As people across the land struggle to find ways to be in solidarity with the resistance being offered to the pipeline, the Standing Rock community has put together some basic information sheets to help. Please read these before undertaking any kind of solidarity with the community there. Listen and learn! There is information to consider before you go, information about how to join in camp culture, information about Lakota values, and information about what to do when you return home. We are very grateful that these thoughtful materials are being shared, and urge people to pass them along.

Liz Loeb is a local justice activist in the Twin Cities. She spoke recently at a local synagogue, and shared this beautiful witness. Read the whole thing! But here is just a brief excerpt:

I am also here to tell you that when you give up the lies of white supremacy, when you turn yourself against the resistance that is inside you, you open towards the interconnected liberation to which our humanity owes itself. I truly believe that when we find the place of our own-most stake in black lives mattering, we open towards an experience of love. The love and community and care and possibility I have experienced as part of a resistance movement towards justice is like nothing I can describe. It means knowing that there are people to catch you when you fall, and it means knowing that there are people there to love you when we win. It is something different than the intimacy of family or the individual history of friends. It is the connectedness that binds us to one another, and it is sweet beyond measure. Wherever you are in this journey, I hope you will find a way to give it a try. Let go just a little but. Worry just a little less. Trust the amazing black leaders who are shaping this movement more. And I promise, if we can do this, if we can keep trying together, we will find ourselves somewhere new.

There are all sorts of resources out there for talking with kids about race. White families, in particular, need to be more intentional. Here are some great curated collections from which to draw:

• A community generated list of resources
• A long list from the blog Creative With Kids
• Children’s books exploring race and racism, from the Institute for Humane Education
• A set geared for the adults in your life who are with children
• A Mighty Girl’s personal development list

FemTechNet is a group of scholars who focus on feminist engagement with and learning about technologies. They have begun a resource project which seeks to create a workbook of resources and syllabi to support critical race and ethnic studies pedagogy. The project is extensive, being built with the support of their graduate students, and a highly original and interesting attempt. Check it out!

Two news sources we read a lot here are the Indian Country Today media network and HealingMNStories (a local blog). These are definitely worth adding to your news reader as you seek to listen carefully to issues of race and religion in various contexts.

Marlon James, award-winning author and professor here in town at Macalester College, did this very short video for The Guardian, asking the question “are you ‘non’ or ‘anti'”?

Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Jamila Woods’ latest song/rap is “White Privilege II” — a powerful rap on current issues in collaboration with a  number of anti-racism organizations.

Update: As the song rolls out, so does the discussion. Here’s an interview led by Jay Smooth with the artists’ collaborative who created the song:

And here’s another discussion with Sway’s Universe and the artists:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M74RrAKuZjo

You can find the lyrics to the song online.

Here’s a powerful mashup of popular discourse about Muslims, with actual footage of Muslims going about daily life.

https://www.facebook.com/unityproductionsfoundation/videos/10153270533416631/?theater