Let's educate ourselves
While it is critical that we listen to others' experiences, it is also important to do our own reading and research, rather than expecting black and minority ethnic people to educate us. There is a huge amount of useful and powerful material available from podcasts to articles to books and more.
In addition to the material suggested below, you can use social media to learn more - #BlackintheIvory is one Twitter hashtag collecting the views of black academics, and includes UK threads. The Library have put together a Black Lives Matter reading list.
You can also find our guidance on using appropriate language when referring to race and ethnicity which explains the complexity of terminology, including the use of 'BAME' in the UK.
Further resources
Videos
How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time - Baratunde Thurston Clint Smith
"So you want to talk about race" - ‘I have people of colour who have actual threats to their life and liberty and their ability to feed their families. And then you have white people who are afraid that they will be called racist.’ Ijeoma Oluo talks about the system of power racism is embedded in, and how we must talk about race even though it’s difficult to do it.
Systemic racism explained - an US example
How racism makes us sick - David R Williams
The danger of a single story - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Also see the TED playlist Talks to help you understand racism in America.
Articles
Extent of institutional racism in British universities revealed through hidden stories - Katy Sian
Higher Education has a problem - it's called White Supremacy - Jasmine Roberts
How to make universities more inclusive? - Kalwant Bhopal
Book
Navigating institutional racism in British universities - Katy Sian. Critically examines the experiences of racism encountered by academics of colour working within British universities. Situated within a critical race theory and postcolonial feminist framework, Sian thoughtfully centres the voices of the interviewed academics, and draws upon her own experiences and reflections through a critical auto-ethnography.
Articles
My white friend asked me on Facebook to explain White Privilege. I decided to be honest - Lori Lakin Hutcherson
It's time for white people to step up for black colleagues - Nicola Rollock (please note that you can access this via the University's Financial Times subscription)
White academia: do better. - Jasmine Roberts
Videos
Deconstructing white privilege - Robin DiAngelo deconstructs white privilege and discusses 'white fragility'
Mixed media
White privilege: what is it and how can it be used to help others? - CBBC Newsround
Books
White Fragility: why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism - Robin DiAngelo. It is not enough to simply hold abstract progressive views and condemn the obvious racists on social media - change starts with us all at a practical, granular level.
- Interview with the author, academic Robin DiAngelo: "We have to stop thinking about racism as someone who says the N-word."
- White people assume niceness is the answer to racial inequality. It's not. Review of White Fragility.
Many other books and other materials can be found via Antiracist Allyship resources by Tatum Dorrell, Matt Herndon and Jourdan Dorrell.
Web pages
Microaggressions and counteracting microaggressions - University of Edinburgh
Microaggressions: what you should know and related online module - Imperial College London
Articles
How bystanders can shut down microaggressions - Zara Abrams
How to intervene when you witness a microaggression - Jennifer Kim and Alyson Meister
Articles
Black Lives Matter in Jamaica: debates about colourism follow anger at police brutality - Henrice Altink
How young black people in care made their voices heard - Mike Stein
Maintaining professionalism In the Age of Black Death is… a lot - Shenequa Golding
Videos
A history of the Black Lives Matter movement - Channel 4 News
The problem with saying 'All Lives Matter' - five minute video by Dr Constantino Dumangane Jr
An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter - Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi
Many other books and other materials can be found via the University Library's Black Lives Matter reading list.
Articles
Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race - Reni Eddo-Lodge. A Guardian Long Read, summarising the book of the same name.
Podcasts
Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race - Reni Eddo-Lodge. For years, racism has been defined by the violence of far-right extremists, but a more insidious kind of prejudice can be found where many least expect it – at the heart of respectable society.
Pearn Kandola's Racism at work podcasts
Code Switch - hosted by journalists of colour, this podcast tackles the subject of race head-on. It explores how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between.
Books
Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. 'Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak'.
So you want to talk about race - Ijeoma Oluo. Guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to 'model minorities' in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.
Superior: the return of race science - Angela Saini. Explores the murky history of race science and the ways in which it is being resurrected in the 21st century. Combining science, history and politics, it explains how race maps out biologically and how those on the far-right are attempting to repackage racism.
- See also: Saini’s talk at Inspirefest 2019
How to argue with a racist: history, science, race and reality - Adam Rutherford. A manifesto for 21st-century understanding of human evolution and variation, and a timely weapon against the misuse of science to justify bigotry.
Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race - Beverly Daniel Tatum. Classic text on the psychology of racism that was re-released with new content in 2017, 20 years after its original publication. Tatum shows the importance - and possibility - of cross-racial dialogues starting young.
White privilege - the myth of a post-racial society - Kalwant Bhopal. Drawing on topical debates and supported by empirical data, this important book examines the impact of race on wider issues of inequality and difference in society.
Brit(ish): on race, identity and belonging - Afua Hirsch. The Sunday Times bestseller that reveals the uncomfortable truth about race and identity in Britain today.
Books
How to be an antiracist - Dr Ibram X. Kendi. Founding director of the Antiracism Research and Policy Center, Kendi shows that when it comes to racism, neutrality is not an option: until we become part of the solution, we would only be part of the problem.
Podcasts
Intersectionality matters - hosted by Kimberlé Krenshaw, leading critical race theorist who coined the term 'intersectionality', this podcast brings the academic term to life. Each episode brings together political organisers, journalists and writers.
About race with Reni Eddo-Lodge - from the author of ‘Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race’, this podcast takes the conversation a step further, featuring key voices from the last few decades of anti-racist activism and looking at the recent history that lead to the politics of today.
Videos
Ibram X. Kendi in conversation: The difference between being "non-racist" and antiracist - TED Talks
The power of story: using books and film to promote anti-racist practice
The urgency of intersectionality - Kimberlé Crenshaw
A list of anti-racism resources of different formats by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein.
Video
What does my headscarf mean to you? In this funny, honest, empathetic talk, Yassmin Abdel-Magied challenges us to look beyond our initial perceptions, and to open doors to new ways of supporting others. Yassmin wears many hats, including a hijab. She's a mechanical engineer, writer and activist who campaigns for tolerance and diversity.
Videos
How do we bridge the "anxiety gap" at work? Erica Joy Baker. Raises awareness of the anxiety that many people from minority groups feel at work in feeling the need to do a job to fit in, before even beginning the job they were recruited to do.
To speak up for inclusion, we need to speak about inclusion - the Royal Bank of Canada. Video about bias showing that we all have biases no matter what 'group' we fall into.
Web pages
How to talk to your children about race and racism - BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour. Also available as a podcast.
How can parents make their kids understand how to be anti-racist? NPR radio conversation with children's author Renee Watson and anti-racism scholar Ibram Kendi.
Talking to our children about race - Outside the boxes podcast. Dr Pragya Agarwal discusses the importance of talking to our children about race.
Race On The Agenda: ROTA - social policy think tank focusing on issues that affect Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in Britain.
Runnymede Trust - UK independent race equality think tank
Blueprint for all - formerly known as the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, was founded following the murder of Stephen Lawrence in the UK. Supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed and influencing others to create a fairer society.
Black Lives Matter - Global organisation founded in 2013 following the killing of Trayvon Martin in the US.
Birmingham City University - Black Studies degree programmes