Once again, the resource I'm sharing doesn't focus specifically on anti-racism or racial equity, my purported area of focus for this newsletter. Yet, as I wrote about recently, all oppressions are connected. I have learned so much from the On the Nose podcast produced by Jewish Currents—a magazine I didn't know about before Oct. 7.

Alerted to the fact that I've been exposed to only one narrative, I'm actively seeking to hear the perspective that's been suppressed. The Palestinian perspective.

I recently found Mohammed El-Kurd.

On Sunday, October 12, I listened to an esteemed group of Black feminist writers discuss how they live their mandate for solidarity with Palestine. As I have so often before, I learned so much from these people who have made entire lives of acting on oppression—and who know (deeply, painfully) what it means to fight for the rights of human beings to live fully.

I'm heartened to find so many organizations who focus resources, supports, and personalized attention to women of color experiencing breast cancer. Were there this many twenty years ago? I'm guessing not. But I couldn't see what I wasn't looking for.

I am a long-time outdoor enthusiast. Early on in my whiteness awakening, I realized how limited—and entitled—my conception was about the best (or right) way to experience the natural world. Here’s a small selection from the fabulous and far-reaching world of resources out there now for Black, Indigenous and people of color to enjoy aspects of the out-of-doors previously dominated by able-bodied white folks.

The podcast Louder Than a Riot digs into the culture of hip-hop to reveal the ways systems of supremacy are at play. Season Two “unpacks the unspoken rules of rap that discriminate against a select few and have held the entire culture back.” I learned so much—not just about how patriarchy, misogyny, racism, and capitalism have influenced hip-hop culture, but how the Louder team went about excavating & exposing these influences. I want to apply this kind of analysis to the cultures I’m involved in: the outdoor enthusiast culture, the world of white anti-racist practitioners, more.

In her book Beyond Inclusion, Beyond, Empowerment, I like how Leticia Nieto and her colleagues present that each of us is a combination of “agent” and “target”, all the time. These terms feel more nuanced and approachable to me than “oppressors” and “oppressed”, and I like the self-reflection the terms evoke in workshop and caucus participants.

Whenever I hear about something by Derecka Purnell or Robin D.G. Kelley, I watch/read/listen to it immediately. We all have our favorites.

So I was thrilled when I learned about this new collaboration, not only with these two, but also Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, and others I’m excited to get to know.

I don’t know how I missed Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book in 2021, when it was published and won the National Book Award. I think it’s amazing.

My favorite training from 2022 was offered by the Anti Oppression Resource & Training Alliance (AORTA).

In his poem How to Explain White Supremacy to a White Supremacist, Kyle 'Guante' Tran Myhre speaks about them (the sharks in the water; the white supremacists) and to us (the not white supremacists; we are the water). His words are carefully chosen, relatable, incisive, and his performance riveting.

I appreciate whatever helps me see what I'm not seeing, throughout my life, and particularly about whiteness. The American Dream Score is a clever, accessible, short questionnaire that calculates what has helped or hindered you getting to where you are today.

I don't remember when I first came across Eddie Glaude, Jr. I just remember thinking: pay attention to him.

It's helpful to think of poverty as an overflowing bathtub. While bailing can keep damage minimized, turning off the faucet is the permanent fix. Right now, both efforts are necessary.

Offsetting is a useful concept when thinking about personal steps toward reparations or antiracist actions. Those of us experiencing fewer oppressions can afford to share some of our opportunities—or the fruits of those opportunities—with people experiencing numerous or ongoing oppressions.

I first saw this rare color footage of Martin Luther King, Jr. at The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama in March. The clip I saw—from the first one below—startled me.