Jun 2

Black Lives Matter

image: @sindisokhumalo

This is not about what you ‘call’ yourself or how you ‘perceive’ yourself, it’s about the actions that bring change to this world, whether using your spending power for good, by lending a helping hand or spreading awareness from your platform.

If you feel you need to put in the work, navigate the below list (we certainly are).

Break the echo-chamber: follow those that bring a different perspective (consume content from people that are not like you and don’t be performative).

Look inwards to understand your own privilege (but also your access? Ignorance? Apathy?). Use the latter to drive lasting change; you can’t change the background you were born into but you can choose to make everyday decisions that support others (you are not entitled). Talk to the people you love (bring those without social media to the conversation) and help erase misinformation (grassroots is sometimes the best form action).

Unlearn what society has taught you about race (and please avoid sharing content which is traumatic). Understand that you will never understand what others have gone through but re-educate yourself, embrace different experiences, cultures, and above all - rethinking how your own experiences matter in light of these stories.

Speak up (but don’t centre this around yourself) and fight the status quo by demanding justice, in all walks of life (introspection first, then your social circle, family, workplace etc.) - even if it costs you. You might say and do the wrong thing sometimes and that’s okay - “when you slip up and are called out on it, don’t trip over yourself to try to prove how un-racist you are”. Just move on, but take time to “explore why that happened and carry that with you in future” (@das.penman).

If you need anything new, consider supporting a business owned by POC first (we’ve got a good list below and on our IG stories).

Donations are a great way to put your money where your mouth is (if you can - but don’t just donate now because it’s trendy, choose something you care about long term i.e. keep supporting after the outrage). “It should not take an act of brutality or the vitality of a situation for you to suddenly show your support” (@mireillecharper).

Contribute

Donate

Official George Floyd Go Fund Me

Run With Amaud

Black Lives Matter

Sign Petitions

Justice For Floyd

⁣Color Of Change

Change.org

UK causes & think tanks: Runnymede Trust, Charity So White, Resourcing Racial Justice and Kids Of Colour

Learn

Books

Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race @renieddolodge
Me And White Supremacy @laylafsaad
Brit-ish @afuahirsch ⁣
Natives @akalamusic⁣⁣
How To Be An Anti-Racist @ibramxk ⁣⁣
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
The Condemnation of Blackness by Khalil Gibran Muhammad
Slay in Your Lane @yomi.adegoke @elizabethuviebinene
Sway @drpragyaagarwal
Don’t Touch My Hair @emmadabiri
The Autobiography of Malcom X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
Sister Outside by Audre Lorde
Fatal Invention by Dorothy Roberts
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer⁣

Films + TV

Just Mercy⁣⁣
The 13th
Get Out⁣⁣
When They See Us⁣⁣
Dear White People
Freedom Writers⁣⁣
The Central Park Five ⁣⁣⁣
I Am Not Your Negro
Just Mercy
Hidden Figures⁣
The House I Live In⁣⁣⁣⁣
ReMastered: The Lion’s Share⁣
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Hollywood
The Rachel Divide
In My Blood It Runs⁣

Follow

Support Black Businesses

Cookbooks

Original Flava @originalflava
Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen by @ghanakitchen
Hibiscus by Lopè Ariyo @lopeariyo
Ethiopia by Yohanis Gebreyesus @chef_yohanis
Belly Full by Riaz Phillips @Belly.full ✨

Food & Drink

Chikas snacks @chikasfoods
Grazing Boxes @berryandbrie
Yard Confectionary @yardconfectionery
Cabby’s Rum @cabbysrum
Cham Cham hot pepper sauce @nimsdin
@patandpinkys
@theblackfarmer ✨

Fashion & Accessory brands

Wales Bonner: menswear and womenswear @walesbonner
Casely-Hayford: suits @caselyhayfordlondon
Daughter of a Bohemian: upcycled pieces and workshops @daughterofabohemian
Daily Paper: menswear and womenswear @dailypaper
Aaks: basket bags @a.a.k.s
Martine Rose @martine_rose
Nubian Skin @nubianskin
Sincerely Nude @sincerelynude

Beauty & Haircare Brands

Liha Beauty: skin oils, shea butters @LihaBeauty
BeautyStack: discover and book treatments @beautystack
Bouclème: afro and curly hair products @boucleme
Afrocenchix: Hair products @afrocenchix
The Afro Hair and Skin Company: shampoo bars, hair masks, face masks @afrohairandskinco
@radswan (launching soon) ✨

Home & Lifestyle

Prick: cacti and plantcare @prickldn
Bespoke Binny @bespokebinny
New Beacon Books : Specialists in African and Caribbean Literature @newbeaconbooks
Bonita Vie Stationary @bonitaivieprints

Reset Travel @Resettravel ✨