*Scroll down for petitions and educational resources*

Afternoon Delight was created by two friends as a space to make noise about the uncomfortable, taboo subjects we tend to avoid in ‘polite’ conversations, in order to normalise their discussion and help others understand they aren’t alone in their thoughts or experiences. This is a platform intended to empower voices and learn from each other’s stories. In light of the reality of events happening right now in America and here in the UK, we’ve stopped posting unrelated content in order to keep attention focussed on what’s important; now more than ever is the time for uncomfortable conversations.

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What we would like to do here is encourage everyone who can to have a look at the following links to see how you can aid the movement. Useful resources on how to start conversations about racism are also highlighted on our Instagram story.

BLACK LIVES MATTER CARD is a great place to start with petitions for people based in the USA here and educational resources here.

NHS CHARITIES TOGETHER has launched a Covid-19 Urgent Appeal to support NHS staff, volunteers and patients, with a “particular focus on support for people who are disproportionately affected by the Covid crisis, such as patients and staff from the BAME communities and high-risk groups like those living with disabilities.”

If you don’t have the money to give but do have some time to spare: put this video on in the background without skipping any ads as the money from the ad revenue is given to Black Lives Matter charities.

Also recently someone from Sunshine Behavioural Health got in touch to let us know about their amazing resource.

In their guide they discuss the impact of Racism and Discrimination on the Mental Health of our Black Communities.

By reading and sharing this resource, we can help start a conversation about how racism and discrimination affect the mental health of the African-American community. We can help to reduce the shame and stigma sometimes associated with mental illness and mental health treatment in the Black community. This is a brilliant resource so please check it out.

As these are listed on the UK Gov’s website, all petitions that get more than 10,000 signatures will be responded to, and 100,000 signatures will consider the petition for debate in Parliament. A full list of open petitions on the gov site can be found here. Since there is no guarantee the government will debate these petitions, you can sign them on Change.org here

As Gina Martin writes, “petitions are best used as a tool to agitate those in power, demonstrating public interest and keeping an issue on the agenda.”

• Teach Britain’s colonial past as part of the UK’s compulsory curriculum
  “Currently, it is not compulsory for primary or secondary school students to be educated on Britain’s role in colonisation, or the transatlantic slave trade. We petition the government to make education on topics such as these compulsory, with the ultimate aim of a far more inclusive curriculum.”

• Introduce Mandatory Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting
  “Much like the existing mandatory requirement for employers with 250 or more employees must publish their gender pay gap. We call upon the government to introduce the ethnicity pay gap reporting. To shine a light on race / ethnicity based inequality in the workplace so that they can be addressed.”

• Create an independent investigatory commission to help protect ethnic minorities
  “We need the UK government to create an independent investigation commission to investigate cases involving the death, maltreatment &  discrimination of people of colour and ethnic minorities. To hold Anybody accountable for their action be that the police, government or members of the public.”

• Add education on diversity and racism to all school curriculums
  “Racism is a problem that affects all members of society. It is important to deconstruct taught ideas of racism to children so they do not go on to become perpetuators or victims of racism. At the moment classes about racism and diversity are not mandatory and this should be changed.”

• Making the UK education curriculum more inclusive of BAME history
  “Rewrite the education curriculum to be more inclusive of BAME history – making topics on the historical and current impacts of European colonisation, institutional racism and slavery on BAME societies compulsory for all UK students to learn. As well, as celebration of BAME history and cultures.”

• Improve Maternal Mortality Rates and Health Care for Black Women in the UK
  “Black Women in the U.K. are 5 times more likely to die during pregnancy and after childbirth compared to White Women (MBRRACE, 2019). We need more research done into why this is happening and recommendations to improve health care for Black Women as urgent action is needed to address this disparity.”

• Condemn the US government for the use of force against its citizens
  “The Government of the United Kingdom should issue a statement condemning the actions of the United States government for acts of force against their own people and that if these acts continue diplomatic actions should be taken.”

