The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be an anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward. – Ijeoma Oluo
Where Do We Go From Here
The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be an anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.
– Ijeoma Oluo
Right here in our city, one week ago, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was murdered by the police. You know this already.
And I think you feel it, too – this is racism at work. This is not new. This is deeply unjust. This is exhausting and traumatizing for the Black community. This is evil.
Following George’s murder, there have been large, cohesive, peaceful protests in our city every day for over a week. There have been destructive riots that have been devastating to the communities, small businesses, and families in Minneapolis. It’s suspected that outside groups including white supremacists have been of coming into our state (or just coming out of their homes?) and wreaking havoc on neighborhoods, creating chaos and fear. The National Guard has been called in en masse and we are under a curfew with highways closed.
Things are really, really not good.
But also – things shouldn’t be good right now.
This post has been in my head for days but I’ve struggled to get it completed – a combination of factors including wanting to be thoughtful and intentional, and time limitations as we attend to the immediate needs of our family, friends, and city in crisis. But I know it will never fully be right. And I’m learning that imperfect words and actions are far better than none.
To our Black readers who are here now, who have been here for any length of time, I’m deeply sorry for the ways that we (white people, but also specifically myself) perpetuate racism day in and day out through actions and attitudes, whether we are aware or not. I’m sorry. I believe you. I’m listening. I’m learning.
Personally and collectively, we owe you, our Black friends and family and readers, not only a conversation that acknowledges this pain and these deep, deep problems – we owe you our action.
More than a quick Instagram stories post or social media message, we need to make sure that whatever message we are sending can really be backed up with follow-through.
All of this – the words, the conversation, the sentiment – is not valuable until we as white people, including myself, are willing to work to dismantle the systems of white supremacy that oppress BIPOC in our city and nation.
Pinch of Yum won’t be perfect. I won’t be perfect. This will be the best we can do until we know better, and then when we know better, we will do better (Maya Angelou’s words).
Today’s post is intended as a starting point (or continuing point) for white people looking to not just feel bad but to take action.
This is a team-sourced list of resources – some from me, some from individuals on our team. These are the voices of color we’ve individually found helpful in guiding our thinking and behaviors on racism.
We have two goals here:
- Centering voices of color
- Encouraging you to do something
Is this the only list out there? No. Here are two others that are much more comprehensive.
75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice
A List of Anti-Racism Resources (Google doc)
Use whatever you find helpful, but whatever it is, let’s start today.
What Can I Do Today
Donate to Black-Led Anti-Racist Organizations and Minneapolis Relief Efforts:
- NAACP
- We Love Lake Street (Minnesota)
- Black Visions Collective (Minnesota)
- North Minneapolis Business Community Relief (Minnesota)
You can find more ideas here.
Follow Black Leaders on Instagram:
- Osheta Moore – @oshetamoore
- Brittany Packnett Cunningham – @mspackyetti
- Austin Channing Brown – @austinchanning
- The Conscious Kid – @theconsciouskid
- Check Your Privilege – @ckyourprivilege
- Here Wee Read – @hereweeread
There are so many more out there – this is just a sampling of some of our favorites from within our team.
Listen to Podcasts Created by Diverse Voices:
What Can I Do This Month
Read Books About Anti-Racism and White Supremacy
- How to be an Anti-Racist by Dr. Ibram X Kendi
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Courses Taught by People of Color
- The Trinity Academy Course
- Rachel Ricketts Courses
- The Great Unlearn by Rachel Cargle
Explicitly Teaching Kids About Anti-Racism
- Something Happened in Our Town (a book)
- Guidelines for conversation with younger kids
- Guidelines for any aged kids
Here’s a list with more book recommendations.
Watch Educational Movies, TV Shows, and Documentaries
- 13th (Netflix)
- Dear White People (Netflix)
- The Hate U Give (Hulu or rent to stream)
What Can I Commit To For The Long Term
Support Black-Owned Businesses
- Pimento Jamaican Kitchen
- Handsome Hog
- Du Nord Craft Spirits
- Afro Deli
- Trio Plant-Based
- Mama Sheila’s
(These are our favorites in Minneapolis and Saint Paul! Here’s a list of more Black-owned shops and restaurants to support in Minneapolis.)
