Join the summer four-week anti-racist challenge! Read, share and learn to be a better ally
Editor's note: This will be updated each week with anti-racism activities for readers to explore.
In late May of 2020, we learned that Breonna Taylor had been killed by police in her apartment in the middle of the night. The same day, we heard that George Floyd had been murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Like many people, we were sickened and outraged and felt the need to do something. Like many people, we didn’t really know what. But we thought we should gather others with us and at least unite in a demand for justice. We wrote to 50 of our friends, saying, “If you want to join us, just answer yes to this email.”
By the next morning, we had received over a hundred emails that simply said, Yes! We knew a nerve had been touched. We’re not experts in racism or justice issues. We just wanted to find ways to help and, most of all, do it without bringing any more harm to the Black community. As a group we are committed to learning from the Black community, speaking out against racism and ending white silence. To do so, we read and listen and share information with our combined email and Facebook group which has grown to about 1000 people.
More: A timeline of how the John Castleman statue went from revered to reviled to removed
We’ve learned that our knowledge of history and culture is woefully incomplete. We’ve come to see that racism is deeply entrenched and systemic and that to bring about any change will take many committed advocates working for a long time. Thus, we created the quarterly four-week Anti-Racism Challenge (ARC) to help people stay focused and engaged in racial justice.
In summer of 2021, we partnered with the Earth and Spirit Center and longtime justice warrior, Reverend Joe Phelps to co-facilitate anti-racism courses. These have focused on the document, “A Path Forward,” created by the Louisville Urban League and Black leaders in the community. In spring of 2022, along with the Earth and Spirit Center, we partnered with Metro government’s initiative, Lean Into Louisville, to create more justice classes and events–including making the ARC a citywide event. We hope you will join us.
The Anti-Racism Challenge
The four-week Anti-Racism Challenge (ARC) works in much the same way as a food challenge or lifestyle challenge: by regularly participating in anti-racism activities, we naturally develop better habits of noticing and challenging racism in our daily lives.
How it works: Beginning in July, The Courier Journal will publish a list of 10-12 anti-racism activities each week for four weeks. These may include reading an article, watching a film made by Black artists, patronizing a Black-owned business, writing a journal entry about your experiences or observations of racism, making a donation to a Black-led nonprofit, visiting an art exhibit, etc.
We suggest that participants complete three of the activities over the course of the week. It is purely personal; you don't report to anyone. The idea is that by paying careful attention and learning more about racism over the month, we become better allies and advocates for a fair society.
Throughout the month of July, each week, The Courier Journal will publish The Anti-racist challenge on the opinion page of the website here: www.courier-journal.com/opinion/. It can also be found under the Opinion tab on your Courier Journal app.
More: Are Louisville nonprofits doing enough to reach out to Black communities?
WEEK 1: July 1 - 7, 2022
This is your own personal journey. To participate, we ask that you complete at least 3 activities this week. You can use the ARC Tracking tool below to monitor your progress. Choose from of the following:
CONNECT: So that you can easily relay your opinions on important, relevant topics, locate and store contact info for all your elected and appointed officials, including• Governor• US Senators• US Representatives• State Senator• State Representative• Mayor• Metro Council Member• Police Chief
LEARN/VIEW: This short, rare clip (1:14) of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made us see U.S. history in a way we never had before. Although Black people had been offered 40 Acres and a Mule just after the end of slavery, that program was soon rescinded and the land returned to white confederate landowners (our lesser-known history).
WATCH: "Get On Up," biopic with the unforgettable Chadwick Boseman starring as James Brown. Music critic Robert Christgau found the film "not just good—great…worthy of the genius who inspired it.” On Netflix.
VISIT: Visit and donate to Roots101 African American Museum at 124 N 1st St, Louisville, KY, *For the next few months, Roots101 will feature a virtual exhibit on the life of Breonna Taylor.
READ: This excellent article, "What White Children Need to Know About Race" examines the way most white people are socialized around race and provides ideas for productive conversations and training for anti-racism.
JOURNAL: After reading the above article, talk about your own socialization concerning race, whether in your family or at school and the impact it’s had on your life.
LEARN: Register for our upcoming class, “Tools for Having Difficult Conversations around Race” taught by Cory Lockhart, over Zoom, July 12 & 19. The course is offered at no charge.
SUPPORT: In this article, The Courier Journal lists local Black-owned businesses as part of 502 Black Business Week. But, we encourage you to patronize these businesses throughout the year!
