Be Human. Do Better. Create Change.
Updated: Nov 8, 2022
In the beginning, I was worried about sharing too much as a business owner. I thought commenting on the racial divide in the US might be "too political an issue," and now I realize it has zero to do with politics and everything to do with humans. Sometimes I get so sucked into the mindset of fearing being “too political” that I forget my anthropological training, and I neglect the only action that is actually important - and that is to be clear about the inherent worth all human life has, and to foster this in our students. All of our students should always feel safe, and this is where our ethics lie:
Education is the root of all. Through education, individual stories are shaped, minds are molded, and experiences are created. Education does not happen only in the classroom. We educate when we speak to a fellow human, when we look at someone. Our mere body language educates those around us on who they are, who they are supposed to be, and how society sees them. When we reinforce again and again through our own subtle, almost imperceptible reactions that part of humanity is not quite as human as the rest: We are teaching fear. We are teaching lack of empathy. We are teaching division. We are teaching ourselves to doubt and degrade our own humanity. All individuals - no matter what language he speaks, what color her skin is, where we were born, how much money they have, what age you are - are supremely worthy of empathy.
At Strive to Learn, we hope to foster individuals filled with curiosity who reach out across culturally ingrained boundaries and create connection. Foster your empathy, seek education, and be aware of the educational power everything you do has - We are social beings, and everything we do always affects those around us. Never stop seeking empathy and growth - stagnation will only lead to lack of humanity. So always, always continue questioning: Who am I and what messages am I giving to those around me?
Examine your own stigmas, triggers, and prejudices - Strive to Do. Better.
In solidarity,
Josefine Borrmann
Founder of Strive to Learn
Challenge yourself.
Break out of your usual experience by picking a resource below and diving in (we will continue updating this list).
WHITE PRIVILEGE
Patricia J. Brainard - White Lies: A Critical Race Study of Power and Privilege
Ibram X Kendi - How to be an Antiracist; Stamped from the Beginning
Harvard University’s Project Implicit - take a test to determine your own implicit biases (and donate if you want to support this project!)
Corinne Shutack - 75 Things White People Can DO For Racial Justice
BLACK EXPERIENCE
New Era of Public Safety - An Advocacy Toolkit
Ta-nehisi Coates - Between the World and Me; the Letter to his son
Frantz Fanon - Wretched of the Earth; Black Skin White Mask
James Baldwin - Fire Next Time
Stuart Hall on Media and Cultural Studies
Cornel West - Race Matters
Trevor Noah - George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper
Akala - Natives: Race & Class in the Ruins of Empire
C.L.R. James - The Black Jacobins; The Haitian Revolution
Michelle Obama - Becoming
Michelle Alexander - The New Jim Crow
Richard Rothstein - The Color of Law
Patrisse-Khan Cullors & Asha Bandela - When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; Still I Rise; Collective Works
Aimé Césaire - The Collected Poetry
Gordon Parks - Collective Works
Nina Simone - Collective Works
Billie Holiday - Collective Works
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