Black Lives Matter

Allyship is a proactive, ongoing, and incredibly difficult practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person of privilege works in solidarity and partnership with a marginalized group of people to help take down the systems that challenge that group's basic rights, equal access, and ability to thrive in our society.

• allyship is not an identity — it is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people.
• allyship is not an award — our work is not self-seeking or self-gratifying. We don't get a cookie or a gold star for trying.
• allyship is not for the faint of heart — Did we mention allyship is hard? For many of us, it might be one of the hardest things we do. Allyship is also not for those who aren't ready. Being "ready" means you've done the work of not only educating yourself, but healing (more on that here). You don't want to show up sick or unprepared for an important day on the job if you can avoid it. Same applies here for the struggle for social justice. Better to take the day, learn more, ask allies you know for help, and take care of your own wounds beforehand.
• allyship works from a place of solidarity NOT identity — when you're new to allyship and all the concepts around racial justice, white allies may want to speak and operate based on their personal identity, experiences, and day to day interactions. This is a good place to start from. The ultimate goal is for white allies to have a much broader and critical understanding of structures of power and the systems of oppression and how they can be dismantled alongside people of color.
• allyship is not a performance — our very public online and social media lives make it really tempting to "show" just how down we are by calling out the actions of others, trolling, or engaging in conversations on behalf of the marginalized group. Allies don't represent or speak for the marginalized group. But we can always speak to others in our own group about ways they can challenge their privilege and work toward solidarity.

– What is Allyship? Rochester Racial Justice Toolkit

You cannot declare yourself an ally because you don't decide if you're an ally, your actions do. Allyship is something that is silently earned and it is not a performative self-declaration. Please do not ask us, how you can be a better "ally." Advocate for us in every sphere where there's discrimination and inequity. Actively work to dismantle systemic racism. That's how you can be a better "ally."  – @voltedvoices

Like most institutions in the US, libraries have helped create and long upheld white supremacy. This history is evident through our biased cataloguing systems (learn about Melvil Dewey here), our hegemonic methods of knowledge organization, historically denying resource access to Black people (learn about the Tougaloo Nine here), our comfort with supporting the free speech rights of Neo-Nazi organizations, and the glaring statistic that librarianship as a professional field is roughly 88% white.

To actually provide the equitable and accessible resources we strive to, libraries and library workers need to do more. Below are some library-centered resources on Black Lives Matter, professional support for BIPOC library workers, and other important information related to social justice and anti-racist work.

• Anti-Oppression Guide – Simmons University Library
• Anti-Racist Resources – created by Denisse Solis, Kate Crowe, Shannon Tharp, or Erin Elzi, University of Denver Library
• Black Excellence in LIS – a crowdsourced collection of LIS resources initiated and developed by librarian and archivist T-Kay Sangwand
• #BlackLivesMatter LibGuide – created by Holly Hampton and Lalitha Nataraj, CSU San Marcos Library
• Black Lives Matter LibGuide – created by Deborah Abston, Alexia Lopez-Klein, Michelle Ashley Gohr, Karen Grondin, Rachel Martinez, Rene Tanner, and Jackie Young, Arizona State University Library
• Educate Yourself: Online Racial Equity Workshops – a collection of resources curated by Eventbrite and shared by various CPP cultural centers. The list is opened with the following statement, "Let's be better, together, by standing for an equitable society and with those fighting for justice for the Black community. Use this time for learning, listening, engaging in the discourse, and doing better as individuals and as a country. Donate to organizations fighting for racial equality, participate in protests or rallies, and educate yourself on systemic and learned racism. These online events will help you learn more and provide a platform for conversations on racial injustices and inequality."
• Using LibGuides to support racial justice & create inclusive communities – Twanna Hodge, Springshare Buzz (2020)
• We Here : We Here seeks to provide a safe and supportive community for Black and Indigenous folks, and People of Color (BIPOC) in library and information science professions and educational programs and to recognize, discuss, and intervene in systemic social issues that have plagued these professions both historically and continue through present time.