21-DAY CRISIS & OPPORTUNITY CHALLENGE©
Curated by Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., Debby Irving, and Marguerite Penick-Parks
©2014-2024 All Rights Reserved America & Moore, LLC
"There is no social-change fairy. There is only change made by the hands of individuals."
– Winona LaDuke
As we developed this challenge, we struggled with feelings of overwhelm. The pile up of crises confronting us these days is vast and steep. Where do we, as justice seekers, begin when so much uncertainty is bubbling on so many fronts?
Rapidly changing technology, starting with the unknown impacts artificial intelligence (AI) will bring, is just one piece of the rapidly shifting puzzle. Climate change is wreaking havoc on community infrastructure, housing, food supply, water supply, power demands, and personal safety around the world, none feeling it more than populations already marginalized by inequitable systems. The seeming diminishment of democracy in the US and rise of visible white supremacy, though not new to the country, can feel unprecedented and treacherous to those of us who haven’t been here before. What is new is the threat of climate change and AI to worsen the inequities and fear-based mindsets left to us by prior generations.
What we do know is that cutting through misinformation and seeking voices and perspectives from multiple lived experiences and knowledge bases is one way to stay in reality with one another. We embrace the Chinese philosophy (Wei Ji 危机) that tells us opportunity arises from crisis, understanding that the unraveling of any status quo is an opportunity to think, act, and create in new ways.
Now is the time to voice and live our values of dignity, fairness, and love for all and make course corrections in the unjust attitudes, behaviors, systems, and structures that got us here. Below are resources we’ve curated to support ourselves and you as we continue to show up for justice, despite the uphill battles, despite the noise. All human beings deserve to live free from fear, with dignity, and with the belief that their voice matters.
COMMUNITY ADAPTATIONS
Take a look at the creative adaptations people are bringing to the plan to make it work in their communities! If you have one to share, please forward it to debby@debbyirving.com or emj@theprivilegeinstitute.com so we can add it to the list.
Cleveland YW and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Three things we love about this plan
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The YW, a leader in racial justice, is collaborating with a high-profile organization not typically associated with racial justice.
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It’s part of the national YW organization’s annual rollout of a 21-Day Challenge.
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This group is in its FIFTH year, which screams commitment and momentum.
Three things we love about this plan
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They created a legal-sector challenge.
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It’s super simple and clean.
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In addition to creating a sector-specific challenge, they wrote an organizational blogpost to report back how it went.
ABA Wide 21-Day Disability Equity Habit-Building Challenge
Three things we love about this plan:
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Each day offers multiple short (time-wise) resources which means multiple perspectives and modalities can be consumed in a single day.
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Each day Includes a range of discussion questions.
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Each day includes additional resources for those who want to dig deeper.
Food Solutions New England 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge
Three things we love about this plan:
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This group launches their annual plan (in 7th year!) with a webinar in which participants got to hear from previous plan users how they’d used it and adapted it, and what the impact was on their communities as well as on them individually.
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The plan’s daily prompts ask participants to make connections between racial equity and their sector, the food system.
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The plan’s website offers participants an online forum to share their reflections publicly.
Pacific University School of Occupational Therapy
Three things we love about this plan:
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Each of the 21 days names an antiracist attitude or behavior that the activity is intended to grow, such as —I seek out questions that make me uncomfortable.
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The challenge specifies that it is especially developed for white people to do our work, to hold ourselves accountable.
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Each of the 21 days offers two activities, one if you’re short on time, another if you have more time to invest.
Brewster 21-Day Equity Bootcamp
Three things we love about this plan:
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This was used as an educator PD curriculum over the summer.
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Six 2-hour zoom calls were built in, allowing for a blend of asynchronistic and synchronistic learning and team-building.
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The group liked it so much they’ve asked for a Level 2 version!
Holderness School 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge
Three things we love about this plan:
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Daily to-dos are organized within a weekly theme.
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Each day’s to-do is presented in a large, clean, bold, graphic combined with an enticing title.
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The third and final week focuses on the conversational (or lack thereof) piece.
Juvenile Justice Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Three things we love about this plan:
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32 network members developed the plan in teams, each designing and introducing via a taped video one of the 21-Days.
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Their IT capacity enabled a highly engaged, moderated online discussion forum. See reflection here.
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The challenge reached 880 registered participants from 40 US states, two Canadian provinces, Mexico and Brazil.
Sustain Dane’s 21 Day Eco Equity Challenge
Three things we love about this plan:
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This group populated their plan with resources specific to racial equity in their sector, environmental sustainability.
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The plan feeds participants a daily “to-do” suggestion.
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The plan offers participants shorter and longer time commitment challenges to each day.
Charlotte Country Day School 21-Day Equity Challenge
Three things we love about this plan:
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This group collaborated with their local online newspaper to invite community members to join in the challenge.
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The plan offers participants the choice to use their daily “to-do” prompt or take a daily à la carte approach using the resources they’ve provided.
