Today in Racial Injustice: Amadou Diallo (click to learn more at EJI.org)

It’s Saturday, so there’s time to stretch into a good read of books related to our theme.

Black Panther book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a revival of Marvel’s first black-superhero series (see a review of the series here). Bringing Black voices and characters into our living rooms, movie theatres and comic books is part of the way we can celebrate Black excellence.

Linking to the theme of music and dancing, The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop by Kyra Gaunt is an in-depth look at how African American music pervades even the games young children learn to play (like double-dutch).

In addition to diving into these two books, why not read some of the fantastic pieces in The Offing Magazine? It contains a wide range of genres and styles, and seeks to highlight marginalized voices. One arresting poem is Some Girls Survive on their Sorcery Alone by Thiahera Nurse.

In order to bolster yourself for a tough year ahead, this Apocalypse Mix Tape by Eddie Bruce-Jones is pretty amazing, and was introduced to some of us by The Offing.

Today can also be a day to think about the experiences of Black people in everyday things like going to a bar or restaurant.

If you go out today, ask yourself ‘how many Black people are here’?  If there are none or but a few, what happened in our country, in our collective hearts and minds, to bring us here, to this point? In the context of our shared history, how might it feel to be the only one in this room?