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Visit the OCL website for up to date information on all of our library services.

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Thank you Ocean County Library customers for your continued patience and support during this extraordinary time. As you miss the library, we miss you as well! We look forward to the day when we can open our doors again.
As you may be aware, the Governor recently permitted libraries the ability to provide contactless pickup of library materials. We look forward to announcing this type of service very soon.
We are developing the guidelines to provide this service in the safest way possible, and to phase in select services. There are a number of logistics we'll need to tackle before we can make our physical collection available to cardholders. As we prepare to welcome you back, our focus will be on the following:

Returns: We will open book drops at select OCL locations. All materials returned will be quarantined for the recommended length of time set by public health officials, after which they will be checked in and added back to our collection.

Pick-up of Materials: Soon we'll launch a Door-side Pick-up service. Many of you have had items on hold since March, so we want to offer you the opportunity to pick up those items. You will also be able to place new holds and then check out these physical items.

Access to Computers: When we are able to open our libraries again, we will provide access to public PCs by appointment and for limited use at select OCL locations.

Additionally, we will implement new policies and procedures, and make changes to our physical spaces in order to accommodate safety protocols. In the coming weeks, we look forward to sharing more details and announcing exact dates on when we will resume our services.
In the meantime, please continue to engage with us virtually through our website, which provides access to online resources, streaming movies, ebooks, and audio ebooks 24/7.

The Ocean County Library truly misses you, and we look forward to bringing you more library services soon.

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Thank you Ocean County Library customers for your continued patience and support during this extraordinary time. As you miss the library, we miss you as well! We look forward to the day when we can open our doors again. As you may be aware, the Governor recently permitted libraries the ability to provide contactless pickup of library materials.

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These databases are provided with funding from the Ocean County Library. Enter your library card barcode to access.

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EmbraceRace is a multiracial community of parents, teachers, experts, and other caring adults who support each other to meet the challenges that race poses to our children, families, and communities.

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EmbraceRace fights systemic racism by supporting parents to raise children who are brave, informed and thoughtful about race. Join the movement!

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​​​By: Ashaunta Anderson, MD, MPH, MSHS, FAAP & Jacqueline Dougé, MD, MPH, FAAP

Given the tragic and racially-charged current events, many parents are wrestling with their own feelings, the hopes they have for their children, and the difficulty of helping those children thrive in a world full of racial bias.

Parents may better face today's challenges with an understanding of how racial bias works in children, as well as strategies to help them deal with and react to racial differences.

How Do Children Learn Racial Bias?

Children learn about racial differences and racial bias from an early age and learn from their first teachers-their parents-how to deal with and react to these differences.

The process of learning racial bias is a lot like learning a new language (e.g., a child raised bilingual vs. a child who starts learning Spanish in junior high). Biology determines a critical early learning period as well as a later window where learning is much harder.

As early as 6 months, a baby's brain can notice race-based differences.

By ages 2 to 4, children can internalize racial bias.

By age 12, many children become set in their beliefs-giving parents a decade to mold the learning process, so that it decreases racial bias and improves cultural understanding.

But like language immersion, children exposed to society will gain fluency in racial bias even if their parents do nothing.

Strategies to Help Children Deal with Racial Bias

There are three strategies that parents can use to help their children deal with racial bias:

Talk to your children and acknowledge that racial differences and bias exist.

Confront your own bias and model how you want your children to respond to others who may be different than them.

Encourage your children to challenge racial stereotypes and racial bias by being kind and compassionate when interacting with people of all racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.

How Parents Can Confront Their Own Racial Bias

Parents must first confront their own biases, so that their example is consistent with messages of racial and ethnic tolerance.

Be a role model. Identify and correct your own racially biased thoughts, feelings, and actions. If you want your children to believe what you preach, you have to exhibit those behaviors as well. Your everyday comments and actions will say more than anything else.

Travel and expose your children to other communities. This can help them understand that there is diversity in the world that might not be represented in the community that you live in.

Do not reverse stereotype police officers and other groups or talk about law enforcement in a negative way.

Get involved in your child's school, your place of worship, and politics. Parents who are involved in this way are better able to advocate for fair treatment of racially marginalized groups and raise awareness of race issues in other groups.

