We want to share with you the work we’re doing to commit ourselves to being an actively anti-racist business. We took a step back from posting our usual content last week to focus on listening to the Black community and to think about the role we can play in dismantling systemic racism. We recognize that we have fallen short and can do better.

As we begin to filter in our regular content, we want you to know that Black Lives will continue to be on our minds and hearts and will garner our time, attention, and actions. You can expect to see a difference in our content moving forward.

We will be making an active and continual effort to support and share Black makers, creators, and voices with you. Additionally, we are committed to taking action behind the scenes. Here’s how:

1. We’ve extended our fundraiser for the NAACP of Lane County through the end of June. 100% of the proceeds from our best-selling BuDhaGirl bangles will be donated to the NAACP of Lane County. We will continue to regularly support NAACP’s work on a long-term basis.

We also urge you to become a member of your local NAACP chapter so that you can commit to staying informed and involved with your community. To our local Eugene friends, you can join the Lane County chapter here.

2. We will keep educating ourselves. Here’s our actively growing reading list (we would love your recommendations, too!)

• • Are Prisons Obsolete, Angela Davis
  • A Terrible Thing to Waste, Harriet A. Washington
  • Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins
  • How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
  • I’m Still Here, Austin Channing Brown
  • Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
  • Me and White Supremacy, Layla F. Saad
  • Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin
  • Sister Outsider, Audre Lorde
  • So You Want To Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander
  • This Book is Anti-Racist, Tiffany Jewell, Aurelia Durand (illustrations)
  • Well Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, Glory Edim
  • White Rage, Carol Anderson
  • Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge

Here’s a list of Black-owned bookstores in the US!

• • Cafe Con Libros
  • Detroit Book City
  • Eso Won Books
  • Frugal Bookstore
  • Hakim’s Bookstore
  • Harriett’s Bookshop
  • Mahogany Books
  • Semicolon Bookstore
  • The Lit. Bar
  • Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books
  • Wild Fig Coffee and Books

3. We will keep calling, donating, and signing petitions. Here’s a list of petitions we’ve signed, phone calls we’ve made, and organizations we’ve collectively donated to:

Sign

• • Color of Change – end practices that unfairly hold Black people back
  • Fifteen Percent Pledge – call on major retailers to pledge 15% of their shelf space to Black owned businesses
  • Justice for Breonna Taylor – demand the arrest of the three officers responsible for Breonna Taylor’s death
  • Justice for George Floyd – demand that the four officers responsible for George Floyd’s death are held accountable in the court of law
  • NAACP’s #Wearedonedying – fight for equality during this uncertain time
  • National Action Against Police Brutality – hold our police accountable for the treatment of civilians
  • The Action Network – hold police accountable for the deaths of civilians in custody

Call

4. We will diversify what we consume. Here’s a list of podcasts, film, and voices we are listening to and/or watching:

Podcasts

• • 1619  | New York Times
  • Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness | Brené Brown with Austin Channing Brown
  • Black on the Air | Larry Wilmore
  • Code Switch | NPR
  • Intersectionality Matters! | AAPF and Kimberlé Crenshaw
  • Momentum | Race Forward
  • Pod For The Cause | The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
  • Seeing White | Scene on Radio

Film

• • 13th – Netflix
  • Fruitvale Station – Amazon Prime or to rent
  • I Am Not Your Negro – Kanopy or to rent
  • King in the Wilderness – HBO
  • Selma -Netflix or to rent
  • Strong Island – Netflix
  • Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement – YouTube
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution – Amazon Prime or  to rent
  • The Hate U Give – Hulu
  • When They See Us – Netflix, Hulu
  • Whose Streets – Hulu or to rent

Black Female Antiracism Leaders

• • Blair Amadeus Imani
  • Brittany Packnett Cunningham
  • Haile Thomas
  • Ivirlei Brookes
  • Monique Melton
  • Rachel Cargle
  • Tamika D. Mallory

5. We will expand the number of Black designers and artists that we carry in our store. We recognize that we have work to do here and are committed to exploring creators beyond the gift shows we attend each year; we welcome your suggestions.

6. We will continue to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. We are having important conversations with family and friends that confront and challenge our learned way of thinking in our white supremacist culture.

We know that this is not enough, and we have a lot more learning and work to do. It’s important to us that our actions are informed, and as we educate ourselves we will continue to adjust our actions accordingly.

This list is only a start, but we are committed to being life-long students. For us, this isn’t just a moment, and we plan to take our role in dismantling white supremacy into account with every decision we make as a business moving forward.

We hope you’ll join us in the conversation and in contributing in whatever way you are able.

With love,

All of us at NEWTWIST

Additional Resources

June for Justice: A place to start to become better allies by Autumn Gupta and Bryanna Wallace

Black Owned Businesses in Eugene, OR by Black Resource Network 541

Your Anti-Racist Reading List by Angela Adeoluwayemi

Free 30-day Anti-Racism Course by Rachel Cargle

Anti-Racism 101 “Crash Course” by Monique Melton

Artwork by Laura Barton