July 3 - 9, 2020

In honor of Juneteenth 2020, I've committed to educating myself on systemic racism, discrimination, and bias. Every day from June 19, 2020 to June 18, 2021, I will read an article or book chapter, listen to a podcast, watch a movie or documentary, view a webinar, or do something substantive to educate myself in these areas. As part of that commitment, I will post to this blog each Friday with a list of what I've done over the past week as well as any pertinent thoughts or reflections.

Today's post covers the week of July 3-9, 2020.

We Need to Talk About Injustice

This 23-minute TED Talk by Bryan Stevenson might be my favorite lesson since starting this project a few weeks ago. Bryan focuses on the poor and disenfranchised and the need to pay attention to marginalized groups to fully realize our identities as human beings.

History of the Black Experience (July 2)

The first in a summer series of lectures by Dr. Leonard Moore at UT, this 90-minute video explores the beginnings of the Black experience in the US through the Civil War. Dr. Moore is also the founder of the Black Student-Athlete Summit, held in Austin every winter since 2016.

Police Violence and Ending the War on Drugs: A Path Toward Structural Change

This 50-minute webinar was hosted by the Baker Institute and features Baker fellow Katharine Neill Harris. She connects mass incarceration rates with minimal drug possession charges, disproportionately targeting Black and Brown communities.

The Voting Disaster Ahead

Adam Harris writes this brief 2-3 minute piece in The Atlantic on the effects of the pandemic and a decrease in polling locations in communities of color.

The Psychology of Taking a Knee

This 5-minute read was originally published in Scientific American and examines the reading of non-verbal cues by people in power and different cultures. While taking a knee is almost always a sign of deference and respect, Colin Kaepernick's gesture has been interpreted as a sign of aggression by many Americans.

How the Pandemic Divides Us

A 3-5 minute article from the Greater Good Magazine at UC-Berkeley examines how physical distancing can lead to more partisanship, prejudice, and xenophobia. The "behavioral immune system" is concerned with error avoidance, and causes us to categorize people into "us" vs. "them" groups.

How Mindfulness Can Defeat Racial Bias

I've been a user of Headspace for nearly two years, so this article piqued my interest. Mindfulness practice helps us focus, give us more control, and helps us increase clarity and act with purpose.