Tips for Talking About Racial Differences & Racism

For preschoolers: At this age, your child may begin to notice and point out differences in the people around you (i.e., at the grocery store, at the park, etc.). If your child asks about someone's skin tone, you might say, "Isn't it wonderful that we are all so different!" You can even hold your arm against theirs to show the differences in skin tones in your family.

For gradeschoolers: This is the age that is important to have open talks with your child about race, diversity, and racism. Discussing these topics will help your child see you as a trusted source of information on the topic, and he or she can come to you with any questions. Point out stereotypes and racial bias in media and books such as villains or "bad guys" in movies.

I f your child makes comments or asks you questions about race based on school incidents or something they read or watched: Further the discussion with questions such as,"How do you feel about that?" and "Why do you think that?" This is also helpful if your child heard something insensitive or if your child experienced racial bias themselves. Before responding to his or her statement or question, figure out where it came from and what it means from his or her perspective. See Talking to Children About Tragedies & Other News Events for more information.

Talking about race is not racist. It's OK-and important. From a young age, children may have questions about racial differences and parents must be prepared to answer them. But, it's important to keep your child's developmental readiness in mind.

These conversations begin to lay the groundwork for your child to accept and respect everyone's differences and similarities. As children mature, the answers to questions will become more complex. These are moments to learn what your child understands or is struggling to understand about racial bias.

Remember:

To create a culture of inclusiveness, we all must look at and acknowledge our biases, so we can do something about the ones that are unfair or cause harm to others-like racial bias. Understanding the way people feel about and behave toward those outside their own group can help communities heal after a tragedy, as well as prevent future ones.

Additional Resources to Help Parents Address Racism & Discrimination:

About Dr. Anderson:

Ashaunta Anderson, MD, MPH, MSHS, FAAP is an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine and a health policy researcher at RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on the impact of race and racism on child health. She is also a pediatrician and a published author of 50 Studies Every Pediatrician Should Know, a guide to the scientific evidence underlying everyday pediatric practice.

About Dr. Dougé:

Jacqueline Dougé, MD, MPH, FAAP is the Child Health Medical Director at the Howard County Health Department. Her interests are health disparities, media, school health and the interaction of public health and pediatrics. Within the American Academy of Pediatrics, she co-chairs the Council on Community Pediatrics' Prevention and Public Health Special Interest Group. Her blog site is drjacquelinedouge.com.

Ashaunta Anderson, MD, MPH, MSHS, FAAP & Jacqueline Dougé, MD, MPH, FAAP

American Academy of Pediatrics (Copyright © 2019)

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racial bias~ biases~ racism~ crime~ violence~ black~ police officer~ law enforcement~ racial issues~ skin color~ resiliency~ peace~ gun violence~ guns~ news~ tragedies~ current events~ violence in the media~ violence in movies~ explaining race~ difference

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​​​By: Ashaunta Anderson, MD, MPH, MSHS, FAAP & Jacqueline Dougé, MD, MPH, FAAP Given the tragic and racially-charged current events, many parents are wrestling with their own feelings, the hopes they have for their children, and the difficulty of helping those children thrive in a world full of racial bias.

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The American Psychological Associations reviews how subtle some microaggressions can be.

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Two colleagues-one Asian-American, the other African-American-board a small plane. A flight attendant tells them they can sit anywhere, so they choose seats near the front of the plane and across the aisle from each another so they can talk.

At the last minute, three white men enter the plane and take the seats in front of them. Just before takeoff, the flight attendant, who is white, asks the two colleagues if they would mind moving to the back of the plane to better balance the plane's load. Both react with anger, sharing the same sense that they are being singled out to symbolically "sit at the back of the bus." When they express these feelings to the attendant, she indignantly denies the charge, saying she was merely trying to ensure the flight's safety and give the two some privacy.

Were the colleagues being overly sensitive, or was the flight attendant being racist?

For Teachers College, Columbia University psychologist Derald Wing Sue, PhD-the Asian-American colleague on the plane, incidentally-the onus falls on the flight attendant. In his view, she was guilty of a "racial microaggression"-one of the "everyday insults, indignities and demeaning messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned white people who are unaware of the hidden messages being sent to them," in Sue's definition.

