Add to your feed, Expand your perspective: Part 1

Every year, we survey Metro EDGE members to see what experiences and opportunities they value the most. Year after year, connecting with people beyond one’s existing community and network topped member’s list as the most treasured EDGE asset. We believe this experience is mutually beneficial for an individual and community, enriching empathy, connection, and foundation setting for a better society.

This year, we revealed the foundation for an ongoing focus on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Part of this was inspired by the recognition that we weren’t deploying our resources and activating our network as well as we could have to be the Sacramento we want to see: a Sacramento where all communities are thriving and able to enjoy the city’s growth and development. The second motivator of this work was that many of the diversity and inclusion initiatives we’ve seen fail to mention root causes of related challenges, from things like refusing to mention the word racism or homophobia, to not fully committing to the success of individuals once they are hired, or even profiting from claiming commitment to diversity.

Our 2020 goal is to create the foundation for our members and the Sacramento region in an ongoing, active focus on inclusion and belonging. One way to ensure the “ongoing” is to incorporate diverse perspectives into your daily life and idea intake. Most of the education we received as children and most of the media we consume as adults was developed for a white audience which intentionally and harmfully erased events and perspectives that molded the African-American/Black experience today. With a focus on Black History Month, we’ve compiled a list of content and accounts we enjoy following that begin to scratch the surface of what’s been buried, and celebrate African-American/Black culture and history.

Instagram:

Millennial Financial Experts

Design Sponge top 60

@r29unbothered

@blackhistory

Websites/Newsletters

New York Times and their Newsletter

African American Museum of History and Culture

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/unbothered

Fortune’s RaceAhead Newsletter: https://fortune.com/tag/raceahead/

https://blavity.com/

Netflix:

They’ve Gotta Have Us

When They See Us

She Did That

Not Netflix but EPIC: Watchmen on HBO

Articles, videos, misc.:

TED Talk: How to Deconstruct Racism One Headline at a Time (15 minute watch)

Dear Ally, It's not about you

NYT Almost Famous: I was poised to be the first black astronaut, I never made it to space

Black/Latinx Film Diversity

Black Culture and Identity Emergence in the 60s and 70s

Podcasts:

The Read (pop culture)

Episode: Adultish—codeswitching

The Nod (Podcast just ended but the episodes are informative!)

Twitter (you don’t need an account to view tweets, but to follow them, you do):

Brittany Packnett Cunningham

Antonia Hylton

https://twitter.com/alexisgoldstein

Charles M. Blow

Chris Nellum

Jemele Hill

Rashad Robinson

Jamil Smith

Facebook:

The Root

AfroPunk

RaceBaitr

Email comments or ideas for the next series here