Doing the Work: Anti-Racism Resources and Accounts to Follow

The team at Avenue is dedicated as part of our company's purpose to actively “empower transformational change” in our community, and in our own office. The team at Avenue commits to holding a weekly round table meeting where we address our work in anti-racism, discuss what we are doing as individuals to unlearn our own unconscious biases and share those learnings within our circles of influence. This is in addition to ongoing monthly and quarterly anti-racism and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) education and training support.

We will be updating this post monthly with the materials we've been using to further our education on anti-racism. We're sharing a list of Black-owned Portland Businesses, (via Mercatus), and books, articles, and documentaries that we’ve found valuable in our ongoing journey of education on white supremacy and racial injustice. We encourage you to take a look and share within your own circles.

The Avenue Team

Books

• How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

• White Rage by Carol Anderson

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

• Real American by Julie Lythcott-Haims

• When They Call You a Terrorist by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Cullors

• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

• So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

• A Black Woman's History of the United States by Diana Ramey Berry, Kali Nicole Gross

• Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

• Heavy by Kiese Laymon

• I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made For Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

• They Can't Kill Us All: The Story of Black Lives Matter by Wesley Lowery

Articles/Essays

• “America’s Racial Contract is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer, The Atlantic

• “Black Bodies Are Still Treated as Expendable” by Aaron Ross Coleman, The Vox

• “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X Kendi, The Atlantic

• “Racism Didn’t Kill George Floyd, Anti-Blackness Did” Opinion piece by Kihana Miraya Ross, The New York Times

• “The American Nightmare” by Dr. Ibram X Kendi, The Atlantic

• "When Black People Are in Pain, White People Just Join Book Clubs" by Tre Johnson, The Washington Post

• "Why the History of Juneteenth is More Relevant Than Ever" by Dr. Tiffany Jana, B Corporation

• "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh

• "Why You Need to Know What Mysogynoir Means Right Now" by Rebecca Ruiz, Mashable

• "When Feminism Is White Supremacy In Heels" by Rachel Cargle, Harper's Bazaar

• "White Entrepreneurs Need to Stop Capitalizing on Black Culture" by Rachel Cargle, The Helm

• "'We Can't Build Anti-Racism On Top Of Racism': Q&A With Layla F. Saad by Elizabeth Gulino, Refinery 29

• "The Extraordinary Story of Why a Cakewalk Wasn't Always Easy" by Lakshmi Ghandi, NPR

Portland's Racist History (Articles)

• "The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America" by Alana Semuels, The Atlantic

• "A Racist History Shows Why Oregon is Still so White" by Tiffany Camhi, OPB

• "Displacement in North and Northeast Portland," from PortlandOregon.gov

• "How Oregon's Second Largest City Vanished in a Day" by Natasha Geiling, Smithsonian Mag

Documentaries/Shows/Movies/Videos

• 13th, Ava Duvernay, Netflix

• When They See Us, Ava Duvernay, Netflix

• Selma, Ava Duvernay, Available to rent

• Dear White People, Justin Simien, Netflix

• Just Mercy, Destin Daniel Cretton, Available to rent

• Get Out, Jordan Peele, Available to rent

• Watchmen, Available on HBO

• The Racial Wealth Gap, Explained - Netflix/YouTube

• The Hate You Give - Available to rent

• If Beale Street Could Talk - Available to rent

• Who Killed Malcom X? - Netflix

• Coded Bias -Netflix

Podcasts

• Brené and Ibram X. Kendi on How to be an Antiracist

• Ibram X. Kendi -- Armchair Expert

• White Fragility with Robin DiAngelo -- The Opt-In with Aurora + Kelly

• Code Switch - NPR

• Black History Month - PushBlack

• The Nod - Gimlet

• Identity Politics - Ikhlas Saleem and Makkah Ali

Accounts You Should Follow on Instagram

• Rachel Ricketts, @iamrachelricketts

• Rachel Cargle, @rachel.cargle

• Layla Saad, @laylafsaad

• Sharyna Holmes, @sharynaholmes

• Victoria Alexander, @victoriaalxndr

• Sonya Renee Taylor, @sonyareneetaylor

• Blair Imani, @blairimani

• #amplifymelanatedvoices - Hashtag to Follow

• @soyouwanttotalkabout - Dissecting progressive politics and social issues in graphic slideshow form.

• Toi Smith, @toimarie

• @theconsciouskid - Parenting and education through a critical race lens.

• @thisbrowngirlreads

• Monique Melton, @moemotivate

• @frequentlyheard

Avenue stands against the manifestations of racism, white supremacy, and violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

We are at a loss for words and heartbroken over the acts of violence that occurred in Atlanta. We mourn for the families of the victims and to all in the Asian-American community who are hurting.

We cannot ignore the anti-Asian hate and violence that has been exponentially on the rise since COVID-19 and that disproportionately impacts women. We remain committed to dismantling the system of white supremacy and racism in all its forms.

Organizations to Support

• Stop AAPI Hate - report a hate crime

• Asian American Advancing Justice

• Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon

This blog post was updated June 11, 2021