In other words, she was acting with bias-she just didn't know it, he says.

Sue and his team are developing a theory and classification system to describe and measure the phenomenon to help people of color understand what is going on and perhaps to educate white people as well, Sue says.

"It's a monumental task to get white people to realize that they are delivering microaggressions, because it's scary to them," he contends. "It assails their self-image of being good, moral, decent human beings to realize that maybe at an unconscious level they have biased thoughts, attitudes and feelings that harm people of color."

To better understand the type and range of these incidents, Sue and other researchers are also exploring the concept among specific groups and documenting how a regular dose of these psychological slings and arrows may erode people's mental health, job performance and the quality of social experience.
Aversive racism
The term racial microaggressions was first proposed by psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce, MD, in the 1970s, but psychologists have significantly amplified the concept in recent years.

In his landmark work on stereotype threat, for instance, Stanford University psychology professor Claude Steele, PhD, has shown that African-Americans and women perform worse on academic tests when primed with stereotypes about race or gender. Women who were primed with stereotypes about women's poor math performance do worse on math tests. Blacks' intelligence test scores plunge when they're primed with stereotypes about blacks' inferior intelligence.

Meanwhile, social psychologists Jack Dovidio, PhD, of Yale University, and Samuel L. Gaertner, PhD, of the University of Delaware, have demonstrated across several studies that many well-intentioned whites who consciously believe in and profess equality unconsciously act in a racist manner, particularly in ambiguous circumstances. In experimental job interviews, for example, whites tend not to discriminate against black candidates when their qualifications are as strong or as weak as whites'. But when candidates' qualifications are similarly ambiguous, whites tend to favor white over black candidates, the team has found. The team calls this pattern "aversive racism," referring in part to whites' aversion to being seen as prejudiced, given their conscious adherence to egalitarian principles.

Sue adds to these findings by naming, detailing and classifying the actual manifestations of aversive racism. His work illuminates the internal experiences of people affected by microaggressions-a new direction, since past research on prejudice and discrimination has focused on whites' attitudes and behaviors, notes Dovidio.

"The study of microaggressions looks at the impact of these subtle racial expressions from the perspective of the people being victimized, so it adds to our psychological understanding of the whole process of stigmatization and bias," Dovidio says.

Research shows that uncertainty is very distressing to people, Dovidio adds. "It's the uncertainty of microaggressions that can have such a tremendous impact on people of color," including on the job, in academic performance and even in therapy, he and others find.
Creating a vocabulary
Sue first proposed a classification of racial microaggressions in a 2007 article on how they manifest in clinical practice in the American Psychologist (Vol. 2, No. 4). There, he notes three types of current racial transgressions:

Microassaults: Conscious and intentional actions or slurs, such as using racial epithets, displaying swastikas or deliberately serving a white person before a person of color in a restaurant.

Microinsults: Verbal and nonverbal communications that subtly convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person's racial heritage or identity. An example is an employee who asks a colleague of color how she got her job, implying she may have landed it through an affirmative action or quota system.

Microinvalidations: Communications that subtly exclude, negate or nullify the thoughts, feelings or experiential reality of a person of color. For instance, white people often ask Asian-Americans where they were born, conveying the message that they are perpetual foreigners in their own land.

Sue focuses on microinsults and microinvalidiations because of their less obvious nature, which puts people of color in a psychological bind, he asserts: While the person may feel insulted, she is not sure exactly why, and the perpetrator doesn't acknowledge that anything has happened because he is not aware he has been offensive.

"The person of color is caught in a Catch-22: If she confronts the perpetrator, the perpetrator will deny it," Sue says.

In turn, that leaves the person of color to question what actually happened. The result is confusion, anger and an overall sapping of energy, he says.
Refining the concept
While Sue's 2007 American Psychologist article mainly laid out his theory and an initial taxonomy of microaggressions, his team is now examining how these subtle communications vary among different populations. In a qualitative study in the June Professional Psychology: Research and Practice (Vol. 39, No. 3), Sue and his colleagues conducted focus groups with 13 African-Americans who discussed their perceptions of, reactions to and interpretations of microaggressions, as well as the emotional toll they take. Participants, age 22 to 32, all lived in the New York metropolitan area and were either graduate students or worked in higher education.

