Looking at Disrupting Whiteness in Libraries and Librarianship: A Reading List and thinking ... How do you commit to disrupting toxic white maleness and present yourself as the best person for the job as a white male in the library world? I guess I can begin by reading through the Core Resources from that list and reflecting on each of them here. This is not a great historical moment to be a white male. Have to do some real soul searching about how to approach this profession.
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“You will deserve this anger/hurt/frustration/wrath of the people of color you’ve offended. … even in the midst of your hurt and bewilderment, you will be careful not to dismiss the reality of the people you’ve offended. You will resist the urge to defend yourself, shut your mouth, and listen.” (April Hathcock, “You’re Gonna Screw Up”) There was a lot of reading to do before trying to figure out what I would write in response to Meredith Farkas’s November 2019 blog post “When libraries and librarians pretend to be neutral, they often cause harm” and her May 2020 column in American Libraries, “When Speech Isn’t Free.” An entire issue of the Oregon Library Association Quarterly, the blog Reading While White, a School Library Journal article summarizing Ishizuka and Stephens’s “The Cat Is Out of the Bag,” Debbie Reese’s “Indigenous Critique of Whiteness in Children’s Literature,” and more. It’s still not enough. As a white man who is woefully undereducated on underrepresentation of marginalized groups in kid lit and its impact on members of those groups, I have to work extra hard to overcome a life immersed in white privilege and white culture.
Or do I? Heather McNeil doesn’t seem to think so. According to her last word on the subject (an article positioned at the end of the OLAQ issue on equity, diversity, and inclusion and seemingly meant as a final judgment on the current state of affairs), it’s all gone too far. White folks are tired of being told they’re wrong. We want to receive acknowledgment for trying, and we want marginalized people to accept reasonable limits. McNeil ends her article with the story of an African-American woman in West African garb hugging her and calling her “Sister” after McNeil delivered a lecture on African stories. That’s what she wants: a reward for the effort without further criticism. I saw a meme shared by a conservative friend that said, “You must always be willing to truly consider evidence that contradicts your beliefs and admit the possibility that you may be wrong. Intelligence isn’t knowing everything. It’s the ability to challenge everything you know.”
Good, solid, liberal advice from my youth: Question everything. The problem with this sentiment in the age of COVID-19 unfolds like this: It seems (to me) to assume that all information is equal, that the opinions of the average high-school dropout are equal to those of the expert with a relevant doctorate. They’re not. Much has changed since I was a kid. When I was a child, cultural relativism and suspicion cast upon expert opinion was the purview of the countercultural Left—the neo-hippies, the punks, etc. Now, the Right has embraced postmodernism as a great equalizer for science and religion. Science is suspect. Double-blind, randomized placebo trials go head-to-head against wild conspiracy theories … and lose. How to argue for critical thought when I in my youth defined “critical thought” as analysis of majority opinion and adoption of its opposite? In some ways, I’ve finally outgrown my rebellious adolescence just in time to see the enemy regress into childish tantrums. In some ways, nothing has changed. In some ways, everything is turned on its head. The plan for the next few posts is to delve into this issue: Do public library collections need to include all perspectives? Including those without rational or legitimate scientific basis? Including those that conflict with the goal of providing a safe, welcoming space for marginalized people? Questions of neutrality and diversity will weigh heavily on this issue. Perhaps the most important question will be, Does the world need yet another opinion from a white male of middle-class extraction? The answer to this is profoundly and resoundingly “No.” But I am posting anyway, for these reasons:
So far, and possibly finally, I will include the following articles, blog posts, and papers in my exploration. I welcome other resources, especially those from the conservative side and/or in favor of neutrality, as I wish to understand that part of the debate more fully. It’s not easy to find the conservative voices among librarians. If you want to get a hold of me, just comment below or send me a message on the Contact page. Burke, S. K. (2010, Summer). Social tolerance and racist materials in public libraries. Reference & User Services Quarterly 49(4), 369-379. Farkas, M. (2019, November 4). When libraries and librarians pretend to be neutral, they often cause harm [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2019/11/04/when-libraries-and-librarians-pretend-to-be-neutral-they-often-cause-harm/ Farkas, M. (2020, May 1). When speech isn’t free: Ensuring free speech requires more than neutrality. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2020/05/01/neutrality-when-speech-isnt-free/ Lauren (2020, June 8). We need to talk about diversity and neutrality in libraries [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://hacklibraryschool.com/2020/06/08/we-need-to-talk-about-diversity-and-neutrality-in-libraries/ Mary Elizabeth (2020, February 25). Libraries should take sides: Breaking down the neutrality myth [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://hacklibraryschool.com/2020/02/25/libraries-should-take-sides/ Neal, J. (2018, June 1). Are libraries neutral? Highlights from the Midwinter President’s Program. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/06/01/are-libraries-neutral/ Rinne, N. A. (2018, May 25). Against the Library Bill of Rights — unpublished essay from 2013. Retrieved from https://reliablesourcessite.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/against-the-library-bill-of-rights-unpublished-essay-from-2013/ Rinne, N. A. (2018, June 4). Should offensive books be removed from your library’s collection? [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://reliablesourcessite.wordpress.com/2018/06/04/should-offensive-books-be-removed-from-your-librarys-collection/ Sendaula, S. (2017, July 7). Libraries are not neutral spaces: Social justice advocacy in librarianship. Retrieved from https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=libraries-are-not-neutral-spaces-ala-annual-2017 Sonnie, A. (2018, April 5). Advancing racial equity in public libraries: Case studies from the field. (Issue Brief No. 8). Government Alliance on Race and Equity. Retrieved from https://www.racialequityalliance.org/advancing-racial-equity-in-public-libraries-case-studies-from-the-field/ |
AuthorJeffrey Babbitt, MLIS, is a graduate of the School of Library and Information Science at Wayne State University who is pursuing a career as a librarian in Michigan. Subject Headings
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