Racial Justice Resources
Our nation’s systems, our institutions, and our societal norms have been built upon a racist foundation rooted in our history of colonialism, that gives some people privilege and intentionally takes it away from others based on the color of their skin.
The U.S. and Oregon’s Labor Movements have not been immune from these racist origins either. Racial justice and the work of dismantling racism are Labor issues for many reasons, and the struggles for economic, and racial justice are inextricably linked.
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As workers and union members, we know that an injury to one hurts all of us. For too long, we have been convinced to look the other way. We have been told lies by bosses, by politicians and by those who seek to divide us further. We must address racism in whatever form it may take and stop the inequality of income, opportunity and power.
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The labor movement and civil rights movement stood together in the past, and we must continue that great tradition.
Two years before the historic March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed the Fourth Constitutional Convention of the AFL-CIO. He shared that day his dream that “all who work for a living will be one, with no thought of their separateness.” That solidarity, spoken into action by Dr. King, and carried in the hearts of union members, community organizers and countless others is the foundation of the labor movement - in America and around the world.
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The labor movement has the incredible power to bring together intersections of struggle and galvanize working people to stand together to face those obstacles. We must redouble our efforts and do our part as allies and partners in the long-term fight for justice. In an effort to help Oregon’s unions, union members, and workers in our mission of racial justice, we have compiled resources and information.
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SUGGESTED READING, VIEWING & LISTENING RACIAL JUSTICE MATERIALS
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Antiracism Center: Twitter
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Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Justice League NYC: Twitter | Instagram + Gathering For Justice: Twitter | Instagram
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The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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National Domestic Workers Alliance: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
TV & MOVIES
PODCASTS
BOOKS
Please consider buying these books from black-owned bookshops (linked below) instead of Amazon.
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Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
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Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
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Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
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How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
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Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
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Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
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Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold
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Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
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Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
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So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
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The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
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The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
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The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
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The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
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Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
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This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga
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When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
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White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
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Thank you to the Oregon Education Association for compiling this list of resources.
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