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The plan lives online for broad access.
READ
Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation
The New York Times
In the weeks before civil rights legend and US Congressman John Lewis’s July 2020 passing, he penned a letter to us all, asking us to be the “generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and injustice.
Against the Children: The Native American Boarding School System
The New York Times
This interactive map and accompanying article chronicle a decades-long effort to assimilate Indigenous people before they ever reached adulthood, robbing children of their culture, family bonds and sometimes their lives, and devastating Indigenous communities in ways still being felt today.
How Racism Began as White-on-White Violence
Medium
European colonizers and their descendants, notoriously known by Indigenous, Black, and other people of color for their sadism and cruelty are known for dislodging brains, blocking airways, cracking bones, sexually abusing and otherwise terrorizing those they seek to control. What is less understood is the roots of these barbaric behaviors. Here, trauma therapist Resmaa Menaken explores how, until the second half of the seventeenth century, these traumas were inflicted primarily on white bodies by other white bodies, first in the European arena, and eventually on what would become US soil.
Celebrating the Complexity of Identities Through Latinx Heritage Month
Carlos José Pérez Sámano
University of Northern Colorado
What does it mean to be Hispanic? Are Latinx and Hispanic interchangeable? Why the “x” in Latinx? What are some cultural differences between Latin American countries? This article articulates the importance of adding nuance to our understanding of the wide array of ethnicities and cultures under the umbrella term Latinx.
National Hispanic Heritage Month Is Incomplete Without Afro-Latino History
Natasha S. Alford
TIME
Within the media there’s been a vision of what a Latino looks like and thus whose history matters. That vision is of a white-appearing individual. Afro-Latinos are not part of the narrative. This article explains why portraying a broader narrative matters.
Amplification or Suppression? Author Maggie Tokuda-Hall Calls Out Edits Proposed by Scholastic
Publishers Weekly
Author Maggie Tokuda-Hall faced what she called a “Faustian Bargain” when asked to delete a paragraph speaking to her family’s direct connection to US racist traditions. This article tells the story of how she chose to respond.
Responding Systematically to Racial Inequity in Schools
Jenna Chandler-Ward and Elizabeth Denevi
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
The Teaching While White educators delineate the dos and don’ts of institutional approaches to racial equity. Not to be missed: Figure 1 which applies Janet Helms's white racial identity model to institutional practices.
Research Finds Teachers Perceive More Conflict with Black Boys and the Least with White Girls
Mary Kate Brogan (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Phys Org
A study finds that teachers, regardless of race, perceive the most conflict with Black boys and the least conflict with white girls in their classrooms and their relationships with Black boys as increasing in conflict at higher rates than with white and female children.
The Enduring, Invisible Power of Blond
The New York Times
Opinion Columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom shares the unleashing that unfolded when she made a comment about blondes on social media.
As the Nation Celebrates Juneteenth, It’s Time to Get Rid of These Three Myths About Slavery
CNN
One of the biggest myths that historians and storytellers have successfully challenged in recent years is that enslaved African Americans were docile, passive victims who had to wait until White abolitionists and “The Great Emancipator” Abraham Lincoln freed them.
Why Racial Justice is Essential to the Climate Movement
Katie Myer
Greenpeace
Until we reckon with our country’s systemic racism, there is no justice for the climate—and no saving the planet; it’s our white-dominant culture that has and continues to perpetuate and uphold long standing, systemic inequalities that show up in the most essential, basic facets of our lives.
Urban Heat Hot Spots
Climate Central
During extreme heat events such as this summer’s relentless heat waves in the southern U.S., the urban heat island effect can worsen heat stress and related illness for millions, put vulnerable populations at risk, and lead to higher energy bills and strained power grids during spikes in cooling demand.
An Asian MIT Student Asked AI to Turn an Image of Her into a Professional Headshot. It Made Her White, with Lighter Skin and Blue Eyes
Business Insider
A powerful and visual example of what bias in AI can look like.
In Schools, Honest Talk about Racism Can Reduce Discrimination
Camilla Mutoni Griffiths and Nicky Sullivan
Scientific American
New laws make it harder for teachers to discuss racism and inequality, but psychological evidence shows these conversations dispel causes of bias and distress.
First They Came for Trans Kids. Now, in Missouri, They’re Coming After Trans Adults
Xtra
Missouri’s targeting of gender-affirming care is part of the goal to eradicate trans people entirely.
I’m a Couples Therapist. Something New Is Happening in Relationships
Orna Guralnik
The New York Times
Longtime couple’s therapist shares the changes she’s seeing in couples’ ability to understand and work through the dynamics that trip them up in large part due to the increase in awareness around sexism, racism, classism, and other social identities that shape our lives, relationships included.
One Way to a Better City: Ask Disabled People to Design It
Justin Davidson
Curbed, New York Magazine
Disability and discomfort, in one form or another, is a near-universal experience, yet one that people living long-term with disabilities feel first and most intensely. As with all marginalized groups, our most insightful problem solvers are those living with the barriers, discomforts, and harms. This piece looks at what a city built by people with disabilities might look like.
