AEDI Resources
AEDI Resources
Our department’s faculty, staff, and students would all benefit from engaging with the resources below. We must educate ourselves and examine the impact that racism, sexism, ableism, and other forms of oppression have in our classrooms, rehearsal halls, and on our stages. We must acknowledge our role in perpetuating these forces in order to overcome them and create more equitable and inclusive spaces. This is not a quick or easy fix. It is in fact a “lifelong task.” This list focuses on educating and assessing ourselves. It is not comprehensive. It is a work in progress and all suggestions are welcome. Email us at AEDI@office.unc.edu.
READ/LISTEN – Theatre Specific Content
- The American Theatre Was Killing Me: Healing from Racialized Trauma in an Art Workspace
- How Liberal Arts Theatre Programs are Failing their Students of Color
- American Theatre Magazine: Diversity and Inclusion
- Anti-Racism for Arts Administrators
- HowlRound – Diversity, Inclusion, and Visibilty
- USITT – Black Lives Matters Resources
- TCG Diversity and Inclusion Salons – Curated by Jacqueline E. Lawton
- Token Theatre Friends
- The Theatre Times – United States of America
- We See You, White American Theater – Call to action from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color theatre makers
READ – Books:
- Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist
- Robin J. DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (2018) – available as an ebook through the UNC library
- Malinda Maynor Lowery, The Lumbee Indians
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Olua
- Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- A reading guide on the Asian American experience from Viet Thanh Nguyen, Charles Yu and more
- Octavio Solis, Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border (2018)
READ – Essays:
- 11 Terms You Should Know to Better Understand Structural Racsim
- What Racism in Theater Looks Like, and How to Dismantle It
- The American Nightmare
- If Black Lives Really Matter to the Rich, Philanthropy Isn’t Enough
- What It Really Means to Be an Anti-racist, and Why It’s Not the Same as Being an Ally
- White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
- Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person… by Gina Crosley-Corcoran
- What Privilege Really Means (And Doesn’t Mean) by Maisha Z. Johnson
- A Guide To Non-binary Pronouns And Why They Matter By Sassafras Lowrey
- Understanding Important Gender and Sexuality Terms by Inda Lauryn
- Nonbinary Femmes Must Be Included in the Feminist Movement by Tre’vell Anderson
- How to Be an Ally if You’re a Person of Privilege by Frances E. Kendall, Ph.D
- A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement – Anti-Defamation League
- Disabled Bodies in the American Theatre by Madison Parrotta
- Thoughts on Ableist Language and Why It Matters By Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
- Why Disability Activism Needs to Be More Inclusive of People of Color By Keah Brown
- Walking While Black by Garnett Cadogan
- Performing Whiteness by Sarah Bellamy
- The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism by Audre Lorde
- 158 Resources to Understand Racism in America
- Op-Ed: Working in Solidarity to Address Anti-Asian Violence and Xenophobia
- The long, ugly history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S. by Gillian Brockell
- Why This Wave of Anti-Asian Racism Feels Different by Morgan Ome
- To be an Asian Woman in America by Jennifer Ho
- Asian Americans like me are fighting hate with tradition by Ian Kumamoto
- All Sizes Fit All: The Case of Normalizing Fatness Onstage
READ – Plays:
- Alternative Canon to 1945
- Diversifying the Canon
- Add These Scripts to Your Canon
- Indigenous Theater and Performance of North America Resource Guide
- The Ferguson Theatre Syllabus
- So….What is Canon for Asian American Theatre?
- 101 Plays by The New Americans, or on Latinidad
- The Kilroys – new plays by women, trans, and non-binary playwrights
- The Great Work Continues: The 25 Best American Plays Since ‘Angels in America’
READ – Novels:
- James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (1963) and Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953)
- Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me (2015)
- Isabel Wilkderson, The Warmth of Other Suns (2010)
- Tommy Orange, There, There (2018)
- Angie Thomas, The Hate You Give (2017)
- Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing (2016)
- Cherríe Moraga, Native Country of the Heart (2019)
- Angie Cruz, Dominicana: A Novel (2019)
- Jokha AlharthiI, Celestial Bodies (2018)
- Zora Neal Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
LISTEN – Podcast:
- Brené Brown with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Anti-Racist
- Code Switch podcast episode: A Decade of Watching Black People Die
- Pod Save The People
- All episodes of podcast White Lies (NPR)
- All episodes of podcast The 1619 Project (New York Times)
- True stories from the Civil War podcast: Uncivil (Gimlet Media)
WATCH – Videos and Documentaries:
- So You Want to Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
- The Danger of Silence – Clint Smith
- Disclosure (Documentary examining transgender depictions in film and television)
- The Danger of a Single Narrative (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie TED Talk)
- What Matters (Documentary video and narratives from Black Lives Matter)
- The Anti-Racist Starter Pack: 40 TV Series, Documentaries, Movies, TED Talks, and Books
- I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin documentary)
- Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart (Lorraine Hansberry documentary)
- White Privilege (Poem by Kyla Lacey)
- 5 Tips for Being an Ally (Video by @Chescaleigh)
- How To Tell Someone They Sound Racist
- Moving the Race Conversation Forward
- How to Understand Race – TED Talks
- How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them
- Allegories on Race and Racism
EXPLORE – Organizations and Publications:
- UNC Campus Resources
- Anti-Racism Resources for White People
- Black Lives Matter
- Broadway Advocacy Coalition
- Everyday Feminism
- Trans and Non-Binary Resources
- National Disability Theatre
- Racial Equity Tools
- Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources
- Showing Up for Racial Justice
- Teen Vogue
NEXT STEPS – Gather with friends, family, and/or colleagues to discuss:
- What information or point of view was new to you? What did you learn?
- What surprised or challenged your beliefs in some way? Why?
- What are you still wondering about?
- What are your five main takeaways from your reading/listening/viewing?
- Keep going! The work has just begun.