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9 Black Instagram Pages to Follow for Education & Inspiration
02/16/2021•7 minute read
In honor of Black History Month, we wanted to share resources and platforms* amplifying the Black voice. The following social media accounts and websites share the work of Black-American educators, writers, activists, and organizations. We encourage you to continue your research and to follow any and all voices that inspire and educate you!
*The following Black-American educators, writers, activists, and organizations are listed in alphabetical order and are not listed in order of relevance, importance, or preference.
- Alicia Garza
Instagram: @chasinggarza
Website: https://aliciagarza.com
Self-identified author, political strategist, and freedom dreamer, Alicia Garza is one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement and organization. Alicia is also a founder and director of the Black Futures Lab (Instagram: @blackfutureslab) - an organization that Black people transform our communities by building Black political power & changing the way power operates in cities and states.
In 2020, Alicia published The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart. Before the foundation of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Alicia spent her career researching and experimenting with political organizing. The lessons she offers in her book equip those who are still awakening how to inspire and activate more people to fight for the world we all deserve. Her book has been described as “an essential guide to building transformative movements to address the challenges of our time”.
- Amanda Gorman
Instagram: @amandascgorman
Website: https://www.theamandagorman.com/
If you tuned in to the 2021 U.S. Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, this name likely sounds familiar to you! Poet, dreamer, and writer, Amanda Gorman is a must-follow. As shared on her website, Amanda is “the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as well as an award-winning writer and cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology. She has written for the New York Times and has two books forthcoming with Penguin Random House.”
Amanda’s work is gaining popularity by the minute as it has been known to spark change, inspire activism, and educate the masses.
- Black Girls With Gardens
Instagram: @blackgirlswithgardens
Website: http://www.blackgirlswithgardens.com
Black Girls with Gardens is “a digital resource for women of color to find support, inspiration, education, and representation in gardening.” The social media collective offers followers educational resources, product recommendations, gardening tips, houseplant care, and awareness for food justice.
Jasmine from Black Girls with Gardens advocates for the benefits of gardening in the Black community and believes that “plant care teaches you self care”. Black Girls with Gardens is a great resource for those looking to hear from diverse voices about food justice, self-care, sustainability, and how plants can bring you joy amidst a chaotic world.
- Black Women Assemble
Instagram: @blackwomenassemble
Website: www.blackwomenassemble.com
Black Women Assemble is a social media platform with the mission of uniting “the one of ones, the originators and the women who show up not only for themselves, but the women coming next.”
The account spotlights incredible accomplishments of Black women, Black woman entrepreneurship, Black woman integrity, Black woman states of peace, and Black womanhood in its remarkable entirety. Founded by Bria Brown, Black Women Assemble “cultivates a space profound in inclusion, diversity, accountability, and agency to celebrate the journeys and stories of local Detroit women whose work drives change and uplift throughout the city and beyond, daily.”
Photo by @briapaints
- Ibram X. Kendi
Instagram: @ibramxk
Website: https://www.ibramxkendi.com
Most famous for writing the book How to Be an Antiracist, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, professor at Boston University, and was named to Time 100: Most Influential People of 2020.
Dr. Kendi uses his platform to raise awareness of systemic racism in the United States and beyond. He offers calls his followers to action and offers action items in hopes of getting the United States closer to an anti-racist society.
In an interview with The Harvard Gazette in 2020, Dr. Kendi talked about his inspiration for his work and activism, “The challenges we face can sometimes seem insurmountable, but we must remain engaged, and we can take heart that our program today is one of many discussions focused on combating racism and achieving equity that are taking place across the country.”
- José Vilson
Instagram: @thejosevilson
Website: https://thejosevilson.com
José is a writer, speaker, activist, and educator based in New York City. He is the author of *This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education *and has spent his career speaking about education, math, and race. He has been featured in the New York Times, The Guardian, TED, El Diario / La Prensa, and The Atlantic.
José uses his bilingual social media platform to share his thoughts and experiences related to race and education in the United States.
“Over time, I’ve learned to reframe failures into lessons. Learning isn’t linear, so every time I encounter a lesson, I’ve either learned it or I need to figure it out. And I genuinely pray for some of these lessons to be scaffolded. This is our moment.”
José offers quotes of inspiration, reading recommendations, and educational resources on both his website and Instagram.
- Leah Thomas
Instagram: @greengirlleah
Website: https://www.greengirlleah.com
Leah is an environmentalist, writer, and creator with a passion for sustainability, anti-racism, intersectionality, and climate justice. Leah’s website and Instagram offer “resources, information, and action steps to support intersectional environmentalism and dismantle systems of oppression in the environmental movement, led by environmental activists and sustainability advocates”.
For those curious to learn more about intersectional environmentalism, Leah describes the movement as “...an inclusive version of environmentalism that advocates for both the protection of people and the planet. It identifies the ways in which injustices happening to marginalized communities and the earth are interconnected. It brings injustices done to the most vulnerable communities, and the earth, to the forefront and does not minimize or silence social inequality. Intersectional environmentalism advocates for justice for people + the planet.”
- The BlackAFinSTEM Collective
Instagram: @blackafinstem
Website: https://linktr.ee/blackafinstem
The BlackAFinSTEM Collective is “a group of unapologetically Black scientists studying topics in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” The collective creates content highlighting the accomplishments and discoveries of Black scientists and frequently highlights the work of Black women in STEM and their creation: #BlackBirdersWeek. For anyone interested in climate justice, engineering, tech, economics, mathematics, and/or science, this page has something for you!
- Valencia De’La Clay
Instagram: @valencia_valencia
Website: https://valenciadclay.com
Valencia is an educator, activist, and mediator. She is currently serving her community as an 8th-grade teacher in Baltimore, MD. Valencia uses creative methods to inspire her students to connect current events to history through pop culture, hip hop, and slam poetry.
“I don't even know what I expected as a teacher. I knew that kids needed love. I knew that I was going to be in the hood. I started teaching in Baltimore - that's what I did for seven years. So I knew what I was getting myself into, especially being from an urban area, being from a disenfranchised community, growing up without my mom and my dad. I knew what I was going to see. I knew what I'd gone through, but I didn't know that love was the key until I started to find out on my own for myself. Once I was able to see that in myself, I was able to go back to my students and love them differently than I had ever loved them before." Valencia shared in an interview on The Phil Taitt Show in 2016.
Outside of her work as a teacher, Valencia founded The Flourishing Blossoms Society for Girls, a worldwide mentorship organization for underrepresented girls. She's also a teacher's teacher and mediator and shares methods for teaching children of color core reading skills, self-confidence, and activism.
These are only just a few of the many great Black voices of our time. We encourage you to continue your research and seek out the stories and findings of activists that inspire you.
Stay tuned for more blogs this Black History Month!