Respondents agreed that these backhanded communications can make them feel as if they don't belong, that they are abnormal or that they are untrustworthy. Some described the terrible feeling of being watched suspiciously in stores as if they were about to steal something, for instance. Some reported anticipating the impact of their race by acting preemptively: One man noted how he deliberately relaxes his body while in close quarters with white women so he doesn't frighten them.

Others cited the pressure to represent their group in a positive way. One woman said she was constantly vigilant about her work performance because she was worried that any slipups would negatively affect every black person who came after her.

A similar study in the January 2007 Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology (Vol. 13, No. 1) found that many Asian-Americans cited the experience of people asking them where they were born or telling them they "spoke good English," which gave them the message that they are "aliens." Others described classroom experiences where teachers or students assumed they were great in math, which led to feelings of being trapped in a stereotype that wasn't necessarily true. Female participants complained that white men interested in dating them assumed they would be subservient sexual partners who would take care of their every need.

"These incidents may appear small, banal and trivial, but we're beginning to find they assail the mental health of recipients," Sue says.

Other researchers are showing the harm of racial microaggressions in a variety of arenas, though research in the area is still sparse, Sue acknowledges. For instance, in a 2007 article in American Behavioral Scientist (Vol. 51, No. 4), University of Utah social psychologist William A. Smith, PhD, and colleagues conducted focus groups with 36 black male students on five elite campuses, including Harvard and the University of Michigan.

Participants reported experiencing racial microaggressions in academic, social and public settings. For instance, some participants reported that when they went to their school's computer lab to do schoolwork, white students would call security to make sure they weren't there to cause trouble. When security arrived, they would check the students' IDs, sometimes asking them to provide a second one to prove the first was valid.

In another case, fraternity students who had gathered for practice found themselves surrounded by police vehicles, the result of someone calling in a concern about gang activity, Smith notes.

Meanwhile, in therapy, the more likely black people are to perceive their therapist using racial microaggressions, the weaker the therapeutic bond and the lower their reported satisfaction, finds a 2007 study in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (Vol. 54, No. 1). Sue and other researchers are beginning to study the impact of racial microaggressions on other groups as well, including people of various ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals.
Mountain or mole hill?
Not everyone agrees that microaggressions are as rampant or destructive as Sue says they are. In rebuttal letters to the 2007 American Psychologist article, respondents accuse Sue of blowing the phenomenon out of proportion and advancing an unnecessarily negative agenda.

"Implementing his theory would restrict rather than promote candid interaction between members of different racial groups," maintains Kenneth R. Thomas, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the critics. In the therapy relationship, for example, having to watch every word "potentially discourages therapist genuineness and spontaneity," says Thomas, who is white.

Likewise, aspects of Sue's theory enforce a victim mentality by creating problems where none exist, Thomas asserts. "The theory, in general, characterizes people of color as weak and vulnerable, and reinforces a culture of victimization instead of a culture of opportunity," he says.

Kenneth Sole, PhD, whose consulting firm Sole & Associates Inc., trains employees on team communication, agrees with Sue that microaggressions are pervasive and potentially damaging. Indeed, clients talk about them all of the time, he says. But instead of encouraging their anger, he works with them on ways to frame the incidents so they feel empowered rather than victimized, he notes.

"My own view is that we don't serve ourselves well in the hundreds of ambiguous situations we experience by latching onto the definition of the experience that gives us the greatest pain"-particularly in one-time encounters where one can't take more systemic action, he says.

For instance, if a white person makes a potentially offensive remark to a person of color, the person could choose either to get angry and see the person as a bigot or to perceive the person as ignorant and move on, he says.

For Sue's part, he believes it's important to keep shining a light on the harm these encounters can inflict, no matter how the person of color decides to handle a given encounter.

"My hope is to make the invisible visible," he says. "Microaggressions hold their power because they are invisible, and therefore they don't allow us to see that our actions and attitudes may be discriminatory."
Tori DeAngelis is a writer in Syracuse, N.Y.

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Two colleagues-one Asian-American, the other African-American-board a small plane. A flight attendant tells them they can sit anywhere, so they choose seats near the front of the plane and across the aisle from each another so they can talk. At the last minute, three white men enter the plane and take the seats in front of them.

