L&G Recommendation series No. 6: Learning to (Un)Learn
R E A D
by Richard Rothstein
Owning property is a way in which families acquire and build intergenerational wealth. In Rothstein's book, he aims to highlight how a specific generation of African Americans were robbed of an opportunity to create and pass down such wealth by their own government. The New Deal, beginning in 1933, promised to raise an entire country devastated by the Great Depression. Rothstein shows us how the local, state, and federal housing policies introduced in the New Deal actively perpetuated segregation in America, and hurt black families’ access to economic progress.. Through policies like "redlining", the Federal Housing Administration directly furthered segregation efforts by refusing to insure mortgages in African American communities, while, simultaneously, subsidizing mass housing projects for Whites with the special requirement that none of these houses be sold to Black people. These policies ensured that African Americans and other POC were left out of suburban developments and pushed into urban housing projects. The link takes you to a NPR interview with the author, Richard Rothstein, a must listen!
The Purpose of Power - How We Come Together When We Fall Apart
by Alicia Garza
From the co-creator of Black Lives Matter and one of the country's leading organizers, The Purpose of Power encompasses over two decades of lessons Alicia Garza has had to learn and unlearn regarding organizing, especially focusing on how we can make room for those who are still awakening within the woke and how that effort can lead to even more inspiration and activism that can create a better world for all.
by Kimberly N Pinder
Who gets to define art? What is art? What is low art and what is high art? Composed of 22 essays, divided into four parts, this book aims to retell art history through the lenses of race, gender, otherness, and blackness, highlighting the ways in which race has been acknowledged or ignored in art history. From essays like "Making a Man of Him": Masculinity and the Black Body in Mid-Nineteenth-Century American Sculpture,” by Michael Hatt, to “The Other Immigrant: The Experiences and Achievements of Afro-Asian Artists in the Metropolis,” by Rasheed Araeen, this book provides a framework for an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing and discussing race within art and our culture, introducing fascinating and useful new perspectives from which to decode cultural issues.
What Does It Mean to Decolonize Design?
by Anoushka Khandwala
Decolonization vs. Diversity: Two terms we increasingly seen today in ways that are often used interchangeably, but are they interchangeable? Khandwala argues that, though the terms are linked, they are not the same. This must-read article provides a clear framework around what it means to decolonize design and design history, as well as offering a long list of resources on Further Research and (un)Learning Resources. He distinguishes these useful terms brilliantly, identifying decolonization as the process of changing one’s way of thinking, and diversity as the natural result of opening one’s thinking to that which is new and different.
W A T C H
The Black Power Mixtape (1967-1975)
A documentary film directed by Göran Olsson,
Featuring found footage shot by Swedish journalists in American between '67 through '75, the documentary investigates the evolution of the Black Power movement in America through interviews and commentaries from leading African-Americans including Dr. Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, Louis Farrakhan, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, and many other artists, activists, and scholars of the time. Cut into nine chronologically presented sections, the film touches on topics from the Black Panther Party to the Vietnam War and the War on Drugs.Did I mention it also features additional voices from contemporaries such as Erykah Badu, Questlove, Harry Belafonte and many more? A must watch!
A Film by Sonia Lowman
Teach Us All is a documentary and social justice campaign on educational inequality set against the backdrop of the 1957 Little Rock school crisis. Sixty years after the Little Rock Nine faced violent resistance when desegregating Central High in Arkansas, America’s schools continue to represent the key battleground of the Civil Rights Movement. Teach Us All demonstrates powerful lessons from history within a timely context, emphasizing the need for unity and collective action to rectify the disparities among America’s children. The Teach Us All social justice campaign seeks to build the capacity of students and educators to take leadership in carrying forth the legacy of the Little Rock Nine while activating broader community engagement in today’s urgent need for educational equity. Teach Us All is written and directed by Sonia Lowman.
A documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay
In this critically acclaimed documentary, DuVernay contends that the criminalization of behavioral issues continues to enable police to arrest disproportionately large numbers of poor Black people. Those imprisoned often work long, hard hours for incredibly low wages. Their labor benefits the state and private contractors immensely. To DuVernay, this practice replicates some of the worst abuses of slavery. re. This economic injustice, coupled with the war on drugs and many other targeted policies which heavily affect minorities, leads to the extremely high numbers of people of color imprisoned today. 13th offers viewers a thorough education on the prison-industrial complex and how private corporations benefit from such incarcerations. A solid case study on why the privatizing of prisons should not be seriously re-evaluated. Further reading: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander.
Documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
Documentary follows the five boys who were wrongfully convicted of raping a jogger in Central Park in 1989. The five young men spent6 to 13 years in prison, until a serial rapist confessed to the crime. At the time of the crime, Donald J Trump took out an entire page in the newspaper urging the boys receive the death penalty. The troubling documentary shows the sequence of spectacularly serious errors in policing and prosecuting, and urges its viewers to consider the terrible wrongs such errors can cause.
L I S T E N
Still Processing -
A New York Times podcast with hosts Jenna Wortham & Wesley Morris. This incredibly thoughtful culture podcast offers fascinating discussions on books, TV, movies, current events and history. A perfect mix of education, pop culture, and intriguing topics and guests..
Hosted by Michelle Obama herself, the series bring listeners the former First Lady's most candid and personal conversations, showing us what's possible when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to open up, and to focus on what matters most.
The podcast centers on the relationships that shape us, from siblings and close friends to partners, parents, and mentors to our relationship with ourselves and our health.
The podcast explores how race impacts society from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between.
Episode Recommendation: Unmasking the “Outside Agitator”
.Part of a larger ongoing New York Times Magazine project called the “1619 Project”, the audio series from The NY Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. The project as a whole aims to re-contextualize and reframe American history through slavery and the contributions of African Americans.
D O
The Great Unlearn curated by Rachel Cargle
Sign up For Rachel Cargle's THE GREAT UNLEARN via Patreon. The Great Unlearn is a self-paced, self-priced learning collective. The membership program provides monthly syllabi, reading lists, and lectures on history of Race, eco-feminism. etc. to continue learning beyond school and have critical discourse with a diverse community.
Photo: Courtesy of Rachel Cargle’s Instagram
An open source starter guide on how to be a more thoughtful ally.
Support Black-Owned Book Stores: Here is a list provided by Well-Read Black Girl
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Join the Colloqate Design Network
Colloqate Design multidisciplinary Architecture + Design Justice practice focused on expanding community access to, and building power through the design of social, civic, and cultural spaces.