Our Sources and Where You Can Learn More:
Historical Foundations of Race
National Museum of African American history and Culture
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/historical-foundations-race
This online resource combines a number of sources to create a fully realized explanation of how race became such a powerful tool used by those in power in America. It provides an extremely well written introduction on how race became what it is today, how the ideas surrounding it in the early history of the country still linger, and how it continues to impact all people in America. It ends with a reflection and call to action, encouraging readers to be honest with themselves and others and to be aware of the role race plays in our lives.
Showing Up For Social Justice
The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture
https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture-characteristics.html
SURJ is an organization committed to overturning white supremacy and creating a society based on racial justice. They emphasize the role that white men and women play in the role of creating this society, and understand that racial justice does not exist unless it is for all people, regardless of perceived race. They have a number of chapters and affiliations across the country, as well as many other ways to get involved.
A History: The Construction of Race and Racism
Dismantling Racism Project, Western States Center
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/Western%20States%20-%20Construction%20of%20Race.pdf
This project examines how religion and pseudoscience were used as justification for the idea of race. It includes a detailed history on the claims and movements meant to drive a wedge between people based on physical appearance. If you are looking for a short and informative read about much of what we discuss here, we encourage you to read through it.
Less Than Human
David Livingstone Smith
This book re-defines what dehumanization means in a notable way, he discusses the how, why, and who dehumanizes from historical contexts. Dehumanization is a very nascent area of work, meaning, not much is known or discussed about it. This makes Smith’s work all the more important as he discovers the way in which we dehumanize to help us understand how we misunderstand one another.
Working on Common Cross-cultural Communications Challenges
https://www.pbs.org/ampu/crosscult.html
This resource published by PBs seeks to help readers improve at cross-cultural communication. It lays out fundamental differences between cultures, explains how to respect differences and work through them, as well as how to collaborate between cultures. It is relatively short and plain, but contains useful information for those hoping to expand their horizons and talk to new people.
ADL: Organization fighting Anti-Semitism
A basic informative website about racism. They fight anti-semitism and help bring understanding about the Jewish people. They have news and opinion articles to read cautiously, and more information about what you can do to help if this area interests you.
Other People's English
Vershawn Ashanti Young
This book, published in 2014, takes an in-depth look at the idea of code-meshing, a style of academic writing that allows for non-standard versions of English, like African American English, to be accepted in academic writing. This approach is much less exclusive than standard practices and allows language to be more free and unique. This way of thinking is crucial to overcoming fundamentalist language, and we believe that is a useful resource for everyone to experience for themselves.
DRWORKSBOOKS: Dismantling Racism Works Web Workbook
White Supremacy Culture
https://www.dismantlingracism.org/white-supremacy-culture.html
Originally meant to work in tandem with an in person workshop, this information has been transformed into an online resource available to the public. It is full of information about many aspects of racism, including definitions, explanations about assumptions and an overview on white supremacism. It was this section we drew from for our project, in order to help our readers understand how fundamentalist language creates a culture of exclusion. But everything here is amazing and can prove helpful for anyone looking to become more informed on dismantling racism.
Fundamentalism in American Religion and Law: Obama’s Challenge to Patriarchy’s Threat to Democracy
David A. J. Richards
While not directly looking at the topics of race and fundamentalism, Richards’ 2010 book examines how fundamentalism plays a role in other aspects of life in America. He argues that it is a major threat to democratic values in the United States. Like many other authors studying this topic, Richards understands how numerous factors play into the role of injustice, and that all of the causes need to be destroyed before it can be considered defeated.
The Pluralism Project
Harvard University
The Pluralism Project’s goal is to further the understanding of religious diversity in the United States and to study how communication between faiths occurs in a country that is home to so many different people. This goes hand in hand with tearing down the wall of fundamentalism. These two things, a lack of understanding and communication, have to be overcome in order to reach a place of radical equal justice for all. Their website provides a great platform to help move towards this goal.