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  • 1.  BCALA Statement to ALA Council Against Racism

    Posted Mar 17, 2021 09:02 AM
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    Hi everyone

    In the short amount of time I have served on this Council I have seen and experienced the racism and micro-aggressions that are described and experienced by many of me fellow BIPOC councilors. Thank you @Shauntee Burns-Simpson for sharing in the general ALA community board.

    I now share this here, with my fellow council members, because this governing body must lead by example, and hold itself to a level of accountability in being anti-racist. Promises are meaningless if there is no action behind them. 

    In #solidarty,

    ~Oscar​

    ------------------------------
    Oscar Lanza-Galindo
    Associate Dean
    Bunker Hill Community College
    He/Him/His
    ------------------------------

    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    A Statement to ALA Council.pdf   139 KB 1 version


  • 2.  RE: BCALA Statement to ALA Council Against Racism

    Posted Mar 17, 2021 12:52 PM
    Edited by Lindsay Cronk Mar 17, 2021 12:52 PM
    Thanks so much for sharing and amplifying, Oscar! I am grateful to BIPOC ALA members and staff for their patience with the association in regards to these repeated failings which are an indictment of the profession as well. I am also particularly thankful to BCALA for volunteering their expertise putting forward this statement which includes timely and powerful challenges and recommendations. As an ALA Councilor, I am in support of Council implementation and I am ready to help in that effort in any way I can. 

    Racist behavior/thinking is deeply entrenched and requires proactive correction-- we cannot lazily expect to get better as we continue to commit microaggressions and it is unfair to our colleagues of color that we do so. Our colleagues are not our learning experiences.

    ------------------------------
    Lindsay Cronk
    She/Her
    Core President-Elect, ALA Councilor-at-large, Loud Lady
    Head of Collection Strategies
    University of Rochester
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: BCALA Statement to ALA Council Against Racism

    Posted Mar 17, 2021 05:34 PM
    Thank you for sharing! I also wanted to share this message from APALA President Candice Wing-yee Mack:
     
    The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) supports and signs on to the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's (BCALA) statement to ALA Council against racism. We urge the American Library Association to incorporate anti-bias and equity, diversity and inclusion training as part of council, staff and all other orientations, before staff and volunteers begin the important work of the association and the important work of interacting with their professional peers and colleagues. 
     
    In solidarity, advocacy and community,
     
    Candice Wing-yee Mack
    Office hours: Mon.-Fri, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. PDT
    Pronouns: She/Her/Hers


    ------------------------------
    Raymond Pun
    He/Him/His
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: BCALA Statement to ALA Council Against Racism

    Posted Mar 17, 2021 07:39 PM
    Thank you, Oscar and April, for sharing this statement with Council. I think it is crucial that Council take long overdue action on the items BCALA bring up -- "that Council meeting policies, communication norms, and rules of conduct be re-examined and re-created with a diversity/equity lens" and that Council has ongoing training. We have seen over the past year that our old way of doing business in person twice a year can change, and must. I look forward to seeing time scheduled for Council to address its own behavior and its necessary learning. 

    I remain committed to my own learning, and recognize my own complicity and privilege in these structures. As Lindsay said, "we cannot lazily expect to get better as we continue to commit microaggressions and it is unfair to our colleagues of color that we do so. Our colleagues are not our learning experiences."

    Stephanie Chase
    PLA Division Councilor
    she/her/hers




    Original Message