LISTEN
Access most where you listen to podcasts
Affirmative Action Faces Toughest Test in a Generation
In this new UnCommon Law series, we'll explore the biggest challenge to affirmative action in a generation. (37 minutes)
Uncommon Law
The Changing Meaning of Affirmative Action
Louis Menand
The New Yorker
How to Talk to Kids About Radicalization and the Signs of It
NPR Life Kit
Christine Saxman talks to parents and teachers about identifying radicalization and how to talk to kids on how to spot it for themselves. Bonus: Christine’s conversational strategies are just plain excellent, regardless of who’s in conversation and what the content is. (23 minutes)
The Far-Reaching Health Care Impacts of the Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Decision
Ellen Bayer and Chris Fleming
Health Affairs
When we think about Affirmative Action, we may only think about the educational impacts. What are the ripple effects, specifically when it comes to health care. Health Affairs explores that issue here. (11 minutes)
Black Women Recorded Famous Rock 'n' Rolls Songs but Few Remember Their Names
Morning Edition NPR
A powerful story of the role black women has played in the development and recording of rock 'n' roll songs but few remember their names. (6 minutes)
Roots of Racism in America with Dante King
Well That Went Sideways Podcast
A look at US legal history that exposes the intentional anti black terrorism embodied in US structures along with a wondering: Is there psychology that explains white people’s need to label and abuse an entire group of people? Dante King’s work seeks to validate the experiences of Black Americans in non sugar coated terms. (34 minutes)
Why Tracking Doesn’t Add Up
Teaching While White
Interviews of two teachers who find themselves faced with an extraordinary pandemic opportunity to detract their math classes. Episode includes moving student interviews that shed light on the impact of tracking and how we can make math literacy more equitable for all. (34 minutes)
What the U.S. can Learn from Germany About Grappling with Dark Parts of Its History
Rachel Treisman
NPR MPR News
Interview with Clint Smith about his travels across Germany to visit sites that memorialize the Holocaust, in an effort to see what the U.S. might learn from Germany about grappling with its more shameful chapters. For Atlantic Monthly subscribers, see his November 14 2022 cover story for more in depth coverage. (7 minutes)Lear
God Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise
Chilly Grits Podcast
Rev. Bowman and Dr. Francis consider what climate change has to do with the choices we make and how fragile personal determination can become in environmental justice communities. The podcasters also ponder the fact that not every saying that invokes God is religious. (27 minutes)
Solomon’s Sword
ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So, they sued. Today, the lawsuit doesn’t just impact the future of one child, or even the future of one law. It threatens the entire legal structure defending Native American rights. (47 minutes)
All My Relations Podcast
In this special episode, Matika is joined by Sedelta Oosahwee (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Cherokee) a Senior Program and Policy Analyst and Specialist at the National Education Association who was recently appointed by the Biden Administration to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education to discuss the ruling and what it means going forward. (14 minutes)
Indigiqueer
All My Relations Podcast
Indigenous writers and scholars Joshua Whitehead and Billy-Ray Belcourt share the history, experience, and stories of two spirited people in their Canadian region including the ways that settler colonialism has disrupted and distorted relationships, and the power of asserting voice in spaces not meant for queer, Indigenous people. (1 hour)
Rethinking Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training
Anthony Brooks and Claire Donnelly
WBUR/NPR
Longtime practitioners in the DEI space share what they are discovering is and is not working as organizations seek to diversify their institutions, navigate the dynamics of power and privilege, and build bonds that sustain groups amidst times of polarization and change. (48 minutes)ear
Government's Own Experts Found 'Barbaric' and 'Negligent' Conditions in ICE Detention
Tom Dreisbach
NPR, MPR News
An unprecedented look at the ICE detention system through the eyes of experts hired to investigate complaints of civil rights abuses, who provide an often-unvarnished perspective. These experts have specific expertise in subjects such as medicine, mental health, use of force and environmental health. (11 minutes)
DEI Isn’t Enough; Companies Need Anti-Racist Leadership
James White and Krista White, father-and-daughter authors of the new book, Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World. They share their own experiences as Black Americans in the workplace and lessons from James’ time as CEO of Jamba Juice. And they offer advice on how corporate leaders can promote lasting change in their own organizations and society at large. (31 minutes)
Our Writers Dug into Reparations. Here’s What Two of Them Took Away
Christian Science Monitor
There’s more to the reparations discussion than what typically makes the news. Two writers – one white, one Black – found that many, on both sides of the issue, care deeply about honestly acknowledging history. This is peek into The Christian Science Monitor’s June 16th Magazine coverage, dedicated to reparations. See more in “Explore” section of challenge. (13 minutes)
WATCH
QUICK WATCH
The White Supremacist Coup That Succeeded
YouTube
Laura Flanders and Thom Hartmann compare the Wilmington NC Massacre of 1898, a violent attack on the city’s African-American led government by a white mob, one of the only successful government overthrows in US history, to the January 6th coup. (5 minutes) CC
What's the Difference Between Hispanic, Latino and Latinx?
