Anti-Racism: Resources and Accounts to Follow

2020.  What. A. Year.  Honestly, our nation, our world probably needed 2020 to happen.  It forced us to open our eyes and ears.

In the Tuesday Talk section of our newsletter last week, we shared just that.  How to really listen.  The week prior we recognized we can do better as a brand and as individuals when it comes to anti-racism and supporting the BIPOC  community.   Our first step was listening and educating ourselves --both of which are not one time actions.  We included resources in our last 2 newsletters, but want this to be a living document that both of us can access and that we can share with our ULA community.  If you have other resources or workshops that you have found beneficial, please share them with us.   If you want to have an open conversation about anti-racism and how to better support the BIPOC community, please engage with us.  

EYES OPEN. EARS LISTENING.

How to really listen.

During a time of radical change, this is a simple reminder on how to connect with people who have different perspectives and views than your own. Not just now, but always. You have something to learn from every human you interact with, but you have to listen.

The following list is from @werenotreallystrangers and it may be back to basics, but it's also such an important reminder.

1. Limit distractions.
2. Ask follow-up questions before rushing to make a point.
3. View disagreements as opportunities to grow.
4. Be open to changing your mind when receiving new information, even if it makes you uncomfortable.
5. Listen to learn. Even if what you're hearing contradicts your current view of the world.
6. Resist the urge to make it about you.
7. Be more interested in understanding others than being understood.
8. Admit when you're wrong. Your ego wants you to be right. Your higher self wants you to evolve.

Seattle Health & Wellness
Ashely Davies, Instagram handle is @dreambigdavies. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7AM and 8AM find her on Instagram Live for a 30 minutes workout. She alternates body part focus. Mondays are upper body + abs, Wednesdays are lower body, and Fridays are total body. I know because I do her workouts on the regular! The fact that she smiles for most of the workout is motivation alone. Once we aren't working out at home, you can find her at Shred415, FlyWheel, and leading CSRD community FREE runs.

Brittany Love, Instagram handle is @curvycurl. You can find her schedule over on her Instagram page where she offers strength, cardio, mobility, and barre classes Monday-Saturday. She is an Athleta Ambassador and we have had the honor of partnering with her for a Stronger Together themed workout and LOVE LOVE her vibe and message she puts out. If you need some good resistance bands, you can also check out her love bands.

Athletic Form, Instagram handle is @trainathleticform. Their studio is one of the largest in Seattle and you will get nothing short of a fun, upbeat, and well thought out functional workout. Robel the owner is as great as they come and their bootcamp style and strength classes are worth a drive to SODO once they open their doors post shelter in place.

City Sweats, Instagram handle is @citysweats. They are officially open and both of these mamas will need an infrared sauna treatment STAT. I have had the opportunity to sit in on a few panels to hear the owner, Dee Alams, speak on topics related to health and wellness and oh man is she is a gem! If you need another way to sweat besides movement, this is where it's at.

Books
White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by DiAngelo Robin
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-Create Race in the Twenty-First Century by  Dorothy Roberts
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
Hood Feminism Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Knedall

IG Black Activists and Creators to Follow:
(credit to @jessicawilson.msrd and @blackandembodied for most of these accounts for the #AMPLIFYMELANATEDVOICES challenge that took place from June 1st-7th):
@porshanality
@healsista
@ckyourprivilege
@ogorchukwuu
@mynameisjessasmym
@skillincation
@thenapministry
@trustmeimasocialworker
@refinedtherapy
@the_intersectionaltherapist
@melanin_maskedanxiety
@mspackyetti

IG Black Outdoor Enthusiast to Follow (list provided by Outdoorsy.com):
@melaninbasecamp
@jitterbug_art
@forrest_in_the_forrest
@outdoorafro
@she_colorsnature
@outdoorsydiva
@wildginaa
@brandihikes
@blackgirlstrekkin
@teresabaker11

BIPOC Food Bloggers and Local Restaurants
Accounts to Follow for Recipe Inspo:
@jessicainthekitchen
@fitmencook
@immaculatebites
@preciouscore
@kaluhiskitchen
@grandbabycakes
@aclassictwist

Seattle Restaurants to Support*:
June Baby
Plum Bistro
Simply Soulful
Fat's Fried Chicken & Waffles
Jerk Shack
The Wandering Goose
Witness
Ezell's Chicken
Meskel Ethiopian on Cherry St
*This is not an all-inclusive list but we tried to include a variety of cuisine and neighborhoods

Organizations to Support/Donate To
From Town & Country Magazine Online:
Black Lives Matter
George Floyd Memorial Fund
The Love Land Foundation
The NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Color of Change

In addition to the lists complied above, Brittany Packnett Cunningham (@mspackyetti) created the following GoogleDoc here and it includes resources for white parents, articles to read, videos to watch, podcasts to subscribe to, books to read, films and TV series to watch, and additional organizations to follow on social media. It is important that we reiterate we did not compile this list, but Brittany did and we accessed it through Claire  Gold.