And a reminder to confirm your email address after you’ve signed!

In addition to this, you can write a letter, email or Tweet of support to your local MP. If you’re using an email template, make sure to edit the text so the email isn’t flagged as spam in their inbox, and include your full name and address as proof that you are a constituent.

Instagram is great means to spread educational resources. Here are some posts we’ve found useful. (If you are on your phone, view this page in Safari or other web browser app and these links will open in your Instagram app, where you can save them to read in your own time.)

Allyship

• Being an anti-racist ally – @officialmillennialblack here
• 10 steps to non-optical allyship – @i_weigh here
• Performative activism – @andrearanaej here
• Performative vs authentic allyship – @seerutkchawla here
• How to ally – @wastefreemarie here
• Are you an ally or an accomplice? – @cicelyblainconsulting here
• 9 mistakes white people make when fighting for racial justice – @jenerous here
• Chronic allyship – @drjotengii here
• How can I keep working on being an ally everyday? – @rhymeswithhellstudio here
• Key things to remember at a protest – @ldnblm here
• 4 things the non-Black community can do long-term – @ukjamii here
• 100 ways white people can make life less frustrating for people of colour – @privtoprog here
• What to do if you can’t protest on the streets for Black Lives Matter – @galdemzine here
• So you’ve been to a protest – what to do next – @wowsancho here

Important terms to be aware of

• Important terms for talking about race and identity – @blairimani here
• A non-exhaustive list of definitions you should be aware of when educating yourself about racism – @lifestylewithlee_ here
• What are microaggressions? – @theconsciouskid here
• This account puts microaggressions under the lens – @macro.aggressions
• White fragility – @seerutkchawla here
• The model minority myth – @decolonialbulaklak here
• Racist compliments – @taiiybaali here
• An introduction to colorism – @mayarichardsun here

Why should we have conversations about racism?

• 8 lessons about racism that were helpful to me as a white person – @shityoushouldcareabout here
• Here’s a few responses to hesitations you might have – @maneaddicts here
• Systemic racism statistics – @the.love.therapist here
• What to say when white people continue to post normal Instagram content – @cam__alejandra here

Useful conversation starters

• How to refocus the conversation on what’s important – @liana.teresa here
• How to have difficult conversations – @the.love.therapist here
• How to educate others about racism – @uomfeministcollective here
• Free resources to help you understand racism and practise anti-racism – @fitforaqueer here
• A template of responses to racist comments – @sineadbovell here
• Are you talking to your kids about race? – @deepadevlukia here
• Why you need to stop saying “all lives matter” – @rachel.cargle here
• What to say when people deny the reality of what’s happening right now – @dwardslife here
• How to talk to your family about racism – @jenerous here
• How to respond to common racist statements – @wastefreemarie here
• How to call out anti-Blackness in the South Asian community – @heleenatattoos here
• 14 workplace microaggressions and what to say instead – @insider here
• Common microagressions unknowingly used by healthcare professionals – @saiebear here
• Why do people say defund the police – @jennyslate here

Education

• Racism and the UK: What they didn’t teach us in school – @das.penman here
• Slavery was never fully abolished in the US – @theslowfactory here
• Understanding the Windrush scandal – @hali__b here
• A timeline of Windrush discrimination – @imanrosiecoan here
• How the Grenfell tragedy was caused by structural racism – @imanrosiecoan here
• The UK is not innocent – @uomfeministcollective here
• Racism in the British education system – @chantayyjayy here
• Let’s talk about British racism – @uomfeministcollective here
• UK colonial history – @bambycollective here
• Why the NHS is institutionally racist – @amileya here
• Black women I wish I learned about in history class – @chicksforclimate here
• A non-exhaustive list of slave-owner statues around the UK – @viceuk here
• Let’s talk about statues – @uomfeministcollective here
• Taking down statues doesn’t erase history – @didislogbook here
• The history behind the watermelon stereotype – @mengwe here
• Dismantling oppression in your workplace – @ezdugg here

