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: ALSC’s Call to Action and Endorsement of BCALA and ALA Recent Statements.
A thread. 1/
: ALSC’s Call to Action and Endorsement of BCALA and ALA Recent Statements.A thread. 1/
Along with the ALA Executive Board, the ALSC Board endorses BCALA’s statement condemning increased violence and racism towards Black Americans and people of color...2/
...and stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, BCALA, and those working for racial justice and dismantling racial capitalism and white supremacy in all of its forms. 3/
The ALSC Board grieves with the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and Breonna Taylor. We remember that children are among the victims of police brutality and state violence. We remember Tamir Rice, Cameron Tillman, and Aiyana Stanley-Jones. 4/
We remember the names that go unspoken. 5/
We acknowledge the Whiteness of libraries and children’s services and of our Division. 6/
We acknowledge the violence and policing faced by children, library workers, and communities of color every day through library partnerships and programming, collections, policies, security protocols, hiring practices, and more that uphold white supremacy. 7/
Many have endured, experienced, and resisted this violence, but those impacted by oppression should not bear the responsibility of ending it. 8/
The ALSC Board sees and values the lives and humanity of our Black ALSC leadership, members, their families, and the children we serve. 9/
At this time, we are looking to our ALSC equity, diversity, and inclusion statement and continue to mark EDI as a strategic priority of the association. 10/ http://www.ala.org/alsc/aboutalsc/edi_statement
We encourage members to join us as a Division in holding each other accountable to move our EDI statement into action every day as we work together to live our purpose to “create a better future for children through libraries.” 11/
We call on members to disrupt racism, anti-Blackness, and all forms of systemic oppression in their professional and personal communities. 12/
We recognize that many of our members have been actively engaged in this work (the ALSC Serving Diverse Communities Toolkit includes example projects and resources), but there is much more work to be done. 13/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zv7DiiyOHRrwTjEbrWbkE0UvJcZ0qDGCu9lhE1AHdhE/edit
These are some actions you can take today: 14/
Recognize & push against library programs, collections, policies, & services that are hostile toward Black communities and other communities of color including but not limited to partnerships with organizations that have historically inflicted trauma on communities of color. 15/
Educate yourself and interrogate your privileges. Take an active role in working for justice personally and professionally. 16/
We recommend the free online professional development curriculum Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth. 17/
http://ready.web.unc.edu/about-us/
http://ready.web.unc.edu/about-us/
We also recommend this padlet of Anti-Racism Resources for all ages curated by Dr. Nicole Cooke. 18/ https://padlet.com/nicolethelibrarian/nbasekqoazt336co?fbclid=IwAR2w6NjK6aV0U-qsfMgsl12UfTJF7ioiB2ixWXlOE0tOEedyfvsDt2uT1IU
Evaluate your library’s policies, services, and collections for equity and work for change. 19/
This Inclusive Services Assessment and Guide from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is one resource you can use. 20/
https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/pld/pdf/Inclusive_Services_Assessment_and_Guide_for_Wisconsin_Public_Libraries_2019_updated_Sept.pdf
https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/pld/pdf/Inclusive_Services_Assessment_and_Guide_for_Wisconsin_Public_Libraries_2019_updated_Sept.pdf
We also recommend this toolkit from the Oakland Public Library: Evaluating Children’s Books About Police: a toolkit for librarians and other evaluators of children’s literature. 21/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rytbtFbHtH6UYRLzUQDf3h4gJ6noSPIAxhHJsfo-QTw/edit#heading=h.o2q5m5axndlr
We also recognize that the 2020 ALSC Institute is planned to take place in Minneapolis, MN where George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis Police Department officers occurred. 22/
The ALSC Board stands with local activist efforts and our members who are working in their city to elicit real change. 23/
Read ALSC's full Call to Action and Endorsement of BCALA and ALA Recent Statements which includes additional resources: https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2020/06/black-lives-matter-alscs-call-to-action-and-endorsement-of-bcala-and-ala-recent-statements/
