The Adams Liberation Library is a weekly set of resources distributed to Adams House through the House newsletter. The Liberation Library is a collaboration between the Adams House Race Relations and HoCo to offer resources for learning more about the ongoing struggles for freedom for marginalized peoples, starting with anti-Black racism in the U.S. The idea emerged from the House solidarity Zoom call following the protests and unrest that demanded change after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many more.
Recommend additional resources for the Liberation Library Corner!
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Celebrating Arab-American Heritage Month!
& what even is translation is immigration without irony safia
means pure all my life it’s been true even in my clouded arabic
-Safia Elhillo, “how to say”
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Listen:
- Safia Elhillo, “Alien Suite”: Spoken word
- Mohammad Fairouz, “In the Shadow of No Towers” (2012): Symphony
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Conversation with Helen Zughaib: Artist Talk
- Artist Feature on state.gov (Collection)
- Why Arabs And Muslims Aren't Exotic, AJ+: YouTube commentary
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Watch:
- Arab-American Stories: Documentary series (PBS stream)
- Amreeka (2009): Film
- The Feeling of Being Watched (2019): PBS documentary
- Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006): Documentary
- How Arabs Have Influenced American Music: Video
- Don't Erase Me: The Modern Arab American: TEDxOhioStateUniversity
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Read:
- Laila Lalami, Conditional Citizens (2020): Book
- Edward Said, Orientalism (1978): Book
- Khaled Mattawa, Tocqueville (2010): Book
- Suheir Hamad, Born Palestinian, Born Black (1996): Book
- “I’m a Muslim and Arab American”: NYT Essay
- Salma I. Elsayed, “Whiteness Without the Privilege”: Crimson Op-Ed
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Trying To Assess COVID's Impact On Arab-American Communities Is Complicated (NPR)
- Health Equity During COVID-19: the Case of Arab Americans (Abuelezam, Boston College)
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Week of April 7, 2021
- Watch:
- Read:
- Additional Resources:
Week of February 24, 2021
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Watch:
- On the Rise with Marcus Samuelsson and Uber Eats (4 video episodes, approx 5 minutes each) In this original series, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson travels the US to tell the rich and delivious history of Black cuisine
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Listen:
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Unequal Podcast, video, and essay series (Harvard)
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Unequal Podcast, video, and essay series (Harvard)
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Read:
- 16 Black Chefs Changing Good in America (NYT; 2019)
- Spotlight on Adrian Miller "America's Soul Food Scholar Lives in Denver and He's Working on a New Book" (2019)
- GAMPY'S GUMBO: From The South to San Francisco (2021)
- 6 Black Food Creators You Should be Following (per GMA; 2021)
- 46 Black Chefs, Influencers, and Food Bloggers You Should Follow Right Now (per Delish; 2020)
- The Quest for Racial Justice (various aricles, Harvard Gazette; 2021)
Week of January 13, 2021
- Read:
Week of October 14, 2020
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Watch:
- NYT and Refinery29 Conversations on Race with: Native Americans, Latinos, Black Women, Asian Americans, White People
- Black Feminism and the Movement for Black Lives
- Listen:
- Read:
Week of September 30, 2020
- Watch:
D
- Listen:
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Read:
- The Empyt Facts of the Breonna Taylor Decision (The New Yorker)
- Despite a National Outcry, Activists in Louisville Fight the Breonna Taylor Decision Alone (The New Yorker)
- Antigone in Ferguson (The Harvard Gazette)
Week of August 19, 2020
- PODCASTS TO CHECK OUT: Come Through with Rebecca Carroll - a series of 15 “essential conversations...on topics like climate change, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration and more…” as the host works to form her identity as a Black woman in the U.S.(URL: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/come-through)
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READ - Recent publications from Harvard:
- Anger over Pandemics + Coping: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/a-closer-look-at-americas-pandemic-fueled-anger/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Gazette%2020200817%20(1)
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Finding one’s role and contributions in the ongoing movement
- Filmmaking to tell untold stories https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/harvard-av-tech-chronicles-lives-of-boston-gang-members-in-new-doc/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Gazette%2020200819%20(1)
- Biking for Black Lives https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/07/harvard-ornithology-professor-bicycles-across-the-us/
Week of August 12, 2020
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PODCASTS TO SUBSCRIBE/LISTEN TO:
- Nice White Parents - a 5-part series about the 60-year relationship between white parents and the public school down the block https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/podcasts/nice-white-parents-serial.html
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VIDEO:
- W. Kamau Bell explains white supremacy (featured in United Shades of America, Season 5 Episode 1 - “Where Do We Even Start with White Supremacy?”): https://twitter.com/wkamaubell/status/1285098091796762624
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READ:
- Hip Hop + Protests: “Protesting Police Violence, a Playlist” https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/07/hiphops-long-history-of-exposing-police-brutality/
- Health Outcomes + Racism: “Intersection of Bias, Structural Racism, and Social Determinants With Health Care Inequities | American Academy of Pediatrics” https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/2/e2020003657/tab-article-info
- Racism + Medicine (Sunday NYT): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-medicine-blackness.html
Week of July 29, 2020
- PODCASTS TO SUBSCRIBE/LISTEN TO (and visual art album to (re-)watch): Dissect Podcast - Season 6. A detailed analysis of Beyoncé’s masterpiece visual album, Lemonade, which explores the effect of American slavery on the present African-American experience. “I come from a lineage of broken male-female relationships, abuse of power, and mistrust. Only when I saw that clearly was I able to resolve those conflicts in my own relationships.”
