For most of my life I’ve been the type who would say he supported equal rights. However, the intensity with which I offered such support was calibrated in large part by what information was actually making it in front of my eyes. And the truth is that the American education system as well as the media machine do not put adequate emphasis on injustice against black people. They only hit the major points, but even that often is influence by a desire not to inflame too much.

This latest eruption of protests and social media discussion have brought forth a flood of stories and history of which I was not aware. Even more shocking than the stories themselves is the persistent question, “WHY DIDN’T I ALREADY KNOW THIS?”

That’s a question to be answered by people smarter and more capable than myself. For my part, I just want to share links to those things that I’ve learned in the past couple of weeks. Maybe you didn’t know some of these, either. Hopefully they’ll soften your heart a little bit. Take a breath, set your politics aside, and consider what you really think about these.

Clever/real rebuttals on many of the common complaints about the protests

Tulsa massacre

Civil Rights photos were rendered in black and white to make them look older than they were.

Wage theft

Brief history of racial terrorism in America

Use of prison labor for profit (AKA the slavery loophole)

Companies that utilize prison labor

Seneca Village

Ruby Bridges

Antiracism resources

Google docs with tons of resources for petitioning and donation.

“I’m the Marine who stood at attention for 3 hours in 100 degree heat in full dress uniform until I nearly passed out from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Do me the honor of reading this message I’ve spent the last two days preparing.”