In the midst of yet another killing of an African American by police, and the subsequent urban unrest, many who have turned away from confronting social injustice in America are beginning to face the problems, asking “where do I begin?” Below is a list of 19 things anyone can do right now. This list is not exhaustive, but represents a primer for those who are just beginning their important commitment to social justice.

1) Speak Up Publicly. As Martin Luther King Jr. said “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Every one of us has a moral responsibility to speak up and speak out against racism and injustice in all its forms.

2) Get a subscription to Norfolk’s New Journal & Guide the oldest black-owned business in Norfolk, and one of the nation’s longest running Black newspapers. Subscribe here. And check out other minority-focused newspapers like The Grio, here.

3) Consider a difference between “not being a racist” and “being an anti-racist.”

4) Watch Just Mercy. It’s streaming free this month on YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Redbox. For a full list of streaming sites click here.

5) Call a person who doesn’t look like you and ask how they’re doing. It could mean the world to them. 

6) Support fair sentencing and ending mandatory minimum sentences. The racial disparities are too profound. Call or write to your legislators advocating to reduce mandatory minimum sentences. Call or write to your legislators to support the Smarter Sentencing Act (S. 2850) “which reduces the length of federal mandatory minimum drug sentences by half, makes the Fair Sentencing Act’s crack sentencing reforms retroactive, and expands the “safety valve” exception to mandatory drug sentences.”

Click here to find your representatives.

7) Read Ta-Nehisi Coat’s Between The World And Me.

8) Watch the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro.

9) Read Cornel West’s Race Matters.

10) Read Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Gather a group of friends, and read it like a book club would.

11) Do not buy from companies that use prison labor. A simple Google search might astound you.

12) Learn more about the history of Norfolk. Watch the Urban Renewal Center’s Video “Changing Tides: Gentrification In Norfolk” . Look at the URC’s Article “ABC’s of Gentrification.” Read Forrest White's Black, White, Brown, and Ford's Elusive Inequality.

13) Write to your government representative urging them to divest from banks that are financing  private prisons, and detention centers. A list of banks can be found here.

14) Watch the Netflix documentary 13th, which documents the state of the nation’s prisons filled predominantly with African-Americans.

15) Watch PBS’ Policing The Police here.

16) Work with a local organization in Norfolk that focuses on racial inequalities. Some you can consider volunteering with: For Kids, The Up-Center, FEAST-VA, or Teens With A Purpose.

17) Read  Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law.

18) Read URC Founder Antipas Harris’ book Is Christianity A White Man’s Religion? here.

19) Support black educators and schools. Listen to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast here to learn how education is stacked against students of color, and steps you can take. 

Speak Up Publicly! The Gospel calls on all of us to fight injustice wherever we see it. Many of the issues listed above are not simply political issues, they are moral issues, and they strike at the core of what it means to be a Christian.