Active Learning Club Module

Anti-Black Racism: Part 1

History and Present

Summary

In this first module providing resources about anti-Black racism, the focus will be on the history and present day impacts of anti-Black racism. Starting with an overview of slavery within what are currently the United States and Canada, and moving into the impacts of Jim Crow policies and institutionalized racism, these resources were selected to provide members with the ability to learn and acknowledge the historical and present occurrences of anti-Black racism in order to prepare them for further modules focused on the utilization of this knowledge.

Brief Overview

- For those not familiar with the history of racism in the United States, this provides a quick timeline to inform you of the major events in anti-Black racism in the US: 400 years since slavery: a timeline of American history (10 minutes).
- Listen to Canada’s slavery secret: The whitewashing of 200 years of enslavement (free via CBC) (53 minutes)
- For those with Netflix, watch: 13th (also available for free on Youtube), American Son & When They See Us (1h40min)

Digging Deeper

Long-standing Impacts of Slavery and Racist Policies in the Present Day

- Check out/explore the New York Times’ 1619 (history of slavery) (if you prefer a PDF of the issue, click here) (Just explore & read as much as you can!) (NOTE: if you liked this, they have a podcast of the same name that dives into this further). Explore however much you would like, although the full report takes about 3 hours to read. Each podcast episode is roughly 30 minutes.
- Listen to How Canada’s Legacy of Slavery Lingers on Today (23 minutes). Note: it does not have a transcription available. CONTENT WARNING – there is discussion of sexual exploitation and violence.

Challenging Institutionalized Racism

- Read The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates (20-30 minutes)
- Read Five Years Later, Do Black Lives Matter? (20-30 minutes)
- Explore the Marshall’s Project resources on the Future of Policing (variable)
- For those with Crave, watch: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (1hr40)
- How Science and Genetics are Reshaping the Race Debate of the 21st Century (10 minutes)

Reminder: This module is not exhaustive, and there is no certificate or recognition for these efforts. This is a lifelong commitment to learning, unlearning and sustaining the climate justice movement with informed advocacy. We are always open to feedback–please email [email protected] if you have anything you’d like for us to know!

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