While supporting Black creators and getting educated on Black history and anti-racism are things we all should be doing every month of the year, Black History Month is a great reminder to put even more time and energy into those pursuits. Instead of reading the same social justice Instagram graphics over and over again, you could give your time (and money!) to Black educators who have put together online classes covering everything from African history to modern-day anti-racism.
Each of these programs was made by a Black creator or educator, can be completed in the comfort of your home, and involves both historical education and contemporary tools for anti-racism work. (You'll see a lot of content that should be included in school curriculums but isn't normally.) If you've read racial justice books in the past and want to learn more, check out one of these online courses.
BEST FREE ANTI-RACISM COURSE: #DoTheWork 30-Day Course
This month-long course by activist, academic, and Harper's Bazaar columnist Rachel Cargle first arrived in 2018 and has since become a popular building block for anti-racism education. It comes with daily reminders, exercises, videos, readings, and thought prompts that will encourage you to consider your relationship with race and learn to become actively anti-racist. The course itself is self-paced and features a range of topics — from decolonizing fitness to looking at racism in the courtroom — that will lay the groundwork for an intersectional understanding of racism in America.
BEST SPIRITUALITY-BASED ANTI-RACISM TRAINING: Spiritual Activism 101
Creator: Rachel Ricketts
Length: 90 minutes
Price: Based on a sliding scale, from $30 — $111
Rachel Ricketts, author of Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy, is behind the Spiritual Activism series, which uses secular spiritual tools as engaging approaches to race and activism education. The webinar-style classes start with lessons on anti-racism and white supremacy and also provide thoughtful journaling prompts as well as guided meditations and restorative breath work.
The course's goal is to give participants the tools to become better allies for Black and POC communities. It's also designed to assist Black participants in unpacking their own lived experience with internalized oppression. Participants can start with Spiritual Activism 101, then choose to move on to either Spiritual Activism 102 for White/White Passing Folx or Spiritual Activism for BI&POC / Mixed Folx (sold separately) based on their racial identity.
Like all of Ricketts's courses, the pricing for the Spiritual Activism series is based on a customized sliding scale. The $30 Kin pricing is for Black and Indigenous people only, while the Supporter, Disruptor, and Liberator costs go up based on the participant's income, privilege, and access to resources in an honor system format.
BEST EMPOWERMENT WORKSHOP: Radical Hope: A Healing How-To For Collective Action
Creator: Rachel Ricketts
Length: 90 minutes
Price: Based on a sliding scale, from $30 — $111
Want to feel more hopeful about the future of humanity? Look no further than another course by activist and author Rachel Ricketts. This Radical Hope course is a webinar for exploring and unpacking emotions while learning to be a better ally for marginalized groups. The course discusses the 5 "Rs" of radical hope, gives tips on collective action, and of course, features the guided meditations and breath work that Rachel Ricketts is known for.
BEST COLLEGE-STYLE COURSE: Coursera — CU Boulder Anti-Racism I
Creator: Shawn O'Neal and Jennifer Ho
Length: Three hours per week for three weeks
Price: Free
If you need more structure for your anti-racism education, try out this CU Boulder course offered through Coursera. The three-week, 12-hour self-paced program (created by Ph.D. candidate in Ethnic Studies Shawn O'Neal, and Professor of Ethnic Studies Jennifer Ho) can be started at any time, and the deadlines are flexible to fit individual schedules. You'll learn important intersectional vocabulary and concepts, how to talk about race and racism, and all about systemic and institutional racism, from the past to the present day. Of all the courses here for adults, this one probably offers the broadest overview of both historical and current themes.
This course also features subtitles in 12 different languages, so it's accessible to non-English speaking and deaf or hard-of-hearing folks.
BEST FOR STARTING A RACIAL-JUSTICE FORWARD BOOK CLUB: I'M STILL HERE: A Discussion Guide
Creator: Austin Channing Brown
Length: Six weeks with about 2.5 hours of video content
Price: $39
Purchase this $39 discussion guide as a companion to author and racial justice leader Austin Channing Brown's bestselling book I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. The guide can help you start a mini book club, where you'll tackle topics like diversity in America, Evangelicalism and racism, and more. The discussion guide is a self-guided course that also features six bonus videos, each exploring a Black individual's lived racial experience through memoir. You'll also get access to a curated list of over 50 books, videos, readings, and more.