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The American Psychological Associations reviews the impact microaggressions can have if you are a bystander, the target or the perpetrator.

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"That's so gay." "You'd be pretty if you lost some weight."
Microaggressions-the brief statements or behaviors that, intentionally or not, communicate a negative message about a non-dominant group-are everyday occurrences for many people. In a study published in Educational Researcher in 2015, for example, psychologist Carola Suárez-Orozco, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, observed microaggressions in almost a third of the 60 community college classrooms she and her team studied, most committed by instructors.

"No one is immune from inheriting racial, gender and sexual orientation biases," says Derald Wing Sue, PhD, a professor of psychology and education at Teachers College of Columbia University, who studies multicultural counseling and racism. "Everyone, including marginalized group members, harbors biases and prejudices and can act in discriminatory and hurtful ways toward others."

The fact that microaggressions are often subtle can make them harder to shake off than more overt forms of discrimination, says psychologist Dorainne J. Levy, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Indiana University's Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society.

"There's uncertainty about whether or not your experience was due to your race, for example, or due to something unrelated, such as the other person being in a bad mood or having a bad day," says Levy, a visiting assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences. "That uncertainty is distressing."

It can also "consume cognitive resources" as you try to figure out what just happened. In a 2016 literature review in American Psychologist, she and co-authors found that the increase in stress hormones and sleep disruptions elicited by race-based stressors may even contribute to the achievement gap between white and minority students.

Given the ubiquity of microaggressions and the harm they cause, how can you help stop them? Here's advice, whether you're the target, a bystander or the perpetrator.

When you're the target

Consider the context. If the person committing the microaggression is someone you don't care about maintaining a relationship with, respond however you see fit if it seems safe to do so, says NiCole Buchanan, PhD, an associate professor of psychology who leads workshops on microaggressions at Michigan State University and beyond. But if the microaggressor is someone closely connected to you, you don't want to burn bridges by being overly blunt. Keep the initial conversation short and schedule a time to talk about it later to give the other person time to think things over, Buchanan suggests. Since such confrontations can be nerve-wracking, she says, plan what you want to say and practice with friends.

Be sure to criticize the microaggression, not the microaggressor, suggests Kevin Nadal, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Instead of accusing someone of being racist or homophobic, explain how the statement or behavior made you feel.

Of course, you can also choose not to respond, says Mengchun Chiang, PhD, an assistant professor of clinical psychology at William James College in Newton, Massachusetts. Maybe you don't want to confront antagonistic people who may become angry or supervisors who could retaliate against you, she points out. If you decide to confront someone despite worries about repercussions, document it and have witnesses.

Take care of yourself. Microaggressions can be shocking and make you think you don't belong, says Levy. Fight those feelings by talking things over with peers who are members of the same group you are, she says. "A big part of social support is having your experiences validated," she says. It's also important to cultivate a positive sense of belonging to your group, says Levy, suggesting that individuals expose themselves to role models, books and other resources. It's also important to practice healthy sleep habits and other self-care strategies, such as mindfulness meditation.

Don't be fooled by microaggressions packaged as opportunities. When a particular group isn't well-represented on campus, at work or anywhere else, well-intentioned authorities may keep turning to the same members of that group to speak on panels, serve on committees or mentor other members of their group, thereby overloading the minority students or staffers with all the minority-related work. While these opportunities can feel good to begin with, it's easy to become overwhelmed, says Chesleigh Keene, a Navajo doctoral student in counseling psychology at the University of Denver. Ethnic minority students, she points out, often have fewer resources than other students when it comes to money, mentors and other factors, yet may be asked to take on these extra responsibilities.

To help stop such microaggressions, those in power should take it upon themselves to learn about the diversity of their students and staff and to learn more about them than their ethnic identity, Keene recommends. "By spending more time with under-represented students and staff to discuss personal interests, hobbies and, of course, professional trajectories, administrators and faculty can further reinforce a respectful and inclusive environment," she says.