YouTube
Hispanic, Latino/a and Latinx are words that represent huge, diverse populations of people — and that’s a big task! UC Berkeley researcher Cristina Mora explains the origins of these terms and how it’s connected to a much larger conversation about culture and representation. (16 minutes) CC
What is Rematriation?
PBS
Michelle Schenandoah describes how her work on “Rematriation Magazine” is part of a global rematriation movement led by indigenous women and why the work is so urgent in this moment. This video connects to the TV series “Rematriation,” centering the voices of 8 Indigenous women who share stories of resilience, leadership, spirituality, healing and honoring life. (3 minutes) CC
How to Teach Kids to Talk About Taboo Topics
Geoff Bennett
PBS
In the new book "American Whitelash," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery examines the pattern of racist violence that follows racial progress in our country, including the recent white supremacist violence that surged following Barack Obama's presidency. (7 minutes) CC
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union honor trans daughter Zaya during LGBTQ speech at NAACP Image Awards
CNN
Boston Globe Today host Segun Oduolowu joins CNN This Morning to discuss Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union's remarks focusing on LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy at the 54th NAACP Image Awards. (3 minutes) CC
Developing 1 Million Trauma-Informed Leaders
YouTube
The American workplace is in the midst of a mental health crisis. As the former health department director of a large public health system, Dawn Emerick believes we need a mental health revolution, one that starts with all of us demanding trauma-free leadership and a psychologically safe workplace culture that focuses fundamental human needs. (10 minutes) CC
How the Students of a TFA Alumna Ended Period Poverty in Hawai ‘i Schools
YouTube
A video made by middle school students in Hawaii about their activism to eliminate period poverty by working with the state legislature on passing a law requiring all public schools to provide free menstrual products to students. (6 minutes) CC
A LITTLE LONGER WATCH
What is Affirmative Action? History Behind Race-based College Admissions Practices the Supreme Court Overruled
CBS News
A decision day report of the opinions that led to the overturning of Affirmative Action in higher education policies put into place in the 1960s. (20 minutes) CC
How to Have a Good Conversation
YouTube
When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, says Celeste Headlee, you learn a lot about how to have great conversations – and most of us don’t converse very well. A great conversation requires a balance between talking and listening. This balance is important because bad communication leads to bad relationships, at home, at work, everywhere. (12 minutes) CC
3000-year old solutions to modern problems
TEDxKC
Musician, scholar, and cultural historian Lyla June Johnston, Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineage, outlines a series of timeless human success stories focusing on Native American food and land management techniques and strategies. Her current doctoral research focuses on Indigenous food systems revitalization. (13 minutes) CC
Cristina Jimenez Interview
PBS
The series, Unladylike, offers one-hour or less interviews with and digital shorts about extraordinary American heroines, women trailblazers past and present. In this quiet, deeply personal interview with United We Dream co-founder Cristina Jiménez, we learn about what inspired and still inspires her efforts to organize for immigrant rights, particularly for children and women of color. Cristina also draws throughlines to historical and cross-identity patterns of discrimination. (50 minutes) TA
Anti-Racist Leadership – Interview with Book's Author, James D. White
Boston University
A discussion about how to be an Anti-Racist Leader and build an Anti-Racist culture and community. A challenge to leaders at all levels to get involved in creating and cultivating equitable communities. (36 minutes) CC
Rematriation: Going Beyond Land Acknowledgements
YouTube
Corrina Gould, spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan (now known at the Bay Area) calls on native and non-native peoples to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do. (45 minutes) CC
Working as a Family Towards Justice
Britt Hawthorne and Christine Platt
National Museum of African American History and Culture
A conversation about why family conversations about race can be so confusing and/or fraught, and five principles that can remind us why and how justice conversations with the young people in our lives can be productive for us all. (1 hour) CC
Parents Skeptical of Critical Race Theory Talk to Experts
You Tube
Parents concerned about critical race theory (CRT)) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in public school, interview Emory University professor Dr. Carol Anderson about critical race theory and how it's taught in schools. (1 hour) CC
Below the Belt: The Last Health Taboo
PBS
Through the inspiring stories of four patients urgently searching for answers to mysterious symptoms, Below the Belt exposes widespread problems in our healthcare system that disproportionately affect women. From societal taboos and gender bias to misinformed doctors and financial barriers to care, the film shines a light on how millions are effectively silenced. (55 minutes) CC
EXPLORE
Dive into resource-rich websites that can inspire and educate you.
Centers the Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ community–its strengths, resiliencies, and histories—in our movement toward health equity.
In 2019, Evanston, Illinois, passed the first reparations law in American history. It set out to address decades of segregation and legalizing housing discrimination. Explore their city website detailing how it works.