BEST FOR WHITE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BIPOC COMMUNITIES: How to Show Up in BIPOC-Only Spaces Without White Centering
Creator: Layla F. Saad
Length: 60 minutes
Price: $27
Learn how to give people of color their own spaces without focusing on whiteness with a course on white centering created by the author of the bestselling book Me and White Supremacy, Layla F. Saad. White and white-passing participants will get tips on how to engage in BIPOC-only spaces without making it all about them. This course teaches white folks how to set their feelings aside when it comes to racial justice work and how white centering can cause damage to BIPOC communities.
A GREAT INTRO TO INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM: Dismantling White Feminism
Creator: Layla F. Saad
Length: 90 minutes
Price: $97
Mainstream feminism tends to be white-centered, so take your fight to the next level by making it more intersectional. This course, created by bestselling author, teacher, and podcast host Layla F. Saad, discusses how to move away from white-focused feminism, how white feminism has historically been rooted in racism (particularly anti-Black racism), and most importantly, how to be a better ally to Black and POC women and femmes.
BEST INTRO TO ANTI-RACIST PARENTING SKILLS: Parenting & White Supremacy
Creator: Layla F. Saad
Length: 90 minutes
Price: $97
For raising racially-conscious children, start with Layla F. Saad's Parenting & White Supremacy course. Bestselling author of Me and White Supremacy Layla F. Saad will teach you how to talk with your kids about race and racism and the most common errors when teaching kids about race (and how to avoid them), and will give you the tools you need to get your little ones practicing anti-racism from an early age.
BEST FOR POC ON A POSITIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE JOURNEY: Protecting Your Energy With Boundaries
Creator: Myisha T. Hill, Check Your Privilege
Length: 90 minutes
Price: $125
Creating boundaries is essential for putting yourself and your anti-racism work first, and this training will help participants deal with other people's opinions on social and racial justice without becoming drained and distracted. The course — put together by mental health advocate and creator of the Check Your Privilege site, Myisha T. Hill — comes with a PDF guidebook and will connect you to a community of other people who are also on a positive anti-racism journey. You'll also get the opportunity to receive discounted one-on-one coaching sessions after you complete the course.
BEST IMMERSIVE ANTI-RACISM PROGRAM: Upper Division
Creator: Myisha T. Hill, Check Your Privilege
Length: Six months
Price: $2,500
If you're interested in an immersive approach, enroll in Upper Division, a program also curated by Myisha T. Hill. This six-month program coaches participants on taking proper action against injustice, de-centering whiteness, and listening to the experiences of women of color at the forefront of racial justice movements. While the time and money this course takes are a big commitment, this training is best for people who want to build community in a way that centers racial justice.
This program will introduce you to a private Facebook community of like-minded people who are committed to social justice, and includes two group coaching calls per month, weekly modules, a bonus masterclass with anti-racism coaches, a copy of the book Check Your Privilege: Lean into the Discomfort, and discounts on other coaching services.
BEST FOR LEARNING ABOUT STRUCTURAL RACISM: Racial and Social Justice 101
Creator: Ericka Hart, M.Ed.
Length: Three hours
Price: $35
How does institutional racism affect Black and Brown communities? In this training created by sexuality, gender, and race activist and educator Ericka Hart, M.Ed., participants will identify systems of structural racism in the United States (think redlining, the prison system, and more) that have historically marginalized POC communities.
BEST FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS: Black History From a Decolonized Perspective (African-American History)
Creator: Iman Alleyne (Kind Academy)
Length: One 35-minute class per week for eight weeks
Price: $140
If you want your kids to learn more about Black history than they're likely learning at school, this Outschool course goes all the way back to ancient African kingdoms and societies and builds up to current Black social justice movements, teaching history that is frequently excluded from school curriculums. Led by principal and Black history instructor Iman Alleyne, these classes are structured with review time, discussions, lectures, and videos and are best for kids between the ages of 10 and 14. Classes have multiple start times in March and early April 2021 and last through the end of May.
A GREAT RACIAL JUSTICE NEWSLETTER: Anti-Racism Daily
For a dose of anti-racism news in your inbox every day, sign up for Anti-Racism Daily, a curated guide giving historical context on how racism persists today. Started by writer and entrepreneur Nicole Cardoza, Anti-Racism Daily delivers thoughtful rundowns and takes on the day's news. There's also a "Take Action" section in each newsletter, which generally includes mutual aid funds to donate to, petitions to sign, organizers to follow, and more ways to tangibly help Black and POC communities.
Topics Activism
