White America, a memoir by Zachary R. Wood

Never Forget To Take Care of Yourself

Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. – Audre Lorde

• Support Services for People of Color and Mental Health and Wellness, online guides
• Clark College resources: Counseling and Health Center and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• The ebook The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health by licensed psychologist Rheeda Walker
• Rising Strong by Brené Brown

Mural photo credit: David Brossard via flickr – mural on North Greenwood Avenue in the Greenwood district, Oklahoma

Meeting photo credit: Disabled and Here

“Metuchen Rally For Social Justice” photo credit: B.C. Lorio via flickr