A new analysis by the Pew Center looks at 1,314 mission statements from public school districts across the country and finds these same themes playing out in how school districts themselves describe their mission in educating students.
Honesty for Ohio Education works across the state to combat threats facing honesty in education in three lanes: at the Ohio Statehouse, the State Board of Education, and local schools. Check out the diverse coalition of stakeholders working with the shared belief that education must affirm, celebrate, and reflect student identities, experiences, and cultures to maximize engagement and achievement.
Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is partnering with higher education institutions to develop Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers to prepare the next generation of leaders to break down systemic racism and dismantle belief in a hierarchy of human value.
Interactive Map – CRT Forward Tracking Project
The CRT Forward Tracking Project (FTP) identifies, tracks, and analyzes local, state, and federal measures that attempt to restrict access to truthful information about Critical Race Theory (CRT), race, and systemic racism. To demonstrate the breadth of anti-CRT measures across the country, FTP provides a comprehensive database of anti-CRT measures across all levels of government and varying types of official action.
Helping create a world where all men and boys are loving and respectful and all women, girls, and those at the margins of the margins are valued and safe.
Antiracism Starts with You | Center for Antiracist Research
The mission of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research is to convene researchers and practitioners from various disciplines to figure out novel and practical ways to understand, explain, and solve seemingly intractable problems of racial inequity and injustice.
Having our names pronounced correctly is a matter of dignity and respect. This website, in addition to providing a tool to record your name and add to your email signature and social media platforms, has stories about the impact name mis/pronunciation can have.
IllumiNative is a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization dedicated to increasing the visibility of—and challenging the narrative about—Native peoples.
Reparations debate: Mending the past, forging the future
What does it mean for a society to atone for systemic and enduring harms? This special Christian Science Monitor series explores efforts around the world to seek justice and restitution for communities subjected to historical harms.
How to measure and report race | TRAP LAB
The T.R.A.P. lab builds on the definition of race as an assigned social categorization defined by some shared phenotypic traits in which groups that are racialized have dissymmetric control or access to resources and status, whereas the groups with asymmetric control to resources and status can assign the racial categories.
Black Towns & Settlements: Foundation for the Future
There are estimates that there may have been as many as 1,200 Black Towns in America. This initiative is a work in progress, seeking input from all of us. Check it out and see if you have something to add!
NOTICE
Once people start to learn about white privilege and America’s systems of oppression through history, they often ask, “Why didn’t I see this sooner?” It’s easy to overlook what we’re not looking for. Once you understand the phenomenon of selective noticing, take yourself on a noticing adventure.
CONNECT
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow racial justice activists, educators, organizations, and movements on social media. (You can explore posts without having an account.) Consider connecting with any of the people or organizations you learn from other actions.
Pro Tip: Check out who these organizations follow, quote, repost, and retweet to find more people/organizations to follow.
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Right To Be | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Indigenous Environmental Network | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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MPowerChange | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Muslim Girl | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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NAACP | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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National Domestic Workers Alliance | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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SisterSong: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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National Center for Transgender Equality | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Movement for Black Lives | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Dream Defenders | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Colorlines | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Showing Up for Racial Justice | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) | Twitter | Instagram |Facebook
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Nonprofit AF | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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Conversations with White People: Talking about Race | Facebook
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Race Forward | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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1Hood Media | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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The Transgender Training Institute | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
ENGAGE
Engagement can be the hardest part for people new to racial justice work. Engaging in racially mixed settings can trigger age-old power and privilege dynamics. The goal is to be a learner, more than a know-er, exactly the opposite of what dominant US culture teaches us to be.
Here are some engagement tips to guide you:
Enter the process to learn and bridge knowledge gaps.
Enter the process to practice mindful social habits like the ones below.
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Work to stay engaged even when your mind and body start sending you signals to shrink or walk away.
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Ask clarifying questions.
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Acknowledge what you don’t know.
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Validate others by listening closely and believing the truth and importance of what they are sharing.
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Share airtime so that multiple perspectives are shared.
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Take space, Make space
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If you are generally quiet and/or from a marginalized group socialized to stay small, step up and practice speaking more.
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If you are a chatty extrovert and/or from a privileged group (male, white, heterosexual, able, etc.), spend more time listening and observing than talking.
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Notice your biases and judgments as they arise. These are gold for you to excavate your subconscious!
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Notice when you are uncomfortable. Reflect on why you’re uncomfortable and think about what you can do to build more emotional stamina in this area.
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Honor confidentiality. Though you can share what you are learning in general terms, do not repeat stories in a way that can be traced back to the person who shared it.
Find a mentor within your own racial group to support and guide your growth.
If you are white, join a Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) chapter in your area.
Google who’s who in your area by typing in ‘Racial Justice” or “Anti-Racist/m” + name of city/town, organization, or sector. A few website visits, emails, and phone calls later, you’ll likely have an idea of how to get on the mailing list of one or more organizations in your area who are addressing issues of power and privilege. Once you connect to one, it’s easy to connect to many!
