Screen shot 2016 11 09 at 5 09 51 pm 2
Screen shot 2016 11 09 at 5 09 51 pm 2

Rise Up: A Beginner's Guide to Social Justice

With a Donald Trump presidency on the way, the world is a frightening place. Our country has been fucked, but with a fascist leader empowering hate, things can only get more dismal. After you've gotten through several stages of grief, follow-through and organize.

If you're looking to get involved with social justice, here's a guide to get you started featuring books, websites, terminology, and other resources to get familiar with. This guide is not intended to be all-encompassing, there are a lot of topics to cover, but this guide is intended to move you forward in the right direction.

Here are some terms to become familiar with:

Privilege - a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others.

Intersectionality - the study of overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination. For example: I am a Black woman. I am Black, and also a woman. These identities intersect.

Feminism - the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

Womanism - a social theory deeply rooted in the racial and gender-based oppression of black women.

Safe space - a space dedicated to the safety of marginalized groups; the space is typically regulated by not allowing hate speech and/or any other forms of violence whether verbal or physical.

Tone policing - a silencing tactic; telling people how to react to their oppression; is usually used when people are justifiably upset about the violence/oppression they face.

Gaslighting - also a silencing tactic that abusers often use to make the victim question their sanity. Gaslighting often involves sayings like "you're crazy," "that never happened," etc.

Neocolonialismthepolicyofastrongnation (usually "developed" nations)inseekingpolitical andeconomiccontroloveranation (usually poor or less "developed" nations)orgeographicalareawithout claiming said nation as a colony.

Misogynoir - racialized misogyny specifically affecting Black women.

Cisgender - having the gender identity associated with the sex you were assigned at birth.

Transgender - (NOT: "transgendered") having a gender identity not associated with the sex you were assigned at birth.

Transmisogyny - misogyny that specifically affects Trans women.

Hegemonic masculinity - the belief and justification of men being superior to and having more access than women.

Ableism - discrimination against people with disabilities.

Books to check out:

An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

How the Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev

Race in North America by Audrey Smedley and Brian D. Smedley

Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins

Overthrow by Stephen Kinzer

Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog

This Bridge Called My Back collection edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa

Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington

Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts

Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism by Daisy Hernandez

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Undoing Gender by Judith Butler

Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology edited by E. Patrick Johnson and Mae G. Henderson

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

A Taste of Power by Elaine Brown

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis

--

Organizations and people you can support financially right now and get involved with:

Hashtags like #TransCrowdFund and #GiveYourMoneyToWomen are full of people in need of resources. What better way to make an impact than by giving financial support to people directly?

Planned Parenthood

Black Alliance for Just Immigration

Immigrant Legal Resource Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

National Center for Transgender Equality

Some angel on the Internet created a state-by-state list of Feminist, LGBTQIA, Race/Gender Inclusive, Progressive Volunteer Opportunities and Organizations

Color of Change

The Opportunity Agenda

Earth Justice

Black Women's Blueprint

United Muslim Relief

Sign Up To Our Newsletter