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Protest sign saying,'End Systemic Racism'

Here's How You Can Act for Black Lives

This week, we want to share a variety of resources to educate yourself and others on the problem of systemic racism in the United States, which continues to exclude people of color—especially Black people—from full participation in American economic, social, and civic systems.

Our partner organization Generation Progress has also put together a collection of action tools to demand justice for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, as well as resources on anti-racism and how to demonstrate to people in power that we are paying attention and will not stay silent. Take Action now »

Listen and Learn.

Police brutality, voter disenfranchisement, barriers to health care, occupational segregation, housing discrimination, environmental racism, and mass incarceration are all known products of structural racism. These systemic problems are not new. Black Americans have fought against them for more than 400 years. But far too often, other Americans have turned a blind eye. Ending structural racism requires all Americans to stand up, speak out, and fight back.

For those of us who have spent our entire lives on the sidelines of the fight for racial justice and equality, it is past time to enter on the side of the righteous. We must start today, and this process starts with listening and learning about what needs to change, what being an ally means, and how to support the Black community in this fight.

Start here: 'Get your knee off our necks': Al Sharpton delivers eulogy at George Floyd memorial, The Guardian

Brittany Packnett, Don Cheadle, Nikole Hannah Jones, and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes on NBC's 'Can You Hear Us Now'

NBC News: Can you hear us now?

A conversation about race, injustice, and moving forward with Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Don Cheadle, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes (D-WI).

Watch the full segment here.

More resources:

How you can be supportive of your Black coworkers right now, Cheddar
Refinery29's Danielle Cadet appeared on Cheddar to provide some advice on how to be supportive of your Black coworkers.

Educate Yourself on Anti-Racism, Generation Progress
Everyone should always want to be better, and one way to strengthen your commitment to anti-racism is through education.

Violence of This Week, Past 400 Years Shows Systemic Racism Is Underlying Disease, Center for American Progress
A statement by vice president of Race and Ethnicity Policy at CAP, Danyelle Solomon, about the recent instances of police violence and the underlying problem of racism in the United States.

Talks to help you understand racism in America, TED Talks
This TED Talks playlist highlights a multitude of perspectives on America's history of racism and the everyday realities experienced by Black Americans.

Answering White People's Most Commonly Asked Questions about the Black Lives Matter Movement, The Bold Italic
Courtney Martin provides answers to frequently asked questions from people with privilege who want to learn more about racial justice.

White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
A thorough explanation of the dynamics of white fragility.

CNN/Sesame Street Racism Town Hall
Watch as CNN's Van Jones and Erica Hill partner with "Sesame Street" for "Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism," a town hall for kids and families.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh
This famous essay covers 50 hidden benefits, from McIntosh's perspective, of the privilege white people experience in everyday life.

Ending Systematic Racism and Inequality

What some Americans are just opening their eyes to is not new. Structural racism did not begin this week, this decade, or the past century. The history of slavery in the United States gave birth to rotting roots that have spread into the present day. Here is what needs to be done to make amends for 400 years of devaluing Black lives, work, and property.

What Truth and Reconciliation Looks Like

In order to address centuries of collective harm to African Americans, the United States must acknowledge the impacts of slavery and make an intentional choice to rebuild itself in an equitable manner.
[More from CAP on systematic inequality]

Addressing Systematic Inequality

Most policy interventions, even those that are seemingly large or ambitious, are insufficient to close the racial wealth gap. This simulation developed by CAP demonstrates how discrete proposals, implemented in combination or in isolation, would reduce the racial wealth gap over the next four decades.

More resources:

The 1619 Project, The New York Times
An ongoing project to re-examine the legacy of slavery in the United States, launched on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia.

The Environment That Racism Built: The Impact of Place on Maternal and Infant Health, Center for American Progress
The fates of Black mothers and infants are tied together, and the severe disparity between their ability to survive and be as healthy as their white counterparts is rooted in racism.

A Video Primer on Targeted Universalism, Othering and Belonging Institute
This video explains the difference between targeted universalism and more traditional policy approaches to closing the black-white wealth gap.

Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys, The New York Times
This landmark 30-year study debunks the belief that ending class inequality is sufficient to eliminate racial inequality.

Racism and Sexism Combine to Shortchange Working Black Women, Center for American Progress
Intersectional discrimination perpetuates the racial and gender wealth gaps, limits Black women's access to educational opportunities, and impedes their career advancement. [Related: Valuing Black Women's Work]

How Civil Asset Forfeiture Exacerbates Hardship for Low-Income Communities and Communities of Color, Center for American Progress
An unjust practice known as civil asset forfeiture has come to be used as a vehicle to seize people's cash, homes, cars, and other personal property if law enforcement believes it was involved in a crime, regardless of whether the individuals are innocent.

Being African American & LGBTQ: An Introduction, Human Rights Campaign
An introduction into the experience of LGBTQ African Americans, who live at the intersections of racism, homophobia and transphobia and face a number of critical issues.

Equitable & Just National Climate Platform
A national climate policy agenda to improve the public health and well-being of all communities while tackling the climate crisis and environmental racism head-on.

Public Schools Must Address Disparities in Discipline Rates, Center for American Progress
Research shows that schools have overdisciplined African American and Latino students—as well as students with disabilities and English language learners—for at least 40 years.

Ending Police Brutality and Ushering in Meaningful Criminal Justice Reform

Today, Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Justice in Policing Act, one of many important steps toward long-term structural change that the United States needs.

The Justice in Policing Act Is an Important Step Toward Long-Term Structural Change, Statement by CAP President Neera Tanden

The Intersection of Policing and Race

In order to bridge the divide and build trust between communities of color and law enforcement, we must institute a special prosecutor policy and create community police review boards, expand law enforcement training and community-centered responses, institute statewide use-of-force guidelines, mandate data collection, and invest in officer and community wellness.

Expanding the Authority of State Attorneys General to Combat Police Misconduct

The time is now for states to usher in a new era of policing. They should empower state attorneys general to investigate, litigate, and resolve the pattern or practice of police misconduct and begin the hard work of rebuilding trust.

More resources:

Fatal Force, The Washington Post
This database contains records of every fatal shooting in the United States by a police officer since January 1, 2015.

Pathways to Police Reform Community Mobilization Toolkit, NAACP
A comprehensive toolkit of actions that can be taken toward police reform.

Reforming Policing, ACLU
A wealth of resources on excessive force in policing, police corruption, asset forfeiture abuse, police militarization, and search and seizure.

How to Actually Fix America's Police, The Atlantic
A dive into necessary interventions at the federal, state, and local levels that could reform America's policing system.

What is Police Violence?, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, American Association of People With Disabilities, and Green Mountain Self Advocates
A plain language booklet about anti-Black racism, police violence, and what you can do to stop it.

Efforts to Address Gun Violence Should Not Include Increased Surveillance, Center for American Progress
People with significant mental illness, especially people of color, are at constant risk of governmental interference, potentially lethal law enforcement interaction, and institutionalization.

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