The ARLIS/NA Diversity and Inclusion Committee would like to bring the membership’s attention to the WOC + Lib Statement Against White Appropriation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color’s Labor, which was also included on the September, 2021 Advocacy & Public Policy Committee News Alert.

 

The Diversity and Inclusion committee is holding a town hall discussion of this statement, March 4th, 2022 at 2pm Eastern. Learn more about the event and register here

 

We urge white ARLIS/NA members to read and thoroughly reflect on this statement. We want to thank BIPOC librarians for their labor and for the straightforward honesty in this statement. We encourage members, specifically white members, to come up with concrete actions they can take at their organization in response. Here are some suggestions for reflection and engagement:

• Listen to and elevate the voice of BIPOC librarians
• Treat equity, diversity, and inclusion as an essential part of the work of white librarians

 

We ask that if you are a white librarian in a leadership position that you use this statement as motivation for next steps and action at your institution. Here are some suggestions for bringing this statement back to your institution:

• Make it a priority to hire and retain BIPOC librarians and library workers
• Commit to creating a culture of inclusive excellence where BIPOC librarians and library works can flourish, see the Scarborough Charter for more information on these concepts 
• Engage in and advocate for a pay equity process that is inclusive of the labor of BIPOC workers
• Unlearn leadership and management training based in racial capitalism
• Regularly assess your library’s EDI work through the ALA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scorecard

 

Engaging with this statement is an important part of the work to which ARLIS has committed itself: “As an organization, the Art Libraries Society of North America will hold itself accountable to continue the challenging, but necessary, work ahead: educating and self-educating, disrupting structural racism perpetuated in our institutional systems, and building equity through forums for discussion, policy, and action.”

 

The ARLIS/NA Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Chloe Bragg

Rachel Harris (PPC Liaison)

Karyn Hinkle

Jane Devine Mejia

K. Sarah Ostrach

Katy Parker

Mimosa Shah

Kai Alexis Smith (Executive Board Liaison)

Alex Watkins (chair)

With special thanks to: Heather Slania, Courtney Hunt, Claire Payne