• Home
  • About
  • Blog
    • Adoption
    • Fashion
    • Food + Drink
    • Health + Fitness
    • History
    • Home Decor
    • Life
    • Tech
    • Travel
  • Photography
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
    • Adoption
    • Fashion
    • Food + Drink
    • Health + Fitness
    • History
    • Home Decor
    • Life
    • Tech
    • Travel
  • Photography
  • Contact
  • Mobile Menu Widgets

    Connect

    Search

Stephanie Drenka

Stephanie Drenka

Weekend Reading

Friday, May 29, 2020 · In: Life, Social Justice

It’s Friday, and I’m tired as hell. There is so much to say, but my head can’t keep up with my heart.

Social media is triggering AF. I can’t handle one more Facebook or Twitter argument with people who hide behind ignorance and feign surprise at the reality of violence or injustice. Thoughts and prayers are weakened by inaction.

Time to sign off for a few days and protect what is left of my peace. Hopefully, I’ll be ready on Monday to jump back into the conversation.

It’s the freakin’ weekend. Use your time to sit back, listen, and learn. There are so many great resources floating around the Internet right now, like this list, or this one, or my friend Valery’s blog post.

I welcome the chance to have open, honest, raw dialogue with White folks– who have done their homework. Otherwise, my emotional labor is better spent elsewhere.

If you’re pissed about Myka Stauffer “re-homing” her autistic, transracially adopted child after exploiting his story for monetary gain and want to learn more about adoption trauma:

The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child by Nancy Newton Verrier

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.


If you’re an Asian American who has helped perpetuate Anti-Blackness and uphold White Supremacy, but want to do better in the future:

Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White by Frank H. Wu

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics by Lynn Fujiwara (Editor), Shireen Roshanravan (Editor), Piya Chatterjee (Series Editor)


If you’re struggling to understand the #BlackLivesMatter movement or why people are rioting after the senseless murder of George Floyd (and countless others):

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander


If your weekend plans include being careless about social distancing protocols because you aren’t personally affected by the inequities being exacerbated by COVID-19 and need a crash course in the racial wealth gap:

Toxic Inequality: How America’s Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future by Thomas M. Shapiro

Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance by Edgar Villanueva


If you’re White, and this blog post made you feel personally attacked:

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma


If you want to do more than read about social justice and actually take action:

Donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund (click here for a list of bail funds by city) or the George Floyd Memorial Fund.

Text “FLOYD” to 55156 to sign Color of Change’s petition demanding that the officers who killed George Floyd are brought to justice.

Sign a petition for Myka Stauffer’s exploitative videos to be removed from YouTube.

Get involved with a local organization (like Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation) doing real work around dismantling systemic racism and building an inclusive future.

Oh, and…

Vote. Trump. The. Fuck. Out.

By: Stephanie Drenka · In: Life, Social Justice

Join the List

Stay up to date & receive the latest posts in your inbox.

 

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post >

Faking It

"I hope you know how proud I am you were created." "I hope you know how proud I am you were created." - Olivia Rodrigo 🎶 #soulfamily
Fell asleep at 6pm, because it has been a looong w Fell asleep at 6pm, because it has been a looong week 🥱 But woke up just in time to post these behind the scenes pics on the first day of #APAHM 🎉 Spent it preserving #AsianAmerican stories with @digital.denise for @dallasasianhistory 📷 Thank you to everyone who shared their voices, experience, and time today!
meet sissy, the 10-year-old doxie who stole our he meet sissy, the 10-year-old doxie who stole our hearts (including daisy's) 🐶 these golden girls are the sweetest senior pair i've ever seen 🥹 thank you to @ntxaussie rescue for bringing this precious pup into our lives ❤️ #dachshundsofinstagram #seniordogs
From the moment we started working at rewardStyle From the moment we started working at rewardStyle together, I knew @rachael.loerwald was a visionary. I've dreamed about hiring her to design something for me ever since she launched her business, @studio.foray.

When I decided to start the Dallas Asian American Historical Society with @digital.denise, I knew Rachael would help make sense of all the scattered ideas in my head and turn it into a cohesive brand. 

How do you make an organization about *history* feel modern? Honor tradition, but appeal to new audiences? Make research chic? 

To say she accomplished this would be an understatement. She went beyond the call of duty (and friendship) to create something that brought me to tears. 

It feels so real now. Possible. A legacy. Something beautiful, timeless, and authentic. What our community has always deserved. 

We're ready to tell our stories. Follow us at @dallasasianhistory.
Sharing this update is bittersweet ❤️ I've res Sharing this update is bittersweet ❤️ I've resigned from my position as @DallasTRHT's communications director, which was one of the most difficult career (life) decisions I've ever made. But... I'm SO excited to see what transformative ideas the next person in this role brings! And hopefully have a chance to work alongside them before my last day on April 29th. Please help us find someone dedicated to changing the narrative and making Dallas a radically-inclusive city: dallastrht.org/careers #howweheal #dallastrht

Copyright © 2022 Stephanie Drenka