Get Plugged In To Local Activism
What Commitments Can You Make to Yourself and Your Family
- We will not be silent about racism.
- We will go beyond virtue signaling on social media and follow up our words with action.
- We will stand up against racist jokes.
- We will stand up against racist conversation.
- We will invite family and friends into conversations about race.
- We will intervene when we see racism.
If the amount of work feels overwhelming, I understand. It can be hard to know where to go from here.
But it is important that we start somewhere. We made a printable blank template that you can use to guide your planning for what your next steps of action will be if that is helpful. This is what I am using for myself.
This is not a comprehensive list of resources. Nor is this a complete conversation. It can’t be. I am one person, we are one small team – even when doing our best, there is always more we can learn.
With that in mind: What can you add? What are you learning, and what resources are helping you?
And most importantly: what is your next step right now?
Thank you for being here and for caring about things that matter, not just in word but in action.
Sending all our love from our beloved city of Minneapolis. ♡
Thanks to Rita and Jenna on our team for their pictures for this post.
Filed Under: Life
June 1, 2020
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Lindsay, your raw honesty here cuts deep—acknowledging Floyd’s murder and our complicity while pushing real action over performative posts is powerful. Just donated to Black Visions Collective and started Kendi’s book. What’s one daily habit you’ve built from this? Thank you for leading with heart in Minneapolis’ pain.
It is actually a great and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you simply shared this helpful info with us.
Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Black Lives Matter is an organization of questionable reputation, to say the least. It was founded by Marxists and has a Leftist agenda. Millions of dollars flowing into BLM, supposedly to help black people, instead is sent to Democrat candidates. Even black leaders are saying what a terrible organization it is. One only has to look at what is happening in all the Liberal-led cities to understand the truth. I believe in truth and justice and opportunity for black people, but it has to be done the right way. Groups like BLM are trying to dismantle the USA. Read up on it, please. Thank you.
Hi Kathryn! This post isn’t really about BLM as an organization, although some may choose to support the group as a part of their activism. It seems to me that the systemic issues facing Black Americans should concern all of us and should really supersede political lines. Regardless of what you think of BLM as an organization, we need to affirm that Black lives DO, in fact, matter. I also feel that we need to listen to the experiences of Black men and women to help guide our actions moving forward rather than suggesting what *we* (non-Black people) think is the best way forward. Of course not everyone will agree on the best way to do this, but at the end of the day I hope as Americans we can a) unapologetically affirm that Black lives matter, and b) center more voices of color to guide us in our action.
This video was really helpful for me in my own learning. It’s called “How can you say Black Lives Matter when you don’t align with the organization?” Thanks for this discussion.
Hello, I am Deborah and one of your admiring followers of your food blog. I am also a Black Canadian and we experience the same racism here in Canada, just not to the same extend. In Canada, it is a kitchen conversation and not much is said out loud. In the U.S. racists are loud and clear egged on by Donald Trump.
Thank you for using your platform to start a much needed conversation that encourages people to take action, silence is violence. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin”. Please continue to encourage your followers to speak out and put action to their feelings and words.
Hi! Thank you for caring. Please know that much of what many all over the country are claiming will help us in the Black community, actually won’t. I am a hard-working mom who is Black/Brown/Immigrant/American and I can tell you that the #1 way to make our world equal is to overhaul the education system that for decades has left our children behind (in the hands of the very people that now claim to be working toward a better future for us). Think about the educational opportunities you had as a child. It may have never occurred to you that the same is not there for other Americans just because of where they live and who lives in their neighborhood. Drastically changing schools and other educational opportunities in predominantly Black neighborhoods is not in the plan of today’s movement so our children will once again be left behind.
Thank you for this perspective! As a former teacher I so appreciate this! ❤️
Your post brought tears to my eyes. You are so right. It is time.
Bless you and thank you for your allyship.