Research racial justice speakers and see who might be coming to your local university, church, community center, or speaker series.
Take a course. Community Colleges and Adult Education Centers are a great place to find a course about social justice issues. Here are just a few to get you going:
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Courses/Workshops to take on your own
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Undoing Racism: The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
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National Conference for Community and Justice Anti-Racism Workshops
Interactive opportunities to boost your knowledge:
ACT
Though many people want to jump to action sooner instead of later, action without a vigorous self-education, self-reflection, and multiracial coalition can unexpectedly reproduce the very power and privilege dynamics we seek to interrupt. That said, sometimes acting immediately is called for. Welcome to the messy, imperfect world of challenging the status quo!
ACTION IDEAS
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Invite friend(s), family, and/or colleagues to do the 21-Day Challenge with you.
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Prepare yourself to interrupt racial jokes. Click HERE for some advice about how.
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Interrupt the pattern of white silence by speaking openly with family, friends, and colleagues about what you’re doing and learning in the 21-Day Challenge.
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Invite friend(s), family, and/or colleagues to join you for one or more of your daily “to-do’s” for a low-threshold invitation into the work and introduction to the 21-Day Challenge.
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Find out if your school, workplace, or faith group has an Equity Committee. What can you learn from them? Are they open to new members? Join if you can. Support in other ways if you can’t.
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Find organizations such as The Privilege Institute and other groups doing racial justice work and support them through donating your time, money, and other resources. Get involved!
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Find a 21-Day Challenge group in your region or sector and reach out to connect with, and perhaps co-create a region or sector specific 21-Day Challenge in the future. Google “21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge + your state, region, or sector”
When the status quo is blatantly racist, disrupt it. No matter how big or small, put yourself out there to create change. No need to wait until you are comfortable disrupting; it may never get comfortable, though you will get better at managing discomfort. These actions are generally more successful when done in multiracial coalition. Examples from past participants include:
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Demanding administration change the name of a dodgeball team from “The Cottonpickers”
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Improving the representation of books in the library by raising funds and purchasing hundreds of new books
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Conducting an equity audit within the organization
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Creating learning communities to set goals, objectives, and action plans
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Disrupting inappropriate language by offering alternative language you yourself are learning
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Speaking, emailing, and posting about articles, blogs, movies, and this 21-Day Challenge that you find impactful.
Share and Repost these on your social media with a prompt to “Read, Reflect, and Discuss” to prompt discussion with your community. Be sure to credit the original author!
Let people know you are not neutral!
#BRINGITHOME
If you have young people in your life, integrate these resources to share and have conversations around. Choose three days of the challenge to read and have conversations with the young person/people in your life. Here are some great choices. Also, you could make one of your “Act” days, a day to invite your family to a family read using one of the books below.
In the literature world there is a saying about books needing to be both windows and mirrors (Sims Bishop, R., 1990). If you are going to use books to introduce issues of social justice at home, you must be willing to engage in conversations that are also windows and mirrors so your children can understand both sides. Because there is a risk with multicultural books to increase stereotypes instead of eradicating them, it is a good idea to choose literature, always authentic, from reputable sources. Below are a few recommendations.
Youth Media Awards from the American Library Association
This site is an excellent resource for award winning multicultural literature. Books are K-12.
Colours of Us contains over 500 recommended multicultural books organized by age level, race and ethnicity. In addition, this site offers collections such as 37 Children’s Books to help talk about Racism and Discrimination and 70+ picture books about mixed races families. Books are K-12.
Cooperative Children's Book Center
The CCBC of Madison maintains one of the most up to date book lists of books.
Raising an Antiracist: A Conversation with Ibram X. Kendi
Dr Ibram X. Kendi and Dr. Robin DiAngelo talk about kids, parenting and racism.
Bibliographies include:
Peaceful Engagement: 25 Books for PreK-3 on Kindness, Empathy and Understanding
Never Too Old: Picture Books to Share with Older Children and Teens
American Indians in Children’s Literature
Debbie Reese is considered one of the foremost experts on Indigenous K-12 literature. Her blog includes not only recommended books but informative articles and book recommendations.
Selecting Anti-bias Children's Books (also applies to Young Adult Learners)
The best source for how to engage in a read aloud is Mem Fox. Fox has two essential tips: One, before starting the book make eye contact with each listener and continue the contact often; and Two, fall in love with the pause. A pause increases attention.
These are only a few recommendations. The idea is to be certain the literature you are using is authentic and recommended by experts in the community they represent.
Here are a few excellent books that will create great discussions at home. Break young adult and middle school books into 3-4 sections depending on reading level.
PICTURE BOOKS
Written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Dare Coulter, is a must read for all teachers to introduce to their students the story of American enslavement. Readers journey through the emotions of the teacher, students, and those who survived the Holocaust of enslavement as the teachers strive to introduce the topic to their students. Cleverly placed yellow pages follow the teacher and the students as they engage in the story while masterful clay images surrounded by moving artwork take the reader from the African Continent to the horrors of enslavement. Emotions spill off the page, while the importance of teaching truth arises from the voices of children.
