WAYS to LEARN ABOUT and WORK AGAINST RACISM

Eight actions you can take to fight violence and racism against Asian Americans:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-you-can-do-to-fight-violence-and-racism-against-asian-
americans

This 5-minute news story (audio and transcript) is an overview of how training (like Blount
County SURJ’s Upstander Training) can help us overcome the tendency not to intervene when
we witness harassment. Let us know if you would like to schedule Upstander Training for your
workplace, group or congregation. https://www.npr.org/2021/03/31/983157420/the-influence-of-
bystanders-when-someone-is-getting-assaulted-or-harassed

What are micro-aggressions? Roxy Manning, an Afro-Caribbean immigrant, a licensed clinical

psychologist and Non-Violent Communication Certified Trainer explains: https://baynvc.org/dont-call-
me-white/

Read about the Virginia Voting Rights Act, which was drafted by Black two women legislators:
https://www.blackenterprise.com/virginia-voting-rights-act-enacts-voting-protections-drafted-by-black-
female-lawmakers/

In an increasingly data-driven, automated world, the question of how to protect individuals’

civil liberties in the face of artificial intelligence looms larger by the day. Watch Coded Bias, a
90-minute documentary film, to learn how M.I.T. Media Lab computer scientist Joy Buolamwini and
her Algorithmic Justice League, along with data scientists, mathematicians, and watchdog groups from
all over the world, expose the discrimination within facial recognition algorithms now prevalent across all
spheres of daily life. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/coded-bias-full-film/

Listen to/watch Heather McGhee talk about how racism has a cost for everyone in this 15-minute
interview on CNN or a related 15-minute TedTalk (with captions). If you have more time, listen to an
hour long conversation between Heather McGhee and Ezra Klein here (with transcript here) or read
McGhee’s book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.”
All of these materials offer ways to think about the SURJ values of mutual interests and there is enough for
everyone and how policy can contribute to equity.

Learn about the role that profiteering, state surveillance, and the rapid spread of disinformation
play in the maintenance of White supremacy in this webinar from Political Research
Associates: Technologies of the Right: Disinformation, Mobilization, and Surveillance
April 8, 2021 at 4PM ET. Register here.

Explore social identity privilege through this 7-minute video Social Change: Privilege Identity
Exploration from the Non-Violent Communication Academy, with this supporting material: Privilege
Identity Exploration Pie Chart .

Black History Year (BHY) connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are left out of
the mainstream conversations. “You may not agree with everything you hear, but we’re always
working toward one goal: uniting for the best interest of Black people worldwide.” BHY is produced by
PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. Black History Year podcasts are
here.

Join the Alcoa-Blount County Branch of the NAACP.

Next meeting is Saturday, April 24 at 11:45am.
Via zoom – contact Rev. Dr. Willa Estell at we41602@aol.com to attend
Join Blount County United: We are stronger together.
Next meeting is Saturday, April 24 at 1pm.
Via zoom – contact Robert McClelland ramaloha@hotmail.com to attend

On our website https://blountcountysurj.weebly.com you can:

 Sign up for our mail list (scroll down to the sign-up form).
 Find this publication under the “Take Action” tab (and older issues under the ‘Archive’ tab).
 Read about our values: https://blountcountysurj.weebly.com/about.html
To share comments after reading/watching any of the suggested resources contact us at
blountcountySURJ@gmail.com
Visit and share our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/blountcountysurj/

A publication of Blount County Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) April 2021