Thank you for using your voice and your platform to speak about racism and how you and other white folks can take action. I imagine many other (white) food writers/bloggers feel that this is a subject that isn’t relevant to their work in food – I’m happy to know you’re not one of these people. I’ve enjoyed your recipes so much… Pinch of Yum has been a go-to site for me for a few years … and I’m glad to see I can feel good about supporting you and your site. Write on!
Thank you for speaking out and taking a stand, and providing resources for your readers. This is so important. I stand with you and am working my way through a list of actions as well.
Thank you for posting this. It’s so incredibly important to at minimum, acknowledge it.. I’ve never felt so hopeful nor so sad, but predominantly hopeful. Thank you for pledging to make a difference, everyday. It matters where we came from and what we’ve done. But it matters more where we go from here.
Thank you so much for sharing this Lindsay. You just made me love and respect you even more and I didn’t even know that was possible. Best, Julia
THANK YOU !
I am so pleased to see this honest and insightful attempt to help. I’m a black 80 year old woman. I plan to send it to my white neighbor who has been doing my grocery shopping for the last 3 months.
Sonnia I am truly honored to have you here. ❤️ Sending all our love. Stay well.
Lindsey, once again you have proven that this is so much more than a food blog. Thank you so much for your intelligent thoughtful post. I am consistently impressed by your articulate heart.
Thank you so much!! Blessings to you and yours.
Thank you. I am sharing your post and using these resources. It’s time to get the hard work done.
Thank you. I follow a lot of food blogs, and so often nothing is said. I appreciate you speaking out. No matter our politics, we need to come together. We need to support each other. My heart hurts for Minneapolis, and everywhere else. My heart hurts for the black community. Thank you for ideas of action.
On the corner of 38th and Chicago is a restaurant called Dragon Wok. The bjust moved to that loction the beginning of March. The owners are Rashad who is Africian American and Ashley who is Asian American. They are located across from Cup Foods. Mostly likely the cameras were filming from there and not in their direction. I do not think they were damaged but closed takeout for a few days. Just wanted to mention them. They are a young couple with young children just trying to make a living.
Your blog piece regarding the Twin Cities was excellent by the way!
Thanks for mentioning this Dulcie! I will look them up.
I do not care for, nor agree with the self effacing, groveling, shaming attitude to be white. I am so proud of ALL the colors of our country! NONE should be ashamed for their color. I grew up in the ’70s ’80s ’90s, in Chicago and I can attest to you that there was far less racial tension than there is today.
The word racism itself has come to mean disagreement rather than injustice. I did not like President Obama AS A PRESIDENT. I LOVED the fact that we had a black president – which IMO was far overdue. (I myself voted for Ben Carson in the 2016 primary.) However, I disagreed with his policies, his thinking, etc. THIS IS NOT RACISM. THIS IS DISAGREEMENT. The word racism in this country has also come to mean whites hating blacks only. But if you judge, hate, or otherwise demean another person because of their skin color (Will Smith), if you give a job to someone -or don’t give a job to them- because of their skin color, etc, that is racism – no matter WHAT color they are. As I told my children when they were young, if you get hit let me know, I will fight for you. But if you hit back, you’ve got your justice, and you are no better.
Mary I’m glad you brought this up, I’ve been having some conversations like this in email too. This article is a short and really helpful for me in understanding the difference between prejudice and racism – the key differentiator being the dynamic of POWER. Prejudice can exist anywhere, which is what I think you were trying to point out. But it’s important to know that racism doesn’t affect people who hold power – which has historically always been white people in the United States. http://www.aclrc.com/myth-of-reverse-racism
Racism is a systemic thing that involves the idea of racial supremacy. White people in this country therefore do not experience racism. Please educate yourself. No one is saying black people are better than white people or that white people should be ashamed. But white people contribute to a society in which black people are oppressed, even if you personally are not a racist, and we need to change the system.