Black-owned businesses: More than 100+ businesses are taking part in 502 Black Business Week. Here's what to know
READ: Oris Buckner was New Orleans’s only Black homicide detective in the early 1980s and exposed one of the worst cases of police violence in the city’s history, leading to the conviction of three officers on civil rights charges. He died this week at the age of 70. Read his story. JOURNAL: Writer and journalist Jelani Cobb, noting the long tail of white nationalist violence in the U.S., said there’s a bigger question after the Buffalo attack that we need to address: “What we, as a society, are prepared to do in order to prevent these kinds of atrocities from happening again and again?” Read the PBS article and write a response to Cobb’s question.CREATE your own anti-racism activity. If you like, please share it with us so we can pass the idea on to others.
Week 2: July 8-14
This is your own personal journey. To participate, we ask that you complete at least 3 activities this week. You can use the ARC Tracking tool below to monitor your progress. Choose from the following:
WATCH: Nikole Hannah-Jones (Pulitzer Prize winning author of The 1619 Project) addressed the United Nations General Assembly as the U.N. marked the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
LEARN: How our cities were designed to keep Black people in poor, segregated areas and whites in thriving, prosperous neighborhoods in this piece from listenlearnact.org: “Planning for Poverty” in The Unveiling, Our Little Known History.
JOURNAL: Write about your own neighborhood–its history and demographics–and your own proximity to people of different races.
CONNECT: Join in the fun at the 11th Annual Molo Village Community Festival on Saturday, July 9th, from noon - 8:00 p.m. at Baxter Park located at 12th and Jefferson Street. This one-day event will showcase live music, food, and local black/brown artists.
WATCH: The Courier Journal’s Opinion Editor, Bonnie Jean Feldkamp’s Ted Talk: “Contempt vs. Connection in Online Communication.”
LEARN/ACT: Last week, researchers found a 1955 arrest warrant that was never served, charging Carolyn Bryant Donham for her participation in Emmett Till’s murder. The Till family has demanded justice. They want the warrant served on Donham and her to stand trial. Pressure from a large mass of people might move the prosecutor to do so. This is one way we can support the victims of white supremacist violence. Read more here.
Contact the officials below, urging them to serve the warrant:
District Attorney Dewayne Richardson
Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks
You might use phrases such as–
Please serve the arrest warrant on Mrs. Carolyn Brandt Donham and bring her to trial.
Please do your part to challenge the violent racism that lives on today as evidenced by 3 white Ole Miss students who (just 3 years ago) posed, grinning, with their rifles beside a shot-up plaque commemorating Emmett Till’s death.
Please send a strong message to them and others of their ilk—this is not 1955.
Please give hope to the Till family and countless victims of racist violence who look to the justice system to right these wrongs.
READ: Kids have summer reading goals, and this list of children’s books is a great way to foster allyship in your family. Want your children to learn Black history? Read these books with them
LEARN: Denver’s STAR program–which sends Crisis Interventionists to nonviolent incidents–has successfully reduced crimes.
WATCH or READ: The Best of Enemies, a 2019 film based on the book The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South by Osha Gray Davidson. It is availible at the Louisville Free Public Library, which focuses on the rivalry between civil rights activist Ann Atwater and Ku Klux Klan leader C. P. Ellis.
On Netflix.
LEARN: The Sr. Thea Bowman Society, St. Agnes Chapter is sponsoring a Pilgrimage of Racial Solidarity on July 30th that will focus on the experiences of Black Catholics in Louisville in the 19th century before, during and after the Civil War. It will also include a walking pilgrimage through some of Louisville’s historical slave history sites.
CREATE your own anti-racism activity. If you like, please share it with us so we can pass the idea on to others.
CONNECT: Invite a friend to the 4-week ARC. Just send them this link to sign up!
Week 3: July 15-21
WATCH: Greenbook, a 2018 film, based on a true story that follows Dr. Don Shirley, a world-class African American pianist, as he embarks on a Deep South concert tour in 1962. On Hulu.
READ: Sister Eilis McCullah in the Global Sisters Report says, “Telling the truth and sharing sacred stories is, indeed, the only way we can begin to repair and redress the pain caused by slavery, and our country's inability to truly repent for centuries of systemic racism. At times it can feel so overwhelming — where do we begin? As we learned in Cleveland and from Rev. Blackmon, the place to begin is in the church — in our communities.” Read the full article here.
LEARN: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has announced a plan to address the damage done to Black communities by “Urban Renewal” projects.
DONATE: to Black Market KY, a Black-owned grocery and community garden in West Louisville. This past week, the community garden was vandalized and robbed of newly sprouting plants. Now the owners/gardeners are hoping to build a fence to protect the community’s hard work. If you think it’s a worthy cause, here is their GoFundMe page.
WATCH: The 2021 film, Citizen Ashe, which explores the enduring legacy of tennis great and humanitarian Arthur Ashe, charting his personal evolution from Grand Slam champion to global activist against a tumultuous historical backdrop. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
CONNECT: Join a local anti-racist group such as Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, The Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression or Louisville branch of the NAACP.
