mlk 2021

Choose not to look, however, at your own peril. The owner of an old house knows that whatever you are ignoring will never go away. Whatever is lurking will fester whether you choose to look or not. Ignorance is no protection from the consequences of inaction. Whatever you are wishing away will gnaw at you until you gather the courage to face what you would rather not see.
—Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Dear Friends, 

Many of you have asked for more resources, more feeds to follow, books to read, podcasts to listen to. I get it. For the last four years, or at the very least for the last several months, you’ve seen undreamt-of harrowing things that people of color are saying have always been there, right there, in front of you, beneath you, within you. It’s daunting. 

There’s this episode in one my favorite TV shows, Gilmore Girls, where the lead character, Lorelei Gilmore, learns that her beloved, charming, pale blue clapboard New England house is infested with termites. She is so repulsed by the idea of millions of bugs crawling within the walls that she can no longer sleep or eat or breathe in it.  But as Wilkerson warns us, Lorelei can’t afford to look away. To save her home, and her sanity, she will have to face whatever is lurking, festering, and gnawing within the walls and beneath the foundation. She will have to swallow her pride and belt herself with the truth that’s facing her, and be prepared to do what’s required of her to right what’s wrong. No, it’s not her fault that the termites are there. She didn’t invite them. But pleading innocence won’t make them go away.

We are in the same predicament. It’s not our fault. It’s not! But it’s our responsibility to repair all that ails within us and to help others repair what ails within them. We can gather more resources, follow more feeds, read more, listen more—but in the end, we will have to rebuild our own foundations, digging deep, excavating what’s fallen away and rotten. 

Here is a list of things that I may or may not have mentioned during the Instagram Live book discussion of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson. I’ve not only including my own reading and resource lists, but also those of my wonderful guests, Lettie and Jermaine. Please be sure to follow and support their work, not just for MLK Day but continuously. They are doing such great work in educating and teaching history and antiracism. 

Things to Read About Caste, The Origins of Race, and Dr. King:
The Guardian: America's ‘Untouchables’- The Silent Power of the Caste System by Isabel Wilkerson
Stanford University: Paul’s Letter to American Christians by Dr. King,  Nov 1956
Stanford University: Threats and Attacks Against Dr. King 
The King Legacy: Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community? By Dr. King, Aug 1967
Norton Books: The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter 
Bold Type Books: Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi 

Great Podcast To Listen to About the Origins of Race, Caste and Dr. King:
NPR’s Fresh Air: It’s More Than Racism with Isabel Wilkerson
NPR’s All Things Considered: Martin Luther King Recording Found In India
The United States of Anxiety: How Martin Luther King, Jr., Changed American Christianity
NPR’s Fresh Air: Documentary Exposes How The FBI Tried To Destroy MLK With Wiretaps, Blackmail
Code Switch: The Power of Martin Luther King’s Anger
NPR History: An 'Exhausted' Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final 31 Hours
Scene on Radio: Seeing White
NPR’s This American Life: Nice White Parents

Things I’ve Written About the Origins of Race, Whiteness & Christianity, and Dr. King:
BCWWF Letter to My Daughter: it’s dope to be black until its hard to be black
BCWWF Letters to White Friends: dark & lovely
BCWWF Cream & Sugar: Book Club Recommendations
BCWWF: In Black & White
Patreon: Mockingbird History Lessons

Resources To Help You Have Better Conversations:
On Being: Better Conversations Guide
Be The Bridge: BTB Guides

from LETTIE SHUMATE - Historian Antiracism Educator & Podcaster
Things to Read & Watch about Dr. King & James Baldwin: 
Harper’s Magazine: The Dangerous Road Before Martin Luther King by James Baldwin, Feb 1961
New York Times: The American Dream and the American Negro by James Baldwin, March 1965
The Dick Cavett Show: James Baldwin Discusses Racism, May 1969

Where to Find More of Lettie’s Work:
Instagram: @sincerely.lettie
Facebook: Sincerely, Lettie
Patreon: Lettie Shumate 
Podcast: Sincerely, Lettie

from JERMAINE FOWLER - Podcaster & Historical Storyteller 
Jermaine’s Dr. King Podcast Episodes and Suggested Reading:
The Humanity Archive: 1968, The King Assassination
The Humanity Archive: Conquering Fear- MLK on Living with Confidence

Where to Find More of Jermaine’s Work: 
Instagram: @thehumanityarchive
Twitter: @archivehumanity
Newsletter: www.thehumanityarchive.com
Patreon: Jermaine Fowler
YouTube: The Humanity Archive 
Podcast: The Humanity Archive