Anti-Racism Resources

Public libraries are places of inclusion and empowerment, dedicated to breaking down barriers to access and resisting inequality. Below are some resources that illuminate systems of race, privilege and power as well as how to enact change in ourselves and our institutions. We hope these resources help you recognize and challenge biases, navigate difficult conversations and create an inclusive, respectful space for learning, engagement and improvement.

Checkout these Materials from Calvert Library

• Anti-Racism and Social Justice Reading List of Digital Materials  
• Anti-Racism and Social Justice Reading List of Physical Materials

eBooks & eAudiobooks Lists

• Black Stories and Experiences 
• Celebrate Diversity 
• Conversations About Race  
• Talking to Kids About Race 

Watch & Learn: Streaming Movies & Documentary Lists

• Social and Systemic Injustice Films
• Celebrating Black Stories for Children in Movies
• Conversations About Race in Movies
• Asian Americans – This series is a production of WETA Washington, DC and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) for PBS focused on the lives of Asian Americans and their role in shaping the United States’ history. This site includes five one-hour episodes, in addition to videos and an interactive gallery on Asian Americans’ role in U.S. history.

Explore & Learn

• Anti-racist learning resources from PBS – A list of links to resources available from PBS NewsHour and other PBS programs
• Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism, a town hall for kids and families – CNN commentators team with Sesame Street and bring together politicians and characters from Sesame Street for q & a and stories
• Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture Talking About Race toolkit – Links to particular discussion guides based around race, privilege, antiracism, and self-care aimed at educators, parents and caregivers, or people committed to equity
• Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man – Created by former NFL player Emmanuel Acho, this website is a collection of articles and television experiences, in addition to episodes of Acho’s podcast, all focused on mending the racial divide.
• We Are Not a Stereotype – A video and resource collection by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center that explores and challenges the complexity surrounding the term Asian Pacific American and information about migration, occupations, racial and gender identities, and cross-community building.
• Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit – A product from the Chinese Progressive Association, this resource highlights people’s lived experiences to build structural awareness of why those experiences are happening and how they are tied to the oppression of others.
• A Different Asian American Timeline – This informational and detailed timeline covers nearly 600 years of history, starting with the early Atlantic slave trade in the 15th Century, tracing the rise of modern nation-states, and covering events that have affected people across racial boundaries.

Podcasts:

• 1619 – From the New York Times, this narrative podcast tells the story that began in August 1619 when a ship of enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia.
• Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi – Be Antiracist imagines what an antiracist society might look like and how we all can play an active role in building one. Dr. Kendi guides listeners on how they can identify and reject the racist systems hiding behind racial inequity and injustice.
• Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist – An episode of Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, during which she talks with Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to be an Anti-Racist.
• Brené with Emmanuel Acho on Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man – An episode of Brene Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, during which she talks with Acho about racism and uncomfortable dialogue.
• Code Switch – From NPR, Code Switch is a podcast that takes the topic of race and discusses how it influences every part of society – from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between.
• Come Through with Rebecca Carroll – During this election year, these are 15 essential conversations about race for America.
• Floodlines – An eight-part podcast that uses interviews to tell the story of the tumultuous events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its submerging of the city of New Orleans.
• Groundings – This podcast connects organizing, theory, and history with dialogue, experience, and storytelling. A form of communal education that invites listeners to sit, listen, talk, share, and learn.

Board of Library Trustees Equality Policy Statement

We believe Calvert Library and all other public libraries are the crucibles of democracy, the means for everyone’s pursuit of happiness and prosperity, and our guarantors of freedom and opportunity.  Public libraries welcome all races, colors, religions, genders, sexual orientations, national origins, languages, and abilities.  All are welcome here and entitled to respect and civility.  All are invited to learn for themselves what is true and what is good.  Honest discourse is welcome here.  Each person is entitled to be treated equally, without discrimination — and will be here.