READ: Black children are far more likely than white children to report low or no swimming ability, a disparity that underlies other, grimmer statistics. Black people drown at a rate 50 percent higher than white people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more here.
SUPPORT / LEARN: The Louisville Story Program and the Muhammad Ali Center present the Author Reading series, Tracing Grout Lines in Cinder Blocks onThursday, July 28th, 6:00 pm at the Muhammad Ali Center. Please join writers Ali Alsalman, Aletha Fields, Shelton McElroy, and Cheketa Tinsley as they read unflinching accounts about their experiences with incarceration.
LEARN: 90% of white people have no Black friends. Read this article that explores the benefits of having people of other races in your social networks.
WATCH: This short clip of Janet Yellon US Treasury Secretary answers the question, “When will the picture of Harriet Tubman replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill?”
“2030. I know it's a long way off. It adheres to the original schedule that was announced in 2014 by Secretary Lew and President Obama. We lost four years during the Trump administration…, but we have made efforts to catch up and we remain on that schedule.”
READ/LEARN: Dr. Stewart Burns’ Talk at Simmons College, Louisville, 6/15/2022: “Multiracial Alliance Building to Overcome Systemic Injustice.” In the fall, Dr. Burns will be joining the faculty of Simmons College and developing a new Center for Creating Alliances.
SUPPORT: Learn about the wonderful work being done by The Hope Buss and donate here.
LEARN: Kentucky's forgotten date of freedom came after Texas' Juneteenth, here's why.
CREATE your own anti-racism activity. If you like, please share it with us so we can pass the idea on to others.
CONNECT: Invite a friend to the 4-week ARC. Just send them this link to sign up!
Thank you for your commitment.
Week 4: July 22-28
VISIT: Satisfy Your Seafood Craving! Tha Drippin Crab restaurant is celebrity chef Darnell Ferguson’s (of Super Chefs on Bardstown Rd.) newest venture in the culinary world and it’s happening right in the middle of West Louisville. Located in MOLO Village at 1219 West Jefferson Street, Tha Drippin Crab offers gourmet seafood appetizers, entrees and more, rooted in Southern-style cooking.
WATCH/LEARN: In this excellent TED talk, Wellesley Professor Dr. Peggy McIntosh discusses recognizing privilege we didn’t earn–and what to do with it. “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” by Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)
WRITE: Journal about the topics Dr. McIntosh addresses, including “What do I have that I haven’t earned because I’m white?” and “What will I put my privilege in the service of?”
LISTEN/LEARN: From this NPR Life Kit podcast on “How to Find Joy in Activism,” learn great tools for pinpointing your gifts and best strategies for becoming what Karen Walrond calls a “Lightmaker.”
WATCH: Hidden Figures, a 2016 film based on the true story of 3 African American female mathematicians who helped NASA successfully launch John Glenn’s Mercury Atlas into orbit. On Netflix.
READ/LEARN: Here’s some little-known history in Kentucky:
Read:The 'Simpsonville Slaughter,' a Kentucky Civil War massacre we tried to ignore
READ: In America, there's a chasm between the wealth of white and Black families. It didn't happen by mistake. Read Insider Magazine article, “A group of lawyers has a plan for how to pay reparations for slavery to Black Americans, and it could finally close the racial wealth gap.”
SUPPORT: Get to know Louisville’s HBCU, Simmons College of Kentucky, founded in 1879 by Dr. William Simmons for others like himself who’d been enslaved. Simmons creates an optimal environment for developing and nurturing the potential of tomorrow’s Black leaders – tomorrow’s difference makers. Learn and donate to Simmons College.
WATCH FOR: All Peoples Unitarian Universalist Church’s Justice Center is partnering with Highland Baptist Church and First Unitarian Church to mobilize congregations and the community in support of Back Black Business Month in August. They are planning a kick-off event to be held at Highland Baptist on July 30th.*Check out some of Louisville’s Black-Owned businesses here.
WATCH/LEARN: Watch this poetic 14-minute award-winning film created by young, female, Black filmmaker, Cara Lawson, and read the article about her inspiration.Film: “Crooked Trees Gon Give Me Wings.”Read more about it here.
LEARN: In TheOpportunityAgenda, learn Ten Lessons for Talking About Race, Racism, and Racial Justice
CREATE your own anti-racism activity. If you like, please share it with us so we can pass the idea on to others.
CONNECT: Although this is the last week of the 4-week ARC, you can still invite a friend to participate. Just send them this link to sign up!
Di Kerrigan and Deborah LaPorte are the co-founders of listenlearnact.org. They partner with the Earth and Spirit Center and Lean Into Louisville to offer this Anti-Racism Challenge.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Learn to be a better ally through the summer anti-racist challenge
