Anti-Racism Reading List November 2024

10+ insightful articles for learning and action

Author

Sharon Hurley Hall
November 27, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Hello friends,

Has this ever felt like a long month?! I'm not going to pour salt in the wound by sharing a bunch of analyses of what went wrong, what it means etc - I've done that during the month within the newsletter, and many others have as well. So here, at least, it's business as usual and sharing articles that give insight into the everyday experiences of racism that continue to plague us.

One of my first anti-racism articles of the current era (my personal current era, that is) was The Loneliness of the Sole Black Employee, which struck a chord then and continues to do so now. Here, Shereen Daniels, author of The Anti-Racist Organization, looks at what that's like in leadership. All I can say is, the more things change ....

“On one hand, there’s the opportunity to influence the organisation’s stance on racial equity at a fundamental level (if you believe this is an area that the business should address, we are making no assumptions here just because of your race and/or ethnicity); on the other, there’s the risk of being seen only as the “face” of anti-racism, rather than as one of the leadership participants responsible for shaping broader strategic priorities.”

2. The Two Steps to Getting Someone on the Anti-Racism Express by Clay Rivers

Is there hope for persuading people to be anti-racist? Clay Rivers thinks there is, as he expounds on what I've previously called "the ripple effect":

“The person you’re most likely to impress upon the notion that racism is alive and well and every shade of wrong is someone with whom you have an existing relationship. By that, I mean a family member, friend, coworker, someone you already know, or anyone with whom where respect and care are woven into the fabric of your interactions."

The Language Matters Memo is one of the monthly newsletters I most look forward to reading, and it's because of thoughtful pieces like this about the "columbusing" of existing neighbourhoods:

“One of the many problems with gentrification is that the places that get gentrified are often the places where people of colour live. Initially, gentrification may make a neighbourhood temporarily ‘more diverse,’ but as the original residents are priced out, it is less a victory for social cohesion and racial justice and more the slow march to racial displacement.”

Yes, it IS possible to have "difficult conversations" and there are people who want to have them. I was inspired by this account of a college course that looked directly at racism:

“colleges can tackle race in a thoughtful, nuanced way that builds bridges. We find that students are hungry to learn in this way. They regularly express gratitude for the opportunity to talk about race in ways they didn’t think was possible in higher education today.”

Take this as a follow recommendation - isabeau is known for telling it straight and this useful guide is one example.

“6. ad hominem attacks

attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself

comment: "you aren’t old enough to understand this issue”

A Special Message from Gloria Tabi

I was horrified to see when I was researching for my recent TEDx Talk on #HairDiscrimination that children as young as four (4) were being subjected to hair discrimination in preschools.

In this TEDx Talk, I dive into the deep-rooted issue of hair discrimination, shedding light on how appearance-based biases impact the lives, confidence, and professional opportunities of Black women and girls.

This isn’t just about hair; it’s about the broader impact of racism, exclusion, and bias in everyday spaces.

Racism against a group is a buildup of small acts of racist discrimination that go unchecked, unexamined, unspoken about, not dealt with, and, over time, lead to violence.

I’m reaching out with an urgent call to action. Please take a moment to:

  1. Watch the talk that addresses #HairDiscrimination against Black women and girls

  2. Like and Comment to join the conversation on Youtube

  3. Share widely to expand awareness and

  4. Connect with me to explore how we can drive this message from awareness to

    transformative action in schools, community groups, universities and workplaces.

Together, let’s make hair discrimination against Black women and girls beyond awareness and spark real change.

Connect with Gloria Tabi on LinkedIn and see the full TEDx Talk on YouTube:

One of the themes that keeps coming up in anti-racism work is the disconnection of those racialised as white from their full history. This article shares some hidden history and explores that disconnection:

“I am not surprised when white-identifying people become tongue-tied, ashamed, confused, or dismissive when encountering America’s history with slavery, Jim Crow, Japanese-descent Internment, or persecution of Indigenous people. These reactions reveal that they are only connecting with the white people in these histories. A racist will exult in the story of a glorified white history."

I learned some of this history in school, but it's useful to have a refresher on some of the tactics used when settler colonialism was at its height:

“It was a catch-22. According to the document, Indigenous people could either voluntarily surrender their sovereignty and become vassals or bring war upon themselves – and perhaps lose their sovereignty anyway, after much bloodshed. No matter what they chose, the Requerimiento supplied the legal pretext for forcibly incorporating sovereign Indigenous peoples into the Spanish domain."

8. Digital Colorism: How AI Headshot Generators Are Failing Dark-Skinned Users by Christelle Mombo-Zigah

Well, I wish I were surprised by this latest example of the ways in which people with dark skin are not considered in digital tools.

“This is more than a technical glitch. These headshot generators aren’t just editing photos; they are altering identities. In one of my experiences, the AI drastically lightened my skin, changed my hair texture, and even slimmed my face—essentially erasing parts of who I am."

9. Resist Whiteness by Naomi Raquel Enright

I reviewed Naomi Raquel Enright's Strength of Soul earlier this month - this essay gives you a look inside.

“Becoming a white American is to simultaneously shed one's ethnic heritage and to agree to the privilege and protection that whiteness ensures. This is not something I think individuals or families have done consciously or intentionally - it is an unspoken, unwritten understanding that whiteness is what equates power in our society.”

I don't often share two articles by the same author in a reading list, but this essay on what compassion really is and how it leads into anti-racism really struck me:

“It’s common knowledge that white Americans have a very different life experience than Black Americans, but that doesn’t mean that because they’re white, they cannot relate to some facet of the Black experience. And for anyone to play the “well, I’ll never understand what Black people go through” card as a license to avoid trying is inhumane at worst and deeply flawed at best. White only goes skin deep.”

Of Note - Things Worth Highlighting

I hope you found this month's reading list valuable. I'd love to know: what action will you take as a result of what you've read today?

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

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*Note: all articles linked here were free to read when I put together this edition. However, some may be paywalled by the time it is published, because capitalism. There’s not much I can do about that, but I hope the included quotes give you a flavour of the content.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2024. All Rights Reserved.

I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).

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