Sign petitions, educate yourselves, write to your MP, donate, and help to make sure that the conversation doesn’t stop until we see real change. In this article, we have some resources that you can utilise.

Educate yourself

Get reading

Start a reading list, we would recommend some of the following.

• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir: Patrisse Khan-Cullors
• How to Be an Anti-racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• White Fragility by Robin Di Angelo
• Divided Sisters by Midge Wilson and Kathy Russell
• The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• They Can’t Kill Us All by Weslet Lowery
• Know Why the Caged Bird Songs by Maya Angelou
• The Miner’s Canary by Laniu Guiner and Gerlad Torres
• The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
• Between the World and Me: Ta-Nehisi Coates
• So You Want to Talk About Race: Ijeoma Oluo
• Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race: Reni Eddo-Lodge
• Natives, Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire: Akala
• 'Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower': Brittney Cooper
• This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work: Tiffany Jewell
• Brit(ish), On Race, Identity and Belonging: Afua Hirsch
• How to argue with a Racist: History, Science, Race and Reality: Adam Rutherford
• White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism: Robin Diangelo

There are articles out there, which you can check out here and some inspiring Twitter threads here. You could also consider reading other fiction or non-fiction books penned by Black authors. Huffington Post showcases 50 Amazing Books by Black authors From The Past 5 Years. There are some inspiring twitter threads too.

If you are able to support independent bookshops during the Covid-19 crisis, here is a great list of some based in Bristol/Bath that can deliver these titles throughout the UK:

• https://storysmithbooks.com/
• https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/
• https://mrbsemporium.com/

Create a watch list

Below are some programmes that you can start with – if you have any more please let us know so that we can update this.

• 13^th
• American Son
• Dear White People
• If Beale St Could Talk
• King in the Wilderness
• See You Yesterday
• The Hate You Give
• When They See Us

Listen to podcasts

• About Race: Reni Eddo-Lodge
• Code Switch: NPR
• This American Life
• 1619
• Intersectionality Matters
• Momentum
• Pod For The Cause
• Pod Save The People
• Seeing White
• The Nod
• The Stakes
• Scene on Radio: Seeing White Series
• The Heart: Race Traitor Series
• United States of Anxiety
• Shine Brighter Together

Video clips

There are lots of videos on YouTube that you can check out.

Sign petitions

Below are links to some petitions that you may want to sign.

Justice for George Floyd

Raise the Degree (George Floyd)

The Minneapolis Police Officers to be charged for murder after killing innocent black man

Battling Racism by updating GCSE reading lists

Black British History is British History

The UK government must condemn Trump's response to George Floyd's murder

Suspend UK Export of tear gas, rubber bullets and riot shields to USA

Justice for Breonna Taylor

Justice for Elijah McClain

Write to your MP

Express your anger and demand change. There is a template letter calling for the Government to make black history mandatory in the national curriculum here and a letter here, which calls to suspend the sale of tear gas, riot shields, and rubber bullets to the USA, where they are being used against peaceful protestors who are asking only for their civil rights and humanity to be respected.

Click here, to find out who your local MP is and to get their contact details.

Donate

Black Lives Matter has curated a list of donation platforms for victims and protestors, which you can view here. 

Make sure that if you are donating that you are choosing registered organisations, we have put some below.

• SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality): SARI provides support for victims of any type of hate crime, including racism.
• Charity So White: Tackles institutional racism in the Charity Sector.
• Stop Hate UK works to challenge all forms of Hate Crime and discrimination, based on any aspect of an individual’s identity.
• Runnymede Trust is the UK's leading independent race equality think tank. They generate intelligence to challenge race inequality in Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement.
• Stop Watch UK aims to support fair and accountable policing.
• BLAM UK CIC works to improve outcomes for Black Britons through learning, achievement and mental health.

What is The Students’ Union going to do?

• We will be holding listening forums with students in June to create a year-round Black Lives Matter campaign and to enhance Black History Month.
• We will work with UWE Bristol on the anti-racism content as part of all student inductions
• We will be reviewing our Zero Tolerance policies to ensure they are direct and clear in our commitment to acting against racism.
• Will be highlighting resources and educational tools to students in the coming weeks.

We would like to remind to look after yourselves and use all of the wellbeing services available to you.