But it was all a ruse. When the music abruptly stopped, the second man revealed himself to be the real Adolph Brown; the sequined dancer was in fact his godson. Brown said he pulls this fake-out whenever he’s invited to speak before a professional organization, donning the “undercover brother” costume to walk through the crowd … Continue reading Let the Past Propel the Future
What’s changed in the 50 years since librarians Glyndon Flynt and Mabel McKissick first thought of the CSK Book Awards at the 1969 ALA Annual Conference? How have the awards impacted children’s publishing in the years since? Jacqueline Woodson: One thing, just now walking through the convention center, we saw all of these books written … Continue reading A Conversation about the Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Francesca Marini, programming and outreach librarian at TAMU’s Cushing Memorial Library and Archives (CMLA), moderated the session and gave the introductory presentation, providing background information about CMLA’s efforts and collections. Beginning with a brief history of some of the racism at the university, Greg Bailey, university archivist, provided a historical timeline of the integration of … Continue reading SAA 2019: Building New Traditions
Adeyemi’s novel, Children of Blood and Bone (CBB), is situated in a fantasy world that incorporates themes of racism, oppression, and the abuse of power. CBB was inspired by Adeyemi’s adoration of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as a visit to a gift shop in Brazil. It was while she was in that gift shop that the young author encountered … Continue reading The Importance of Representation
Diana Moronta, instruction and technology librarian at New York Institute of Technology, said that she often reminds herself to step back as an instructor and elevate the voices of her students. “I believe they are experts in their own lives,” she said. Tracy Drake, an archivist with Chicago Public Library, said she tries to let … Continue reading Social Unrest, Democracy, and Librarianship in the 21st Century
The panel discussed how to handle several real-world scenarios, such as a white teen touching a black girl’s hair without asking, two boys slanting their eyes and mocking Asian culture, and children asking why police killed an unarmed black person. The speakers shared how they would address each scenario, as well as tips for talking … Continue reading Addressing Race and Racism with Young People
Most librarians, she said, believe in this dominant narrative, but the process of “examining those elements and decolonizing them can be uncomfortable for many people, causing defensive reactions and revealing blind spots in one’s perspective.” Ettarh took the traditional characteristics of the library narrative and recast them slightly to give them a realistic perspective: Libraries … Continue reading Why Being Bad Is Good
That authority and confidence was on full display as she danced onto stage April 10 at the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference in Cleveland to the Ohio Players’ “Love Rollercoaster.” Noting that it was the first time she’d been asked to select her own “walk out” music, Norris joked she would be … Continue reading ACRL Opens with Michele Norris
With the goal of reconciliation and justice, institutions across the US are increasingly undertaking formal measures to review who they’ve memorialized—evaluating names of buildings and monuments to determine connections to white supremacy and other forms of discrimination. Unsurprisingly, university librarians and archivists are finding a role in these discussions, providing historical materials on the buildings … Continue reading What’s in a Building Name?
Johnson, who won the National Book Award in 1990 for his novel Middle Passage, wrote the series with his daughter, the artist and poet Elisheba Johnson. He said he has had the idea for several decades to write about a black, scientific, funny child prodigy—a character not reflected anywhere else. His daughter wanted to tackle … Continue reading STEM Books for Children of Color
Goodwin began by asking, “Why focus on race?” Infant mortality rates are 10 times higher for people of color than for their white counterparts, regardless of any other aspect of their identity. Race, zip code, and gender affect a person’s success across many arenas, such as education, health, and criminal justice. According to Goodwin, “Racial … Continue reading Racial Equity Panel Addresses Bias in Library Work
Garcia-Febo then discussed the libraries she visited on her Libraries = Strong Communities tour over the past several months and invited members of her diversity advisory team to join her onstage. ALA is creating a series of videos to help libraries with equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives; the first video should be available in March. … Continue reading Robin DiAngelo Gets Real on Racism
