Update on my year-long anti-racism project (join me won’t you?!)

Earlier this year I launched a new year-long project.  Past projects have induced getting rid of three things every day for as it turned out, two years, making handmade watercolour cards and writing a note of gratitude to someone every week, for again, what turned out to be two years.

This year I decided, based on W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz’s “Do the Work, an antiracist activity book” to focus on anti-racism. 

My goal was to do a minimum of one anti-racist thing a month for a year.

How’s it going?

You tell me.  What do you think?

Some notes about the process, things that have helped me stick to it:

1. I decided that one thing a month wasn’t enough.  
2. Starting in February, I created a simple framework to help me stay focused, looking out for books, movies/shows, music, courses, and causes.  
3. I keep track of resources I want to watch, listen to, etc. in a note on my phone, making it much easier to get and stay organized.
4. I expanded my focus to include marginalized communities.  For example, in honour of June’s Pride month, I focused on related resources.

Here’s what I’ve done so far.

January

• Podcast: Brown Table Talk with Dee C. Marshall and Mita Mallick. 
• Movie: The Good Lie with former child soldier Emmanuel  Jal and Reese Witherspoon

February

• Book:  Things Fall Apart book by  Chinua Achebe
• Movies/shows: Jonathon van Ness(@JJonVanNess) – Why is hair so major on Netflix. (with 9:35 min left, the interview with Representative Ayanna Presley, US congresswoman is amazing)
• Cause: I donated to some Tanzanian immigrants in Vancouver who are working hard to make Canada their new home

March

• Movies/ shows:
  • The Oscar-winning, The Last Repair Shop (with a Canadian director!) is an incredible documentary about a musical repair shop that fixes musical instruments for inner-city school kids and the impact this has had on their lives.
  • The Barber of Little Rock- a wonderful documentary available on YouTube.
  • Piñata Masters – on Netflix
  • Ladies in Black- on YouTube  
  • Chef’s Table- the episode with Cristina Martinez on Netflix, an immigrant chef from Capulhuac, Mexico, tells her powerful, harrowing true story.
• Book:  War Child, Emmanuel Jal’s true story about being a child soldier
• Cause: I donated to Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in honour of all the hard-working Kenyan keepers

April

• Book:
  • Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death (Vintage International)  (I expanded my reach to include marginalized communities, including people who have disabilities as this author did)
  • The Lightmaker’s Manifesto: How to Work for Change without Losing Your Joy  –  Karen Walrond(@Chookooloonks)

• Courses:
  • Trudi Lebron’s 7-day program
  • Sangoma talk by the Aspen Institute (Sangoma are traditional African witches and healers)   
• Causes
  • I bought a paid subscription to Reconciliation Weekly.  See below how you can win a free copy for a month.

May

• Book: Dance of the Jacaranda is about the early history of Kenya and clashes with the British colonials.
• Movie/shows
  • A Small Act – a documentary about a child recipient of donated school fees (who went on to become a UN human rights lawyer), who meets up with his donor decades later
  • Heeramandi- the Diamond Bazaar, Netflix 
• Music
  • Mike Bern (I learned about him from the Reconciliation weekly newsletter)
  • Allison Russell’s new song (she’s featured in my gratitude project; I LOVE her music)
  • I’m Not a Racist (conversation between a white man and black man) by Joyner Lucas
  • Powerful Women by Pitbull (Cuban artist) and Dolly Parton – 
• Causes: I helped organize and donated to a Mathare fundraiser (the informal settlements in Kenya have been dramatically affected by the massive flooding)

June

• It seemed natural and right to focus on Pride month, especially because I live in Africa where the majority of countries are that don’t support same-sex relationships
• Book: The Song of Achilles. I picked this book based on “60 LGBTQ+ Books That Really Deserve a Spot on Your Shelf”.  It’s a beautiful, poignant read that retells the story of Achilles.

• Movie/shows: Outstanding, a Comedy Revolution, on Netflix, about LGBTQI comedians. Heartbreaking and gut-busting both.
• Causes: I donated at Numbers Cabaret for Pride Month

Do any of the above sound intriguing to you?  Make a note and get reading, watching, and donating to the causes are many, the needs are great and our power to help is large.

Now go on and learn, laugh, and lead

Learn

• Marginalized communities are spread far and wide, in every corner of the world.  Pick some communities that speak to your heart and soul and join me in my year-long focus won’t you please?

Laugh

• An oldie but a goodie.  Watch young kids explain gay marriage.

Lead

• I have three free one-month subscriptions to the Reconciliation Weekly newsletter to give away.  The first three people to email me get them!