A Racial Justice Reading List

From our work with folks who have experienced personal and community trauma, we know how important it is for all of us to ground ourselves before getting to work and anytime we need to take a break. This is especially true in challenging times when so much feels uncertain -- and when the news can stir up new anxieties and bring up old traumas, alike.

We know that different mindfulness practices work for different people, and so we'll be sharing some tools and resources that might come in handy. And we'd love to hear from you what you are using at home!

This week, we're focusing on occupying our brains.

Do you know about the Libby app? With Libby, you can borrow eBooks and audiobooks from your local library -- and it's totally free!

If you prefer buying physical books, consider supporting your local indie bookstore during this time when small businesses are really struggling. Find one near you using IndieBound. While we're at it, we'd like to put in a plug for Frugal Bookstore, one of our favorite Roxbury/Nubian Square spots.

Here are some great sources of inspiration for books:

• Well Read Black Girl (Facebook and Instagram): follow for some great curated book lists highlighting Black girls, women, and non-binary writers.

• The Conscious Kid (Facebook and Instagram): resources for parenting and education through a critical race lens.

• Twenty Stories, LA also has great curated book lists.

Aren't familiar with Ibram Kendi's work? Learn more about his work here--

or check his books out using the Libby link above!

You can watch UU Urban Ministry staff share the words that ground us here.

Need some help finding words to ground you? Here are some suggestions:

• Porsha Olayiwola is Boston's Poet Laureate. Check out a sample of her incredible work here (and her Boston Ode here).

• The US Poet Laureate, Tracy K. Smith, introduces a new poet to us each week on her podcast The Slowdown.

• Poetry not your thing? Google "daily affirmations" or "prayers for self care" to browse through tons of options and find something that resonates with you.

• Follow The Nap Ministry on Instagram for some affirmations for slowing down (even napping). They believe rest is a form of resistance and reparations!

• The Sun Magazine uses "words and photographs to evoke the splendor and heartache of being human" -- and they have lifted their paywall during this time of physical distancing! Check out their "Sunbeams" section for a whole archive of quotations on various subjects -- but be sure to catch their interviews, short fiction, poetry, and photography, too.