Racial Equality Resource List
Racial equality is important at Flyght. We’ve taken the last couple weeks to reflect on our allyship with the Black community. We recognize that there’s more we can do, and it’s important to us to share what we’ve learned.
Below is a resource list that’s broken down into 6 ways we can become better allies. We’ve also created a downloadable PDF here. We hope that you also take equality seriously, that you’re learning and sharing as much as you can and that this list will help you push a little farther out of your comfort zone.
Educate Yourself and Others
Knowledge is power. It’s important to understand why people are angry to know how you can best help. Even if you don’t want to personally get involved, we hope you’ll take the time to learn about how and why we got here.
- Watch
- What is Systemic Racism?
- How We Can Make Racism a Solvable Problem and Improve Policing
- Netflix recently launched a Black Lives Matter collection of movies, tv shows, and documentaries.
- Read
- 13 Children’s Books About Race and Diversity
- Racism Defined
- Antiracist Checklist
- What’s the difference between being non-racist and anti-racist?
- 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship
- What Exactly Does it Mean to Defund the Police?
- A very thorough list of books, articles, podcasts, videos, and more: https://www.rachelricketts.com/antiracism-resources
Sign A Petition
Signing a petition is the easiest way to get involved. It only takes a few minutes and you don’t even have to leave your home. Here are a few petitions to get you started.
- Hands Up Act: Punish police for shooting unarmed citizens.
- Demand justice for Breonna Taylor.
- Demand justice for the daughter of Belly Mujinga, a railway worker who died from Covid-19 after being spat at by someone who claimed to be infected with the virus in Victoria station.
- Tell Congress to advance the PEACE Act.
- Demand a more equitable and safe space for BIPOC in the American theater.
- Color of Change offers many different ways to support racial justice.
Vote
Voting matters. It’s easy to look at the numbers on a television screen and think, “My one vote won’t change anything.” That isn’t true. Consider how many other people feel the same way. Those votes (or lack thereof) add up. Voting is your opportunity to directly enact change in the government. If you don’t vote, your voice isn’t heard.
- Register to vote.
- Why voting matters.
- Research local and state candidates and issues.
- Your local and state officials have a far greater impact on you and your community than federal officials. Local officials decide things like how your business can operate, how much training police officers get, where funding goes. These decisions affect your everyday life.
- Lawmakers will often slip personal agendas into a bill, even when it doesn’t necessarily fit with the nature of the bill. Do your research. Know the ins and outs of what you’re voting for.
- On a federal level, it’s important to vote for someone who aligns with your core values. iSideWith is a non-partisan site that gives unbiased results based on your responses. The more questions you answer, the more accurate your results will be.
Support Black-Owned Restaurants And Businesses
Where we spend our money signifies what’s important to us. Successful communities support and uplift each other. It’s our responsibility to help Black-owned businesses gain the same exposure as everyone else.
- Share and support Black-owned restaurants and businesses in your industry and encourage your customers to do so as well.
- Find Black-owned restaurants and businesses in Toledo:
- Find Black-owned restaurants and businesses in Ohio:
- Find Black-owned restaurants and businesses in other cities.
- Search by location, keyword, or category.
- Search with an app:
Donate
To make a larger impact, donate to organizations that are committed to improving Black lives and enacting policy change. Monthly contributions are more impactful than a one-time donation but every little bit helps.
- Black Lives Matter.
- The McAtee Community Kitchen was founded in honor of Chef David McAtee, who was recently shot and killed by police officers while they were trying to break up a crowd in Louisville Kentucky.
- NAACP’s mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
- ACLU’s mission is to end police brutality, demand racial justice, and defend our right to protest.
- Contribute to bail funds.
- Loveland Therapy Fund provides financial assistance to Black women and girls seeking therapy.
- 115 ways to donate.
Participate
Active participation is the most impactful way to combat racism and there are many ways you can participate.
- Use tools to talk about race to have conversations with your family and friends.
- Recognize areas within your organization that need to change, both in your staff and the guests who visit your restaurant.
- Support protests by donating food and supplies:
- Set up food stations and medic tents.
- These D.C. Restaurants Are Supporting Black Communities and Protesters
- How Atlanta Restaurants and the Community Are Supporting Protesters
- Restaurants across the country support protesters with donations, food, and supplies
- Food Not Bombs accept vegan and vegetarian food donations and set up pop up kitchens.
- Meet Anguish With Action provides solutions and actionable steps you can take.
- Attend a virtual event:
- Participate in a peaceful protest.
- Help clean up after protests.
For more resources, go to http://antiracismforbeginners.com
As part of our commitment to being better allies, we are offering free phone system installations and will cover the first 90 days of service for any minority-owned business or organization that supports minority-owned businesses. We know that a professional phone system is crucial to restaurant success, especially right now. We want to do what we can to make sure you aren’t missing any opportunities. If you think this service can help your business, PLEASE schedule time with us.
