Racial Equity Media Club

For some time, the NYACP has been engaged in ongoing conversations about how to support anti-racist work and broaden the knowledge and representation within our membership. In 2023, we launched the Racial Equity Committee to increase the awareness and education of our members on issues surrounding racial equity and justice.

From this, the Racial Equity Media Club was created. Every other month there will be a movie or book that Club members will watch or read on their own and then discuss as a group at a Club meeting. Eblasts will go out for each meeting and registration for each meeting will be required. We encourage members to participate in the whole series.

The meetings will be virtual from 12:00pm-1:00pm on the 4th Thursday (except for November due to Thanksgiving) every other month. In February and June, there are in person social or field events to gather and enjoy each other's company.

Below are suggestions for current reading, viewing, and listening to further our members' understanding and education. If you would like more information about the Racial Equity Committee or to participate in the Media Club, please contact the NYACP Office.

Both the Racial Equity Media Club and the media resource list below are intended to encourage engagement with materials and subjects that may be normally overlooked, and to offer opportunities for our members to become more open to perspectives and experiences that are different from our own.

~ Participation is for MEMBERS ONLY ~

Information on Upcoming Meetings

September 26, 2024

November 21, 2024

January 23, 2025

March 27, 2025

May 22, 2025

February and June are Social or In Person Field Trip Events - To be Announced

RESOURCE LIST

Please take a look at the list of resources below for suggestions on what to read, what to watch, and what to experience to learn more about Racial Equity.

READ THIS:

“Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi (2017): Ghana, eighteenth century: two half-sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

“James” by Percival Everett (2024): James” takes Mark Twain's classic tale and places the enslaved sidekick, Jim, at its center.

WATCH THIS:

“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Brian Stevenson. Available on Netflix. (Also a Book).

EXPERIENCE THIS:

Shirley Chisolm at 100: Changing the Face of Democracy at Museum of City of NY. The first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman to run for president on a major party ticket, Chisholm emerged from a unique constellation of New York networks.

- https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/changing-face-democracy

African Burial Ground: African Burial Ground is the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America for both free and enslaved Africans. It protects the historic role slavery played in building New York. The site below gives fascinating history and culture of African Americans. (Ancestral chamber is temporarily closed). https://www.nps.gov/afbg/index.htm