To read, watch and support

• 14 Black funds and 23 creative ecosystems to support – @annika.izora here
• Funds and creative ecosystems that support Black folks – @annika.izora here
• 100 ways to educate yourself on Black oppression, injustice and everyday experiences – @shityoushouldcareabout here
• Documentaries about race issues in the UK – @uomfeministcollective here
• What is colourism? – BBC iPlayer here
• Letters For Black Lives here

• Why do white people find it offensive to be called white? – Micha Frazer-Carroll, gal-dem here
• What Is White Privilege, Really? here
• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack – Peggy McIntosh here
• Understanding White Privilege – Francis E. Kendall here
• How I Discovered I Am White – here
• 3 Young Women On Dealing With Racism At British Universities – Refinery29 here
• Put our colonial history on the curriculum – then we’ll understand who we really are – Maya Goodfellow, The Guardian here
• Ignored, Attacked Or Fetishised: The Many Frustrations Of Dating Apps For Women Of Colour – Refinery29 here

Reading is a great way to commit to longer term self-education. If you cannot afford to buy a book, consider splitting the cost with a group of friends and sharing the books with each other, or borrow from a library (when they re-open.)

• Useful reading list of fiction and non-fiction books – @badformreview here
• A Black Feminist Book List – @tembae here
• Essential anti-racism reads – @taiiybaali here

A list of Black-owned bookstores in the USA – @subwaybookreview here

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but here are some useful things we wanted to share about particular books:

• Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Renni Eddo-Lodge
  Renni has Tweeted asking everyone who buys a copy to match their purchase (or what they would have spent if they borrowed the book) with a donation to Minnesota Freedom Fund (The MN Freedom Fund has since said they’re overwhelmed with donations, but you can donate to other organisations!)

• The Good Immigrant – edited by Nikesh Shukla
  We’ve seen this book appear on many recommended reading lists circulating the Internet, it’s an important read in which 21 writers explore what it means to be Black, Asian and minority ethnic in Britain today, opening up a dialogue about race and racism. There is also a following publication, The Good Immigrant USA.
  
  The publication of these books came about from funding by Unbound (here). This is a crowdfunded publisher where “authors share the ideas for the books they want to write directly with readers.” The ideas that get the most support are the ones that are published and distributed in stores and online. It is often difficult for the voices of Black writers to be published within mainstream circuits, so pledging financial support on platforms like Unbound is vital if you are able to.
  
  (An article published in the Guardian yesterday explains the call on publishing houses to introduce publishing reform: Black Writers’ Guild calls for sweeping change in UK publishing)

Podcasts are a useful, free way to self-educate. Here is a playlist of anti-racism podcasts on Spotify.

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As we have seen in the UK, we have a media and government complicit in upholding double standards when it comes to racism. A PM who tweets that racism has no place in the UK; yet has made openly racist remarks for which there has been no apology. Newspapers that condemn Black Lives Matter protestors for breaking social distancing; yet hail racist, far-right groups as heroes for protecting statues against empty streets whilst doing the same – statues which serve as nothing more than painful reminders of the UK’s role in the slave trade and its deep roots in racism, something which is still being denied by many in the UK as an American issue.

As non-Black people, we will never understand how it feels to experience the injustices and racism that Black people face on a life-threatening level, every day. But if we don’t make noise against censored narratives, we are complicit in allowing them to continue. It is not enough to “be better” without accompanying action; we must use the momentum to disseminate information, share resources, donate, protest, self-educate, and help others to do so. We need to take these conversations offline, away from social media and into our everyday lives. Not everything can be learned in a week; make a list, find the answers to your questions, put all that you have learned, and still have yet to learn, into practise. Only through committing to long-term action will we move towards change.

If you would like to raise your voice, Afternoon Delight is open to submission of your stories, contributions and suggestions.