Of the multiple books joining the market on teaching children to believe in themselves, only those who allow members of the LGBTQIA+ community to rise into themselves make it to the banned list. My Shadow is Purple by Scott Stuart is one such book. But every book that helps children believe in themselves is essential, and this book that crosses the gender binary is a critical book for all children to see and believe in the power of themselves and each other.
A gripping story of a week in the lives of enslaved Africans on a southern plantation. Day by day through emotional illustrations readers follow a sister’s heart wrenching wait for the dogs to bark. Will today be the day?
Imagine young children who cry when their parents leave for an hour, or a day. And then imagine being six and being put in a cattle car to a school far from home. The unconscionable history of US Government Boarding schools for members of First Nations is told in Shin-Chi’’s Canoe. Gentle and yet honest, readers will learn to build empathy and recognize inequities in history so we never repeat them.
Why must we match? Why must what is inside us be reflected on the outside? This simple and yet moving and complex book explores complex issues of identity that make sense even to the youngest. A must read to discuss compassion and understanding.
Names are ours. But when our name is something others can’t pronounce, is it ok for them to change it to make it “easier” for them? The Name Jar is a must read in every classroom as it celebrates the joy of our name, our families, our journey through life.
Traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Nic Blake, the protagonist of the new fantasy series by the author of The Hate U Give, brings to the world a book filled with Black Girl magic, excitement, laughter, and friendship. As Nic and her Remarkable friends set off to solve a mystery and save her Dad, readers journey through a mystery, and mythical world. The first in the series, on completing this one, the countdown to the next one starts.
Have you ever wanted to have a superpower? Who hasn’t? But what if your superpower allows you to help others as well as possibly hurt them? In this amazing “slightly fictionalized” graphic novel, CeCe Bell weaves a powerful story of the search for true friendship.
The first in the track series by award winning author Jason Reynolds, the story of Ghost is not just about finding oneself, but also finding one's “people.” Told through the development of a character that draws readers into pulling for Ghost, the team, and the coach, readers are taught to believe in the power of a team as family.
A true story of two young girls caught in a historical time of prejudice, racism and privilege. Aki and her family are removed from their farm and forced into a Japanese Internment Camp. Sylvia’s family rents the farm only to be embroiled in a fight to allow Sylvia to attend the white school down the street as opposed to the Mexican school further away. A story central to school desegregation through Mendez v Westminster and prior to Brown V BOE, Sylvia and Aki highlight the strength of our youth.
The Door of No Return depicts well the harrowing violence and tragedy of the Atlantic slave trade. Readers travel from a peaceful community in the Asante Kingdom of 1860 to the “door of no return” in Cape Coast Castle.
HIGH SCHOOL
Nonfiction books are essential for students to engage in learning historical facts often left out of the traditional canon. The young adult edition of Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann introduces a piece of Indigenous history rarely taught. The true story of the Osage Nation is surrounded with wealth, power and white greed. Extremely well documented and filled with personal stories, readers are immersed in Indigenous history from a true perspective, all blinders off.
A true story set in San Francisco, The 57 Bus follows two high school students caught on different sides of an unfortunate prank. Exploring LGBTQ+ identity and racism these very personal narratives draw the readers into the personal lives of two teens who both wish that day had never happened.
Based on the bestselling Stamped from the Beginning by Dr. Ibram X Kendi and written by Jason Reynolds, the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Stamped is described as a journey through the racial history of the United States. Through facts and engaging narrative Reynolds brings history to life in a way that will engage our youth in a nonfiction book for the ages.
The dark history of the internment of Japanese Americans is too often a minimal part of the educational curriculum. This fiction novel follows members of the same community in San Francisco on their journey through the camps. The interweaving of multiple stories, historical facts, and emotional journeys makes this book a remarkable account of untold stories that should be told.
In The Firekeeper’s Daughter, Boulley weaves a thrilling murder mystery with a coming of age tale of a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman). Intertwined throughout the story are Anishinaabe language and culture as Daunis struggles with caring for a fragile mother, her role as a non-registered member of the Ojibwe community and a love story riddled with mystery.
REFLECT & STAY INSPIRED
WHY REFLECT
Difficult emotions––such as shame and anger––though uncomfortable to feel, can guide you to deeper self-awareness about how power and privilege impacts you and the people in your life.
Reflecting and journaling enhances learning. By using a 21-Day Reflect tool each day, you discover how much you are actually understanding and making meaning. It helps you to transform your personal experience into a learning experience, and thus build your racial equity habits.