It's also important for students and early career professionals to get comfortable with saying no, says Keene. Although declining opportunities can be scary, especially for people just building their careers, Keene suggests that students and early career professionals express thanks for the opportunity while explaining that the tasks don't fit their schedules or current priorities. Keene also suggests that they might add that they'd be delighted to participate in future opportunities focused on particular topics-a positive way to decline participation while helping to ensure that future offers align with one's research and clinical interests.

When you're a bystander

Be an ally. "It's really important for allies to know that sometimes their voices can be heard even more powerfully than those of the people directly affected by microaggressions," says Nadal. When the targets of microaggression complain, the microaggressor may dismiss them as biased or over-sensitive, he says.

Speak for yourself. Don't try to speak on behalf of the person who has experienced the microaggression since doing so can itself be a form of microaggression, says Nadal. "I don't think people should ever speak on behalf of others, especially for historically marginalized groups," he says. "Having someone speak on their behalf can be unintentionally dehumanizing." Instead of saying, "You hurt her feelings," he suggests, say, "Here's why I'm offended, upset or hurt."

When you're the microaggressor

Even those of us with the best intentions can inadvertently commit microaggressions, says Vincenzo G. Teran, PsyD, president of the Clinical Psychology of Ethnic Minorities Section of APA's Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) and a psychologist at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School.

"Committing a microaggression is not indicative that we're bad people," says Teran. "It's more indicative of a society where the dominant world view tends to be Eurocentric, masculine and heterosexual."

Even people who are members of marginalized groups themselves can hurt members of other marginalized groups, says Sue. "Because people of color, for example, don't wield power and privilege, the insults and invalidations they deliver to others are technically not considered microaggressions but expressions of implicit bias," he adds. "On an individual level, nevertheless, they are equally harmful." An African-American lesbian, for instance, might succumb to a common microaggression against people with disabilities. People often assume that people with disabilities are disabled in all aspects of life functioning, Sue points out, which can lead to such scenarios as people raising their voices when speaking to a blind person as if they're also deaf.

What should you do if someone accuses you of a microaggression?

Try not to be defensive, says Teran. Take stock of your feelings, thoughts and behaviors, whether it's fear of appearing racist, anger about being confronted or attempts to minimize the situation. "Keep in mind that the person is taking a risk in sharing this information," he says.

Acknowledge the other person's hurt, apologize and reflect on where the microaggression came from and how you can avoid similar mistakes in the future. Then take responsibility for increasing your understanding of your own privileges and prejudices, Teran says.

Whatever you do, don't fool yourself that you are not doing harm, adds Buchanan. "It's death by a thousand cuts," she says. "All these seemingly small events accumulate over time and can leave you just as bloody as if someone had stabbed you."

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"That's so gay." "You'd be pretty if you lost some weight." Microaggressions-the brief statements or behaviors that, intentionally or not, communicate a negative message about a non-dominant group-are everyday occurrences for many people.

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A Guide to Responding to Microaggressions 

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A Guide to Responding to Microaggressions 

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5 Ways of Understanding Black Lives Matter

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5 Ways of Understanding Black Lives Matter

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"5 Ways of Understanding Black Lives Matter": Frank Leon Roberts, Cynthia Erivo, and Ledisi

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The Association for the study of African American Life and History

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ASALH | The Founders of Black History Month (est. 1915)

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ASALH | The Founders of Black History Month (est. 1915)

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Established by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, ASALH promotes, researches, interprets and disseminates information about Black life, history and culture to all.

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In critical race theory, white privilege is a set of advantages that some say are enjoyed by white people beyond those commonly experienced by non-white people in the same social, political, and economic spaces. Theorists differentiate it from racism or prejudice because, they say, a person who may benefit from white privilege is not necessarily racist or prejudiced and may be unaware of having any privileges reserved only for whites.

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In critical race theory, white privilege is a set of advantages that some say are enjoyed by white people beyond those commonly experienced by non-white people in the same social, political, and economic spaces. Theorists differentiate it from racism or prejudice because, they say, a person who may benefit from white privilege is not necessarily racist or prejudiced and may be unaware of having any privileges reserved only for whites.

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In critical race theory, white privilege is a set of advantages that some say are enjoyed by white people beyond those commonly experienced by non-white people in the same social, political, and economic spaces.

