The weeks since George Floyd’s murder by police on May 25 have been eye-opening and gut-wrenching. I’ve been angry, heartbroken, and, I’m sorry to say, flabbergasted—I had been blind to, or turned a blind eye to, the pervasive, sickening injustice of our society. It has been far too easy for white Americans to ignore systemic racism.
For things to change, it’s critical that white people not only offer their allyship but also join the fight. A big part of this work is education. I’ve consumed a lot of media to try to catch up—as have many of us. Below are our picks for this month: movies, articles, books, and organizations that lift up Black voices, explain important causes, and have spurred critical conversations.
The documentary 13th from filmmaker Ava DuVernay on Netflix explains just how deep the injustice in our country goes. Our modern-day systems have been painstakingly crafted by politicians (including by Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton) and by private companies to disadvantage Black Americans—specifically, to keep them in prisons. While the 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, it made an exception for those convicted of crimes; the documentary details how this loophole has been exploited ever since. In the film, Senator Cory Booker points out that “We now have more African Americans under criminal supervision than all the slaves back in the 1850s.”
Brittany:
Chicago Community
Bond Fund
Alia:
The Movement for
Black Lives
Katie:
The Okra Project
Katie
design associate
David
editor
Go to David’s pick
Go to Katie’s pick
I hadn’t watched Spike Lee’s movie Do the Right Thing since it was released in 1989. My wife and I thought it would be good for our children to see, despite its rough language. It showed them, and reminded us, that little has changed in the United States in the intervening years.
Organizations doing important racial justice work
Scott:
Crossroads Fund
Allan
senior adviser
Go to Allan’s pick
Annie
editor
Go to Annie’s pick
Early on in Horror Noire, a fascinating documentary about Black horror films, Jordan Peele talks about his concerns when making Get Out: “There’s a possibility that people don’t want to see entertainment about something that has been traditionally dealt with a certain reverence.” As a genre, American horror has long served this purpose, stoking discomfort by showing us things that many would prefer to ignore, including unchecked racism and abuse of power. Horror Noire not only traces the historical contributions of Black filmmakers but also explains how their films evolved the genre into what it is today. It’s powerful, important stuff. As author Tananarive Due says, “Black history is Black horror.”
Anyone who is still wary of the police abolition movement should immediately check out this concise, well-researched article from former Chicagoan Mariame Kaba. An excerpt: “We are not abandoning our communities to violence. We don’t want to just close police departments. We want to make them obsolete.”
Rachel
editor
Go to Rachel’s pick
Bryant Terry is a vegan chef and chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. He is also an activist who uses his cookbooks as a platform to not only teach readers how to cook but also inform them about social issues. In Afro-Vegan, his mission is to celebrate food and flavors from the African diaspora—food he says is often marginalized or not recognized in modern cooking.
What I especially love about Terry’s cookbooks is that he suggests art and media for readers to consume alongside his recipes. For example, want to make Jamaican patties stuffed with Maque Choux? (Yes, you do.) You get the recipe and a song and film recommendation: “Brass in Africa,” by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble from Best of BBE 2011 and Stephanie Black’s 2001 documentary, Life and Debt.
You can follow him at @bryantterry on Instagram.
