Podcasts
Documentaries and Movies
Black Owned Businesses
Golde
- Buy online products, read her blog and follow her on Instagram. Products include Superfood health and beauty for every body.
Simply Artrageous
- Shop Jewelry on the Etsy store and follow her on Instagram!
Alaffia
- “Our mission: Alleviate poverty & gender inequality in West Africa thru fair trade of sustainable resources, indigenous knowledge & social investment.”
- Shop their full body beauty products on the website and follow them on Instagram!
Retro Elle
- Shop her online aromatherapy collection as well as follow her on Instagram to get self-care tips for women.
BeautyStat
- #1 best Vitamin C serum and other skin refining products.
- Shop her online Skincare products and follow her on Instagram!
SUPRMARKT
- L.A. based Company
- Purchase organic groceries and subscribe to Suprtube. Follow on Instagram!
Loveland Foundation
- Loveland Foundation is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls.
- Visit their website to look at their therapy options and follow them on Instagram!
Inner Workout
- Buy self-care products, join the newsletter, or follow on Instagram!
Soulvera
- These Shibori Textile Creations are one of a kind, love-infused, and made by hand!! Visit their website and follow them on Instagram.
Erika Alicia Fit
Volunteer
A critical need in many communities is food and housing security; organizations who work in these areas may have in-person volunteer opportunities to consider. Please only volunteer in-person if it is safe to do so while maintaining our community guidelines. As you engage in a volunteer opportunity or collect clothes to donate, consider the following:
1) What are your motivations for participating in this opportunity? Who will it help? Might it cause harm?
2) What root causes of injustice necessitate this volunteer opportunity?
3) What are our ethical obligations to attending to others’ basic survival needs and to changing injust systems?
Petitions
Here are just a few places you can visit to find and sign an online petition that speaks to racial justice–or start your own!
Before you sign anything, though, consider the following: 1) Who created the petition? 2) Is the ask clear and concise? 3) Do you fully believe in the premise of the petition? 4) How are other supporters engaging with the petition? Read through messages to see if and how others are connecting to the petition’s message. 5) What might you improve or change about the petition and the ask?
Social Media Accounts
Follow an account centered around racial justice and share one of its resources on your personal social media account. The pages listed below may help guide you.
reflection questions
Day 1: What does activism mean to you?
Day 2: How do your various identities impact how you can create social change?
Day 3: How have or could you build solidarity with others of differing identities to enact social change?
Day 4: How do you feel most comfortable enacting social change (consider strategies from social change wheel) and why?
Day 5: After watching a documentary or listening to a podcast, what activism are you being called to do as a result? How can you get started through making connections with others, internships, courses?
Mapping Prejudice
The Mapping Prejudice Project works to visualize the hidden histories of race and privilege in the build environment by investigating racial covenants in housing deeds in Minneapolis and now St. Paul. St. Olaf students have been involved with the Mapping Prejudice project for many years.
If you’re interested in joining their efforts, follow these three steps:
Talking with Friends and Family
To start a conversation with a family member about MLK Jr. and what you value about his legacy, first reflect on what you know about MLK Jr.’s life. What do you connect with most that you feel compelled to share with someone else? Contemplate why this value of MLK Jr’s is resonating with you at this moment.
Be intentional about your conversation.
1) Who might be willing and most open to talking about this subject, even if their views may be different than yours?
2) When would be a good time? For how long?
3) How do you want to invite the other person into a conversation?
4) What guidelines might you have set at the beginning to have a productive and meaningful conversation?
Anticipating that the conversation might be difficult? Visit this counseling site on how to survive and thrive during difficult conversations.
Thank You Card Prompts
Think of a person who has shaped your outlook on social change and write them a heartfelt thank you note. In a paragraph or two and referencing the sentence starters below, explain how their impact has made a positive difference in your life.
Letter Instructions
There’ll be a workshop of public policy and advocacy on MLK Day–but you don’t have to wait for it! Visit “Connect with Lawmakers” for detailed instructions on how to:
1) find your congressional representatives
2) compose a letter about a topic that intersects with racial justice.
3) Submit! Letters will be printed and mailed by St. Olaf staff on your behalf.
