In response to protests around the country and around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police we at the Social Justice Film Institute feel it important to honor the social justice moment we're living in right now. This document is intended to share films and reading inspired by the mission of social justice and racial equity and resources to donate in aid of those fighting for black lives and protesting police brutality. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The Social Justice Film Festival stands in solidarity with black communities and with organizers and protestors demanding justice and equity across the nation. We are committed to a global culture where it is not just equality but equity that is achieved on all levels. We will work to affirm the artists who make the art of filmmaking and the public bearing witness from our personal lens and from the streets an integral part of social change. Justice Matters. Black Lives Matter.

"Colorado's attorney general said Wednesday that a grand jury indicted three officers and two paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain a Black man who was put in a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative two years ago in suburban Denver."

"A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd's arrest and death accusing them of willfully violating the Black man's constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air."

"The New York State Bar Association is launching a task force focused on examining and addressing structural racism and other types of prejudice as part of its latest effort to resolve broader national social problems."

"A new survey released by the ABA on Thursday found stark divisions based on age and race when it comes to believing that there are racial biases built into the rules procedures and practices of the justice system."

"The city of Minneapolis and its police department are willfully subverting our state's Government Data Practices Act by withholding public data about disciplinary action taken against police for serious misconduct according to a new lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Minnesota in state court Thursday."

"We are rising up against all the ways that the criminal-legal system has harmed and failed to protect Black communities. The current moment requires a solution that fundamentally shifts how we envision community-care and invest in our society. History is clear that we cannot achieve genuine safety and liberation until we abandon police prisons and all punishment paradigms."

"Chief justices identify ways to implement reforms as part of modernization efforts"

"America was founded on the principle that all men are created equal. Throughout our history we have not always lived up to that self-evident truth. This has been especially true in our criminal justice system."

"Prompted by several recent high-visibility killings by police officers the U.S. civil rights enforcement regime is the subject of focused attention at the national state and local levels."

"To hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court improve transparency through data collection and reform police training and policies."

A groundbreaking contribution to the history of the "long Civil Rights movement," Hammer and Hoe tells the story of how, during the 1930s and 40s, Communists took on Alabama's repressive, racist police state to fight for economic justice, civil and political rights, and racial equality. The Alabama Communist Party was made up of working people without a Euro-American radical political tradition: devoutly religious and semiliterate black laborers and sharecroppers, and a handful of whites, including unemployed industrial workers, housewives, youth, and renegade liberals. In this book, Robin D. G. Kelley reveals how the experiences and identities of these people from Alabama's farms, factories, mines, kitchens, and city streets shaped the Party's tactics and unique political culture. The result was a remarkably resilient movement forged in a racist world that had little tolerance for radicals. After discussing the book's origins and impact in a new preface written for this twenty-fifth-anniversary edition, Kelley reflects on what a militantly antiracist, radical movement in the heart of Dixie might teach contemporary social movements confronting rampant inequality, police violence, mass incarceration, and neoliberalism.

As we navigate the balance between hope and uncertainty, we invite you to join Dr. Cornel West & Professor Tricia Rose on The Tight Rope, a weekly program where we welcome listeners and guests as thought collaborators. The Tight Rope is rich in creative, unfiltered dialogue on topics ranging from culture, art, and music to the contours of systemic racism, philosophy, the power of Socratic self-examination, and the possibilities of a peaceful and just world. Our innovative and interactive format will highlight the professors’ combined expertise to encourage critical thinking, self-reflection, and human connection as we navigate The Tight Rope.

For over 20 years, Colorlines has led the way in quality, race-focused journalism that centers people of color and marginalized voices. When mainstream media shied away from reporting on race, Colorlines called out systemic racism in all its manifestations, first through a print magazine and then online. In the aftermath of the 2020 Uprisings and within the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the reality of the world we lived in was placed starkly in front of us.

Join Shaun as he unpacks the most important stories of injustice, racism and corruption, but also tells you who's fighting back and how you can support and join them with practical action steps.

"To help people be better allies lists of antiracist books films and podcasts are being published in droves. There's never a bad time to learn but such a list can become erroneously prescriptive a balm to centuries-old lacerations that cut deeper than the individual reader. As Lauren Michele Jackson wrote for Vulture "The word [anti-racism] and its nominal equivalent "anti-racist" suggests something of a vanity project where the goal is no longer to learn more about race power and capital but to spring closer to the enlightened order of the antiracist." So with that in mind we've compiled a list of books films and podcasts about systemic racism acknowledging that they are just books films and podcasts. You'll find research on how racism permeates everything from the criminal justice system to health care. We hope you spend some time with these resources (and that you listen to Code Switch — here's a list of episodes to get you started). Information is power — you decide what you do with it."

"A collection of books and media giving us intersectional insight into the experiences of those once enslaved."

"Our national conversation about anti-Black racism made 2020 a pivotal year - painful for many cathartic for others memorable to all. Now a new year brings new opportunities to listen to Black voices and stories. Pick up one of these titles to deepen your knowledge of our country's past and join the chorus of voices advocating for a better future."

"Three Georgia men were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia and charged with hate crimes and the attempted kidnapping of Ahmaud Arbery. The indictment also charges two of the men with separate counts of using firearms during that crime of violence."

"Today the FBI released Hate Crime Statistics 2020 the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program's latest compilation about bias-motivated incidents throughout the nation. The 2020 data submitted by 15136 law enforcement agencies provide information about the offenses victims offenders and locations of hate crimes."

"From children's picture books and historical fiction to in-depth histories and even a graphic novel here are 15 books to check out about the Tulsa Race Massacre[...]"

"The NAACP has launched a campaign entitled #WeAreDoneDying". The campaign is a call-to-action aiming to shine a light on how individuals in the Black community are dying for reasons that could & can be prevented. These books some fiction and others non-fiction focus on issues facing the Black community including police brutality housing discrimination and inequities in the healthcare system."