The past two weeks, I took a step back from drag, blogging, and baking to take in the gravity of the political movement that was building in my neighborhood of Oakland, the United States, and all of the world. There’s a lot I could say, but I’ll start with something that I learned first.
Two days ago, I watched 13th, Ava DuVernay’s documentary on policing and prisons. I had heard of the documentary since its release but put off watching it. I was thankful to have learned a lot about racial inequalities in policing and the prison industrial complex having derived from slavery in college, but it was pretty heavy material to review again.
I learned a lot of new content in DuVernay’s documentary. I had no idea about the role that CPAC played in funding prisons. I knew that Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton all played a hand in our prison industrial complex and war on drugs, but I had no idea how they had stacked together in placing more than 2 million people in prisons today.
The montage of police brutality was the hardest part for me to watch. I don’t have the stomach for real life violence, so I never made myself watch the full videos of Eric Garner and George Floyd dying on camera. When the documentary cut to the scene of Philando Castile — his red blood staining the white of his shirt — while his girlfriend begged for help in the car with his toddler, I could not look away. I think anyone who lives their life freely, without worrying that they will meet the same tragic fate as Castile’s, should consider their privilege and stand up against these brutal murders.
I highly recommend everyone watch this film, and I’d also like to follow it up with a strong recommendation for the documentary Whose Streets, on the Ferguson protests.
For those interested in additional #Black Lives Matter links to participate and get involved, I’d like to redirect you to this carrd link with petitions and charities.
For suggested readings, viewings, and articles, here is a short list compiled from my own research and also upon recommendation of other black community leaders and activists.
James Baldwin on the Black Experience in America, short video
Fruitvale Station, film
“Stranger in the Village,” short essay by James Baldwin
“Notes of a Native Son,” short essay by James Baldwin
Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys by Victor Rios
“Am I Blue?” short essay by Alice Walker
White Fragility, book by Robin D’Angelo*
How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
* Note: For transparency’s sake, Robin D’Angelo’s book is no longer recommended by many activists, to redirect attention back to black authors, activists, and educators.
Additionally, none of these links contain affiliate links. I do recommend searching up some of these books through independent publishers like The Collective Oakland, for example.
As another queer person of color, James Baldwin’s writing have personally touched me. I’d like to thank you to Dr. David Holmes for his incredible teachings of Baldwin and Alice Walker. Thank you to Professor David Morrison for his teachings on police brutality and criminalization which lead me to Victor Rio’s book. Thank you to the incredible Dr. Joi Carr for her incredible Black Film syllabus which opened my eyes to the rich catalogue of black & African American film. Thank you to Freddie aka Melanin Monroe for the James Baldwin on the Black Experience in America short video.
And multiple black activists and community leaders for recommending White Fragility, How to be an Anti-Racist, and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Thank you for continuing to speak and using your voices.
The past few days, I’ve been baking albeit less. I was hoping to blog about some of the recipes that I’ve made so far, but it’s been hard finding my voice. In the meantime, I will do my best to amplify voices in this movement. I am grateful to everyone else directing their energy to protect, protest, and donate for black lives as well.
