Civil Rights & Anti-Racism Resources

Below are Anti-Racism Reading Recommendations compiled by Bookshop.org: 

• Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
• So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad
• How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
• Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Robin Diangelo and Layla Saad
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi
• Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison

Check out the below books recommended by Clint Smith III, from Pod Save the People. Clint writes, "I’ve been asked a lot recently about book recommendations that discuss how American history and policy have shaped the current landscape of racial inequality, specifically with regard to Black life. I pulled twelve books off the shelf that have been really helpful in shaping how I understand where we find ourselves. This is not meant to be a comprehensive, exhaustive, or even personal top 12 list, but I highly recommend each of them." You can also check out Clint's Instagram page for more information and sources. 

For additional reading suggestions: https://bookshop.org/lists/antiracist-reading-recs

Here are 60+ Black-owned restaurants to support in the Greater Boston area. Many are still open for takeout and delivery.

Allston

• Rock City Pizza*
• Dorchester
• 50Kitchen*
• Auntie Vie’s Bakery Cafe*
• Bon Appetit*
• Bred Gourmet*
• Cesaria*
• Clarke’s Cakes & Cookies*
• Down Home Delivery*
• Family Affair Restaurant & Catering*
• Irie Jamaican Style Restaurant*
• Island Style Jamaican Restaurant*
• JP Roti Shop*
• Levi’s Restaurant and Lounge
• M & M BBQ*
• Murl’s Kitchen*
• Natif Natal Restaurant*
• Next Step Soul Food Café
• Oasis Café*
• Oasis Vegan Veggie Parlor*
• One Family Diner*
• Only One Jamaican Restaurant*
• Ripple Cafe*
• Singh’s Roti Shop*
• Taste of Eden*
• Vaughan Fish & Chips
• Wingz & Tingz*
• Yelu’s*

Downtown

• Savvor Restaurant & Lounge

Hyde Park

• D Coal Pot*
• Wingz & Tingz*
• Zaz Restaurant*
• Jamaica Plain
• Blue Nile Restaurant*
• Exodus Bagels*
• Jamaica Mi Hungry*

Mattapan

• Au Beurre Chaud Bakery*
• Blue Mountain Jamaican Restaurant*
• Cafe Juice Up*
• Golden Krust*
• Le Foyer Bakery
• Pit Stop Barbecue*
• Prestige Cuisine
• Shea Butter Smoothies

Roslindale

• Obosá
• R&S Jamaican Restaurant*

Roxbury

• Ashur Restaurant*
• Dayib Cafe
• District 7 Tavern
• Fasika Cafe*
• Fort Hill Bar + Grill
• Ideals Sub Shop*
• Maxine’s on St. James*
• Nos Casa Café*
• Silver Slipper*
• Soleil*
• Suya Joint*
• Top Mix*

South End

• Darryl’s Corner Bar + Kitchen*
• Lucy Ethiopian Cafe*
• MIDA*
• Slades Bar + Grill
• Wally’s Cafe Jazz Club
• Multiple locations
• Ali’s Roti
• Flames Caribbean Restaurant
• Fresh Food Generation
• P&R Jamaican Restaurant*
• Larry J’s BBQ (Boston location closed, Revere location open)*

Greater Boston

• Brother’s Kafe Kreyol (Everett)*
• Highland Cuisine (Somerville)*
• Infused Kreyol (Malden)
• Karibu (Waltham)*
• Neighborhood Kitchen (Medford)*
• Petsi Pies (Somerville)*
• Pikliz International Kitchen (Somerville)*
• Rhythm N’ Wraps (Brookline)*
• Sunrise Cuisine (Somerville)*
• The Coast Café (Cambridge)*
• Tipping Cow Ice Cream (Somerville)

* Restaurants denoted with an asterisk are currently offering takeout or delivery.

Resource: Here are 60+ Black Owned Restaurants in Boston, by Erin Kuschner, Boston.com, June 3, 2020. 

Please consider donating to one or more of the below social justice causes:

1. Help Minnesota Activists

George Floyd was from Minneapolis, Minnesota — hence Minnesota has been a critical center for organizing work. Organizations like Reclaim the Block and the Black Visions Collective are both supporting on-the-ground protestors, in addition to calling for longer-term police accountability. They are in turn asking for donations to be routed to a number of community organizations that have been active as well.

2. Fight for Police Accountability

Organizations like Campaign Zero and ColorofChange are working nationally to try and build new policies and practices that encourage police accountability. Then other local groups, like the Anti Police Terror Project in Northern California and Communities United Against Police Brutality in the Twin Cities, seek to prevent and address police violence.

3. Address the Roots of Racism

Addressing rampant racism in police departments will take extensive anti-bias work, both within departments and society at large. The Center for Policing Equity explicitly works with police departments nationally, and the Burns Institute specifically seeks to address structural racism in criminal justice. There are also groups like Showing Up for Racial Justice that work to bring white people into multi-racial, anti-racist movements for racial and economic justice. Then additionally, the Black Futures Lab is working on policy platforms to address systemic racism across various issue areas through the Black Agenda 2020.

4. Help Communities Heal

Unfortunately, reports from the streets allege that largely white protestors with limited community ties have been on violent and destructive rampages in the midst of nationwide protests, in part destroying Black and Brown-owned businesses. Organizations like the Oakland Indie Alliance in Oakland and the Lake Street Council in Minneapolis are working to raise funds for businesses that were already suffering under COVID — and now need our help even more to rebuild.

Additionally, GoFundMe campaigns have been created to directly give to the families of George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery as they grieve and look to a long road of legal costs and educational needs.

5. Learn More about Your Local Community

This list is by no means exhaustive — before writing your first check, take a moment to look up a local organization that fits into one of these categories, and add it to your personal list! In general, the Movement for Black Lives is a great place to learn about initiatives happening both locally and nationally (and to donate as well).

Resource: Enough Thoughts & Prayers: 5 Ways To Donate To Honor George Floyd And Work For Justice & Accountability by Morgan Simon, Forbes.com, posted June 1, 2020. 

Below are resources that you can use to talk to your kids about race and racism: 

NPR Podcast - Talking Race with Young Children 

Articles and Tips for Parents and Caregivers: 

• Anti-Racism for Kids 101: Starting to Talk About Race
• Here's How W. Kamau Bell Talks About Race With His Kids
• 100 Race-Conscious Things You Can Say to Your Children to Advance Racial Justice
• Raising Race-Conscious Children
• 4 Things We Should All Teach Kids About Racism Right Now
• Social Justice Resources from the Children's Community School in Philadelphia
• American Academy of Pediatrics Condemns Racism, Offers Advice for Families for How to talk to their Children

Lists of Books for Children 

• The 2020 Ultimate List of Diverse Children's Books
• No White Saviors: Kids Books About Black Women in US History
• Children's Books by Brilliant Black Women: #OwnVoices Authors & Illustrators

Consider purchasing books from Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. 

Buy Toys that are Diverse: 

• Basket of Babies
• Marvel Education Friends with Diverse Abilities Figure Set
• Community Workers Figures for Ages 3 and Up
• My Family Builders Diversity Building Blocks
• Cuddle & Kind - Maya the Mermaid
• HarperIman Dolls
• Wonder Crew Action Figures
• I Never Forget a Face Memory Matching Game
• Children of the World Floor Puzzle
• Wooden Community Helpers
• Doll Family 
• Multicultural Construction Paper 
• Multicultural Crayons 
• Multicultural Washable Paint
• Multicultural Dough