“Building and place names do matter. They can be those institutional symbols of racism,” said Natalia Fernández, associate professor at Oregon State University (OSU) and curator and archivist of the Oregon Multicultural Archives and OSU Queer Archives in Corvallis. “It can be very impactful, hurtful, and it’s important that we have these conversations.” In “Campus … Continue reading Renaming and Reconciling
After discussing definitions of whiteness (a way of thinking, both intentional and unintentional, that privileges the values of white people over those of non-whites) and implicit bias (the unconscious and conscious stereotypes that we ascribe to others), Hathcock broke the near-capacity crowd into small groups to discuss an example of implicit bias and whiteness in … Continue reading Battling Racism Below the Surface
Libraries at both the public and university level historically have developed response plans for natural disasters, but the Charlottesville demonstrations and similar white nationalist rallies planned for other cities have library administrators working not only to protect patrons and library infrastructure but to assist in relief efforts. Both the University of Florida and Texas A&M … Continue reading Charlottesville Violence Poses New Challenges for Libraries
Hollis was treated to the screening of recently discovered footage at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History showing the read-in and the arrests. The video shows her talking to a library assistant in the Jackson Municipal Library. “I went to the desk very confidently,” Hollis said, “and asked for a specific book. I let her … Continue reading The Tougaloo Nine Remembered
August 21, 1939. Five African-American men—William “Buddy” Evans, Edward Gaddis, Morris L. Murray, Clarence “Buck” Strange, and Otis Lee Tucker—walk into the whites-only Alexandria (Va.) Library (now the Barrett branch library). Strange’s younger brother Bobby, 14, serves as lookout and courier. The men, who range in age from 18 to 22, ask for library cards … Continue reading “I Always Will Refuse”
The answers lie in understanding the history of stereotypes in our profession and also in looking outside the profession to larger social conditions. We cannot separate our understanding of library stereotypes from the history of librarianship that influenced their development in the first place. Librarians are not explicitly responsible for the creation and perpetuation of … Continue reading The Stereotype Stereotype
That was only one of many stories US Congressman John Lewis (D–Ga.) told a packed room of librarians during his Auditorium Speaker Series speech on Saturday afternoon. His deep, sonorous voice scarcely needed a microphone as he recounted his early years in the Civil Rights Movement—as one of the original Freedom Riders in 1960, as … Continue reading John Lewis’s March