ugh! please look up the word racism… laura, I agree… part of the problem is not admitting to being part of the problem… whites as a whole, do not experience racism… there are parts of the world where they do… but, as a whole… and historically speaking… we will NEVER understand it unless we have lived it… but, to think we are not part of the problem just because we personally are not racist… I beg you all to re-examine this!!! our silence IS part of the problem… to just stand there silent says its ok… out of fear or ignorance… it’s still silence… I know… I am just as guilty… and I am sorry…
“I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change”
-Michael Jackson-
thank you Lindsay… my heart is breaking for your city and the nation as a whole… I lived in Minneapolis on 2nd Ave for a short time after high school… I have tried desperately to stand by my morals, its the reason for the tear in my own family… I have raised two beautiful inter-racial women and now they have children. I had to reexamine not only what have I done, but what haven’t I done to perpetuate this unraveling. I watched the Rodney King riots and everything up to now… in disdain and with the horror of feeling helpless as to what can I do about it… as a white woman I am petrified of law enforcement and can not imagine for one damn minute what it is like to be a person of any color… i have lived with blinders on and retreat to the safety of our homes and watch in silence… and I always felt as tho I had done enough by trying to walk the straight and narrow… but as I can see this is not enough!!!! it is my god given right to vote and I never did… how arrogant! (I registered yesterday). I admire those who are taking a stand and making their voices heard and I am amazed by the youth and diversity of this movement. I know that I will be doing a lot of self examination of my silence… and for that I apologize… this country is bleeding and broken… but I have to believe it can heal and love will heal us … it is time to not be silent anymore… hate and bigotry prejudice and racial divide can not be this country’s legacy… please stay safe everyone… and thank you again Lindsay… for using your forum as a voice… yeah the conversations are hard but they have to be had… love from Texas
Thank you for using your platform to educate and inspire so many people. I am a black woman with a 6’3” black husband and 2 young black sons. As safety is always on my mind for my family, we are so grateful for the attention this issue is finally getting and for the resources you pulled together to help end the way most of the world views my sweet husband and children. Your voice irreplaceable. What you’re shedding light on is invaluable. Thank you so much.
Sending your beautiful family lots of love and a prayer of protection for them. ❤️ Thank you for being here and sharing your voice.
Thank you POY team for this post
Regardless what’s going on, I will always love White people, as well as others from all walks of life. When a person does something, that is of their own heart’s convictions. People need to stop looking at Black and White, and look at how evil spirits make some peope do what they do. Evil is only for a season and will be defeated.
Hi DNN, I’m not sure where you are from or your story and background, but especially if you are from America, and especially if you are white, I would encourage you to dig into the history of racism in this country which is, in fact, based on color of our skin! Here’s a powerful article with the perspectives of women of color that is helpful in understanding that it’s okay and actually helpful to “see color” as we address some of these issues of racial injustice in our country. https://theeverygirl.com/i-dont-see-color/
Amen, dnn! But we do need to stop prejudiced behaviors and clean up the police departments. Not abolish them as some would wish. All government agencies need to take crimes and the mindsets behind them seriously, as well as each individual doing so.
Thank you for this, Lindsay. I’m proud to call you a Twin Cities neighbor!
Hi Lindsay!
Your post on BLM and this whole ugly situation our Nation is in right now simply because the right thing, “justice” was not done fairly for Mr. Floyd, his family, and the black community really touched me. My eyes swelled up. It touched me because you took the time to really listen and hear us (you get it). You took the time to do your “own” research and shared it with your followers like one of your scrumptious “Pinch of Yumminess”. Yes, I’ve tried a few of your recipes and have admired many more that I need to try. But with the Nation struggling to get around this pandemic and now this whatever you want to call it because it has many names I just wanted to come on here and say, THANK YOU!!!! We, the Nation need more sincere heartfelt “human beings” like you in this world to make is a better. Then we can say, MAGA.
Keep sharing/posting your yummy recipes because I too love to cook and get GREAT ideas and inspirations from your blog. So Thank you for that as well.
May God continue to Bless you and your family!!
Thank you for your post. I am crying as you said all I have been feeling inside…you said it and you wrote it, so powerfully and concisely! Thank you for the resources and the list of how we can start now with being meaningful and proactive in imparting change. Be safe and stay well.