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READING:
- Technology + the criminal justice system: Article on how data mining in attempts to predict child abuse goes wrong, bringing up the ethical questions that come with using technology and data in attempts to predict crimes. https://www.chicagotribune.com/investigations/ct-dcfs-eckerd-met-20171206-story.html (~3 pgs)
- Data behind systematic difference in a liberal/progressive city: Published shortly after George Floyd's murder, this article adds additional layers to the conversation around racial inequalities in Minnesota, showing wealth inequities by race and how gentrification has impacted many Black communities. https://medium.com/@YESHICAN/data-for-black-lives-statement-of-solidarity-with-black-minnesotans-74a0ef0fbcb5 (only 10 min read!)
- Race + Coronavirus + Reopening Schools: The new Kaiser Family Foundation survey results demonstrate not only partisan differences in responses to and concerns about reopening during the pandemic but also the intersection of (and continued tethering together of) ethnicity-race and socioeconomic status. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/report/kff-health-tracking-poll-july-2020/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosvitals&stream=top (about 15min read)
Week of July 15, 2020
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VIDEO: Hasan Minhaj on Asian immigrant communities and anti-Blackness
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GAME: We’re Not Really Strangers Digital Extension Pack: Race & Privilege: An Overdue Conversation. WNRS website or the PDF Doc
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READING:
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"How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion" | Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)
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“Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)
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PODCASTS TO SUBSCRIBE TO: Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
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Week of July 1, 2020
- Stanford Magazine Race and Ethnicity news corner
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Join the Somerville Museum’s Summer Reading Series: Race, Fragility, and Anti-Racism: A Summer Discussion Series
- http://somervillemuseum.org/race-fragility-and-anti-racism-a-summer-discussion-series/
- Wednesday, July 1-September 23, 2020 | 6:30-7:30 pm | Zoom (Registration Required)
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Check out the link for more information, but it is not too late to do the reading and join the conversation. July 1st prep materials include:
- Video excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech (3m; YouTube)
- Ibram Kendi, How to Be an Anti-Racist (Chapter 1, pp. 13–23; PDF will be provided)
- Claudia Rankine, “I Wanted to Know What White Men Thought About their Privilege” (short article)
- Savala Trepczynski, “Black and Brown People Have Been Protesting for Centuries” (short article)
Week of June 15, 2020
What does this mean for our society: The Quest for Racial Justice: a collection of faculty-recommended short readings and video recordings on topics such as: bystander effect with Francesca Gino, the history of policing and race with Lawrence Bobo, what it takes to move beyond the nation’s racist roots with Orlando Patterson, the SEAS panel on racial injustice, faculty reflections on what happens after the protests, and more
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How does racism directly and indirectly impact individuals and communities:
- David Williams TED Talk: How Racism Makes Us Sick (17m 20s)
- Nia Heard-Garris’ commentary and research on vicarious racism and violence
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But I’m not racist…:
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Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility
- PBS Interview - June 12, 2020 (17m 13s)
- Lecture presentation - 2018 (1h 23m)
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Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility
- Keep learning: The NYT Nonfiction Best Sellers List this week: at least 13 of the 15 books are directly related to the issue of ethnicity and race, racism and anti-racism