Crisis and Opportunities Inspiration Songs:
El Apagón / Bad Bunny
El Pueblo Unido / Sergio Ortega
Afilando los Cuchillos / Residente, iLe & Bad Bunny
Pray / Flobots
The Search/NF
Sunshine / Latto
Count Me Out / Kendrick Lamar
My Stress / NF
Bigger Picture / Lil Baby
My Skin / Lizzo
New America - Marina
No Justice No Peace - Bobby Hustle, Asha D Pipo Ti
It’s a good day (to fight the system) / Shungudzo
Emma Stevens - Blackbird by The Beatles sung in Mi'kmaq Live at CBU
Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free (Audio)
Kalolin Johnson - We Shall Remain (It Wasn't Taken Away)
Sister Sledge - We Are Family (Official Music Video)
Ain’t Got No, I Got Life / Nina Simone
Baltimore / Nina Simone
Be Free / J Cole
Blended Family / Alicia Keys
Blue Bucket of Gold/Gallant X Sufjan Stevens
Born This Way / Lady Gaga
Brave / Sara Bareilles
Call Me By Your Name / Lil Nas X
Colors in Bloom / Lex Allen ft. Taj Raiden
Fight the Power / Public Enemy
Fight Song / Rachel Platten
Formation / Beyonce
For The Kids / Homeboy Sandman
Four Women / Nina Simone
Give Your Hands to Struggle / Sweet Honey in the Rock
Get Up, Stand Up / Bob Marley
Good As Hell / Lizzo
Good Way / Frank Waln w/ Gunner Jules & Rollie Raps
Hear My Cry / Frank Waln w/ Cody Blackbird
House Of A Thousand Guitars / Bruce Springsteen
Hijabi / Mona Hayder
If It’s Magic / Stevie Wonder
Industry Baby / Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow
It’s a good day (to fight the system) / Shungudzo
Keep Your Head Up / Tupac
Love’s In Need of Love Today / Stevie Wonder
Living for the City / Stevie Wonder
Mercedes Benz / Janis Joplin
My Country ‘Tis Of Thy People You’re Dying / Buffy Sainte Marie
Ne Me Quitte Pas / Nina Simone
People Get Ready / Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions
Rich Girl / Nina Simone
Roar / Katy Perry
Same As It Ever Was/Michael Franti & Spearhead
Same Love / Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Save Me / Nina Simone
Slow Up / Jacob Banks
Stay Human / Michael Franti & Spearhead
Super Rich Kids / Frank Ocean
Strength, Courage & Wisdom / India Arie
The 10 Stop and Frisk Commandments / Jasiri X
The Colour in Anything / James Blake
Try / Colbie Caillat
We The People / Tribe Called Quest
Try Everything / Shakira
Where Is The Love / Black Eyed Peas
White Privilege / Mackelmore
White Privilege II / Macklemore
Whitey on the Moon / Gil Scott-Heron
Stand 4 What / Nick Cannon
This Is America / Childish Gambino
To Be Young Gifted and Black, Nina Simone
Ultra Black / Nas
SHOULDERS WE STAND ON
In 2023, the US is 500 years into a struggle to create a country claiming to be rooted in freedom yet still riddled with unhealed wounds, unkept promises, and barriers to access for millions. As we work towards a more just future, remembering and building on the legacy of these legends is both strategic and inspiring. Here are just a few. Come back for updated challenges and #MooreLegends.
bell hooks (1952-2021) activist and prolific author whose work focusing on gender and race pushed the “feminism” movement beyond its white, middle-class roots to uplift stories of Black and working class women.
Mary Brave Bird (1954-2013) aka Mary Crow Dog, Lakota activist, author, educator and survivor of the Indian Boarding School Movement system of deculturalization and abuse who dedicated her life to the American Indian Movement (AIM) and told her story in her memoir, Lakota Woman.
Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992) a Black trans woman, Marsha “Pay it no mind” Johnson was central to the 1960s LGBTQIA+ movement in general and the Stonewall riots specifically.
Dolores Huerta (1930-still here!) an agricultural labor leader and civil rights activist who, along with Cesar Chavez, co-founded what went on to be the United Farm Workers Association, while also fiercely challenging sexism within the movement.
Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) a civil rights activist, Latino, and farm labor leader and hero. He co-founded the National Farm Workers Association as a crusader for environmental, worker, and consumer rights.
James Loewen (1942-2021) sociologist, historian and author whose works, including Lies My Teacher Told Me changed the way we think about learning history.
John Lewis (1940-2020) civil rights activist who chaired SNCC, led Selma’s Pettus Bridge march, and participated in lunch counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides, before becoming a 17-term congressional leader, and author of the NYT Op-Ed commonly referred to as “Good Trouble.”
Yuri Kochiyama (1921-2014) activist for a wide range of initiatives including immigrant rights, Black liberation, anti war movement, Asian American rights, and ethnic studies, all sparked by the unjust treatment she and her family endured as part of the Japanese concentration camp abuse during WWII.
Anne McCarty Braden (1924-2006) civil rights activist, journalist, and educator who challenged racist real estate practices, rallied white southerners to support the Civil Rights Movement, and worked for cross-racial solidarity in the environmental, labor, women's, and anti-nuclear movements.