Lists of organizations, resources and book lists below.
*Photo taken with subjects’ consent by Renee M. Powers, Minneapolis MN, May 26, 2020
Last update: 5/31/2020 at 10:55am
Feminist Book Club is headquartered 10 blocks from where Minneapolis police officers murdered George Floyd. We did not know Mr. Floyd but he was our neighbor.
We stand in solidarity with our BIPOC community and urge our white friends to listen and do the uncomfortable work of wrestling with our own inherent racism. Whether we like it or not, we are complicit in and benefit from white supremacy.
We’ve compiled a list resources that have come across our desks. We’ve narrowed it down to the content, voices, and organizations that feel most pertinent to this moment. At the end, you’ll find an enormous book list and links to Black-owned bookstores.
This list is not enough. This is just a start. If you can stand on the front lines with protestors, please join us.
We will update this post as necessary. If you have suggestions, please email hello@feministbookclub.com or DM us on Instagram @feministbookclubbox.
Minnesota organizations to support with your dollars
Support the Cities – cleanup and rebuild efforts
City Joy – cleanup and rebuild efforts
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
North Star Health Collective – medics on the ground
South Minneapolis Mutual Aid Autonomous Zone Coordination **Facebook group with ongoing requests for supplies and volunteers on the ground
Communities United Against Police Brutality
Minnesota Freedom Fund – currently asking folks to allocate their funds elsewhere
National organizations to support with your dollars
Black Lives Matter – find your nearest chapter here
Anti Police-Terror Project – read their first responders training guide here
Who to call
Mayor Jacob Frey at 612-673-2100
Hennepin County Attorney at 612-348-5550
MPLS Internal Affairs Division at 612-673-3074
MPLS Department of Civil Rights at 612-673-3012
MPLS FBI field office at 763-569-8000
MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at 651-793-7000
Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis 612-788-8444
Governor Tim Walz 651-201-3400
(numbers compiled by All Are Welcome Here)
Talking points for these calls
Arrest all four of the officers involved in the death of George Floyd.
Hold all police officers across the state accountable for their actions.
Support Councilwoman Andrea Jenkins in her request to declare racism a public health emergency.
Demand body-worn cameras to be turned on immediately when officers respond to a call.
Hire police officers from the community to serve their communities.
Local organizations and voices to follow online
Black Visions Collective: Twitter // Instagram // Facebook
Reclaim the Block: Twitter // Instagram // Facebook
Communities United Against Police Brutality: Twitter // Facebook
Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar: Facebook
Unicorn Riot on Facebook (live videos of protests)
Take Action MN: Twitter // Instagram
Racial Justice Network: Facebook
Black Lives Matter Twin Cities Metro: Facebook
NAACP Minneapolis: Twitter // Instagram
South Minneapolis Mutual Aid Autonomous Zone Coordination
Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association: Facebook
Pillsbury United Communities: Facebook
Activists: Nekima Levy Armstrong (LOCAL – Facebook, Twitter), Alicia Garza, Rachel Cargle, Ally Henny, DeRay Mckesson, Bernice King, Mikki Kendall
History of racism in Minneapolis
MPD150 – download full report here
Jim Crow of the North – full documentary from Twin Cities Public Television
Race and Policing in the Twin Cities from MNopedia
Resources for children
Raising Race Conscious Children
9 Children’s Books About Police Brutality from Feminist Books for Kids
Talking to children after racial incidents from UPenn Graduate School of Education
Talking to Kids about Racial Stereotypes tipsheet from Media Smarts
It’s Never Too Early to Talk About Race from Teaching Tolerance
Articles to read
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack
How to respond to “riots never solve anything” by Rafi D’Angelo
“We need co-conspirators, not allies’: how white Americans can fight racism by Rose Hackman, The Guardian, June 26, 2015
Who Gets to Be Afraid in America? by Ibram X. Kendi, The Atlantic, May 12, 2020
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coats, The Atlantic, June 2014
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh, 1988
Why I Won’t Vote by W.E.B. Dubois, The Nation, October 20, 1956
History is a Weapon: Political Prisoners, Prisons, and Black Liberation by Angela Y. Davis, 1971
Books to read
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis
How to Be Less Stupid About Race by Crystal M. Fleming
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale
A Good Time for the Truth edited by Sun Yung Shin – Minnesota-specific
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
Black-owned bookstores
Mind’s Eye Comics – Burnsville, MN
Brain Lair Books – South Bend, IN
Harambee Books – Alexandria, VA
AfriWare Books – Maywood, IL
Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center – Ypsilanti, MI
Wild Fig Coffee and Books – Lexington, KY
Detroit Book City – Detroit, MI
Frugal Bookstore – Roxbury, MA
Sankofa Video Books & Cafe – Washington, DC
Hakim’s Book Store – Philadelphia, PA
Eye See Me – University City, MO
The African Place – Memphis, TN
Cafe Con Libros – New York, NY
Turning Page Bookshop – Goose Creek, SC
Ashay By the Bay – Vallejo, CA
Cultured Books – St. Petersburg, FL
Eso Won Books – Los Angeles, CA
African Bookstore – Plantation, FL
Moon Palace Books – not Black-owned but located in the midst of the demonstrations on the same block as the 3rd precinct. They allegedly refused to allow police to use their parking lot and have put up a medic tent for protestors.
![There are times that you need to reach for a book that can help you address the more sorrowful feelings that bubble up in times of grief 📚️
Here are a couple that have come across our desk:
📕Tending Grief: Embodied Rituals for Holding Our Sorrow and Growing Cultures of Care in Community by Camille Sapara Barton (@natlanticbooks)
"An embodied guide to being with grief individually and in community—practical exercises, decolonized rituals, and Earth-based medicines for healing and processing loss"
📘I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This: 18 Assurances on Grief Clare Mackintosh (@sourcebooks)
"Inspired by a viral Twitter thread Clare wrote on the anniversary of her son’s death, this book offers 18 short assurances that are full of compassion. This book is for the loved ones offering support but don’t know what else to say and for the grieving who are searching for answers and a kind voice to turn to."
Do you have a book that you've read that helped address getting through grief?
[alt text: two books on a white table with a green plant in the corner]
#bookmail #bookstack #bookstagram #booksubscription #bookcommunity #bookish #bookclub #feminist #feministbookclub #booksongrief](https://www.feministbookclub.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)