Racism: Resources for Understanding: Recommended Videos, Films, Webinars, and Podcasts

Combining archival footage with testimony from activists and scholars, director Ava DuVernay's examination of the U.S. prison system looks at how the country's history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America.

DiAngelo examines both explicit and implicit white privilege.

This emotionally charged program follows five participants of different ethnic and racial backgrounds through a three-day Unlearning Racism workshop. As the workshop begins, a European-American man offends his African-American workshop partner by making a joke during a one-on-one dialogue. The incident sparks anger among African-American participants, who openly confront the offender. White participants in the workshop express their frustration over their inability to understand the reactions of the people of color. The five main participants later meet to reflect on the honest sharing of feelings that took place during the workshop. This program represents both a strong statement on the complex issues surrounding racism and an honest depiction of the difficulties involved in resolving them.

This video explores the history of beauty products for women of color and how major beauty brands have limited products that cater to darker skin tones.

As a black woman from a tough part of the Bronx who grew up to attain all the markers of academic prestige, Dena Simmons knows that for students of color, success in school sometimes comes at the cost of living authentically. Now an educator herself, Simmons discusses how we might create a classroom that makes all students feel proud of who they are. "Every child deserves an education that guarantees the safety to learn in the comfort of one's own skin," she says.

Why does race matter so profoundly for health? David R. Williams developed a scale to measure the impact of discrimination on well-being, going beyond traditional measures like income and education to reveal how factors like implicit bias, residential segregation and negative stereotypes create and sustain inequality.

Ten years after Skin Deep, a new documentary film chronicles the experiences of a diverse group of college students—in this case, led by veteran UC Berkeley facilitators over the course of a semester—as they confront race, diversity, and their own responsibility for making a difference.

Ferrera talks about the racism she encountered in her acting career and how she learned to love who she is and celebrate her Latina roots.

This video covers the time periods and reasons for the creation of confederate monuments and the code words used to justify them.

In a series of four short online videos produced by BCRW, activists Reina Gossett and Dean Spade discuss prison abolition as a political framework, exploring why this is a top issue for those committed to supporting trans and gender-nonconforming people. These videos look at how to build societies where the process of creating justice is as important as the end—communities where no one is exiled.

Though diversity is now the norm in many high schools, racism shows its many faces that intimidate and harm the victims. Many groups are segregated because students feel more comfortable with their own people.

DiAngelo discusses how many white people think being nice to people of color makes them anti-racist, but this is not true. DiAngelo explains the psychology behind white privilege and how to become less racist by doing "less harm."

This video explains how systemic racism has affected home ownership, education, and job opportunities.

Trevor Noah discusses his thoughts on George Floyd and the protests, as well as Amy Cooper and her racism.

Since 1992, Bill Moyers has been following the story of two ordinary, hard-working families in Milwaukee — one black, one white — as they battle to keep from sliding into poverty. "Two American Families" raises unsettling questions about the changing nature of the U.S. economy and the fate of a declining middle class.

Acho provides a forum whereby he can discuss racism with white people and have those uncomfortable conversations about race that white folks often avoid. One episode features Emmanuel Acho sitting down with Matthew McConaughey to have a conversation about what a white man like McConaughey can do.

This podcast examines slavery in the United States and the racism that followed in the next centuries.

This podcast discusses the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, governmental neglect, and the way in which this natural disaster disproportionately affected African Americans.

This podcast examines how the past affects the present.