Anti-Racism Response and Resources

My Dearest Isenberg Community,

I am overcome and overwhelmed by the longstanding and intentional systemic racism our country continues to face. Now more than ever, we, as an Isenberg community, must stay united in our goals to seek justice and equity for all. My office and the larger Isenberg community condemn all forms of hate, racism, prejudice, and bigotry, and we want to see these issues resolved safely and peacefully.

If you are doing anti-racism work, please share it with us. We, as a school, want to use our platform to elevate your voice, to highlight and showcase the good work being done by our community and FOR our community. Tag us on social media (Instagram and Twitter) and use the hashtag #Isenberg4BlackLives.

If you are struggling to make sense of the current turbulence our country is facing, know you are not alone. I have compiled a preliminary list of resources (below) from various sources and platforms that can help us all learn about and understand the many injustices that infiltrate our everyday lives. This list is in no way exhaustive, and should only be seen as an opportunity to engage and challenge ourselves.

My office will continue to support all Isenberg students, faculty, and staff in their journey towards understanding and peace. I’m here to listen as well as process with you. Please reach out (amacaulay@isenberg.umass.edu) if you have any further questions or concerns.

Read the response from UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy here, a note from Isenberg Dean Anne Massey here, and the response from Isenberg's McCormack Department of Sport Management here. 

A detailed explanation of the anti-racism actions UMass Amherst is embarking on can be found in this response from Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Nefertiti Walker (who until recently served as Isenberg's associate dean for an inclusive organization) can be found here. 

Books:

Stamped From the Beginning, by Ibram X. Kendi 

How To Be an AntiRacist, by Ibram X. Kendi 

The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin 

I Am Not Your Negro, by James Baldwin 

White Fragility: Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo 

So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo 

Why Are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race, by Beverly Daniel Tatum 

The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

Biased, by Jennifer Eberhardt 

Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, by Jennifer Harvey 

What to Watch:

The Hate U Give, a film based on the YA novel offering an intimate portrait of race in America (Amazon Prime and Hulu)

Becoming, a Netflix documentary following former First Lady, Michelle Obama, on her book tour (Netflix)

Let It Fall, a documentary looking at racial tensions in Los Angeles and riots over Rodney King’s death (Netflix and YouTube)

Selma, a film that chronicles the marches of the Civil Rights Movement (Amazon Prime)

13^th, a Netflix documentary exposing racial inequality within the criminal justice system (Netflix)

Podcasts:

Still Processing: Apple Podcast, Spotify, and other streaming sources 

Code Switch: an NPR Podcast tackling race from all angles 

1619: In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia. On the 400th anniversary of this fateful moment, 1619 looks at how slavery would be woven into the very threads of America’s democracy. 

Click here for a longer list of anti-racism resources.