Educating Ourselves Is The Answer
Dear friends of Elizabeth Lamont and Room at the Beach,
As longtime residents of Malibu and the Pacific Palisades, we wanted to address the unrest occurring in our LA community and make our stance on these issues very clear.
The murders of George Floyd and of Black people in our community and country are tragedies beyond any words. Despite hoping for change in our community after experiencing the riots of '92, it is evident that race relations have not improved significantly and unthinkable actions are being taken against its own people. We are praying all officers involved in George Floyd's murder will be convicted, and that it brings some closure for the Floyd family.
I am also personally devastated for my fellow business owners whose livelihoods have been damaged, as I know how hard and tough it is to run a business during this time, especially as most of us were looking forward to imminent re-opening despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
While we clearly and strongly do not support looting or reckless destruction of property that damages local people's businesses or homes and detracts from the message peaceful protesters are trying to send, we do hope that the recent protests will have a deep impact on policing culture and institutional racism going forward, and that lasting structural change in our community will occur as a result.
In this vein, I have collected an introductory list of books and films (definitely not an end-all-be-all list) that will help us educate ourselves and those around us on racism, prejudice, police brutality, and more.
As longtime residents of Malibu and the Pacific Palisades, we wanted to address the unrest occurring in our LA community and make our stance on these issues very clear.
The murders of George Floyd and of Black people in our community and country are tragedies beyond any words. Despite hoping for change in our community after experiencing the riots of '92, it is evident that race relations have not improved significantly and unthinkable actions are being taken against its own people. We are praying all officers involved in George Floyd's murder will be convicted, and that it brings some closure for the Floyd family.
I am also personally devastated for my fellow business owners whose livelihoods have been damaged, as I know how hard and tough it is to run a business during this time, especially as most of us were looking forward to imminent re-opening despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
While we clearly and strongly do not support looting or reckless destruction of property that damages local people's businesses or homes and detracts from the message peaceful protesters are trying to send, we do hope that the recent protests will have a deep impact on policing culture and institutional racism going forward, and that lasting structural change in our community will occur as a result.
In this vein, I have collected an introductory list of books and films (definitely not an end-all-be-all list) that will help us educate ourselves and those around us on racism, prejudice, police brutality, and more.
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
- Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive Historyy of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Noble
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Tatum, PhD
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Teacher Got Wrong by James Loewen
- The 13th (Netflix documentary)
- Moonlight (Netflix, movie)
- Fruitvale Station (movie)
- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
- Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive Historyy of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Noble
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Tatum, PhD
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Teacher Got Wrong by James Loewen
- The 13th (Netflix documentary)
- Moonlight (Netflix, movie)
- Fruitvale Station (movie)
Truly understanding these important divisions and prejudices that exist in our society may be the last hope to create a community of love and diversity that supports and guides each other.
Much love and with hope for a safe and peaceful future,
Elizabeth Lamont and everyone at EL and Room at the Beach