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Enter your library card barcode to access.
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by Duchess Harris
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Important User Information: Remote access to EBSCO's databases is permitted to patrons of subscribing institutions accessing from remote locations for personal, non-commercial use. However, remote access to EBSCO's databases from non-subscribing institutions is not allowed if the purpose of the use is for commercial gain through cost reduction or avoidance for a non-subscribing institution.

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Important User Information: Remote access to EBSCO's databases is permitted to patrons of subscribing institutions accessing from remote locations for personal, non-commercial use. However, remote access to EBSCO's databases from non-subscribing institutions is not allowed if the purpose of the use is for commercial gain through cost reduction or avoidance for a non-subscribing institution.

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TedTalks: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi

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TedTalks: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi

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An Interview with the Founders of Black Lives Matter
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Important User Information: Remote access to EBSCO's databases is permitted to patrons of subscribing institutions accessing from remote locations for personal, non-commercial use. However, remote access to EBSCO's databases from non-subscribing institutions is not allowed if the purpose of the use is for commercial gain through cost reduction or avoidance for a non-subscribing institution.

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Important User Information: Remote access to EBSCO's databases is permitted to patrons of subscribing institutions accessing from remote locations for personal, non-commercial use. However, remote access to EBSCO's databases from non-subscribing institutions is not allowed if the purpose of the use is for commercial gain through cost reduction or avoidance for a non-subscribing institution.

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by Sue Bradford Edwards
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Black Lives Matter covers the shootings that touched off passionate protests, the work of activists to bring about a more just legal system, and the tensions in US society that these events have brought to light. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

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Black Lives Matter covers the shootings that touched off passionate protests, the work of activists to bring about a more just legal system, and the tensions in US society that these events have brought to light. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.

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Learn more about the #BLM Movement and how it started.

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PG-13

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Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, Remember This House. It is a journey into black history that connects the Civil Rights movement to #BlackLivesMatter. It questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond and examines the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

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Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, Remember This House. It is a journey into black history that connects the Civil Rights movement to #BlackLivesMatter. It questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond and examines the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

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PG-13

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TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to '70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussi...

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TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist.

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NR: PBS Documentary

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FREEDOM RIDERS is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives--and many...

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FREEDOM RIDERS is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives--and many...

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NR

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Check out some selected titles below and then explore a large variety of movies that center black stories and voices from hoopla:

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Help and FAQs about accessing and using OverDrive and hoopla.

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The Ocean County Library will temporarily close to support the proactive measures being taken by the state of New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety Division of New Jersey State Police of Emergency Management Administrative Order No. 2020-3. Administrative Order No. 2020-03 was updated on March 20, 2020 (Executive Order No. 104). The following facilities have been added to the list of facilities closed to members of the public in accordance with paragraph 7 of Executive Order No. 104 (2020): all municipal, county and state public libraries, and all libraries and computer labs at public and private colleges and universities.

All Branches will remain closed to the public for as long as Executive Order No. 104 (2020) remains in effect. Click Here for More Information

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The Ocean County Library will temporarily close to support the proactive measures being taken by the state of New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety Division of New Jersey State Police of Emergency Management Administrative Order No. 2020-3. Administrative Order No. 2020-03 was updated on March 20, 2020 (Executive Order No.

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How to Sign up for a Digital Library Card

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Ocean County is currently providing digital library cards.

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Online Library Card Application

Please fill out the online application here. If you have any questions, please contact your home branch.
→Solicitud de Membresía en Español
Printable Library Card Application

Click for ENGLISH or SPANISH to print out an application for an Ocean County Library card.

How To Get An Ocean County Library Card

To get your card:

Bring current identification and proof of Ocean County residency to any location.

The signature of a parent or guardian is required for the issuance of a library card to minor children under the age of 17 years.

School ID, report card, school schedule, parent's ID, or letter from school registrar's office may be used for proof of residency for children 17 years of age.

Burlington or Monmouth residents need to bring their county library card and proof of address to activate reciprocal borrowing privileges.

Your Ocean County Library card may be used at all 21 Ocean County Library locations.

The Following People are Eligible for a Free Card:

Ocean County residents

Ocean County Business owners

Ocean County teachers and librarians with proof of employment

Ocean County students

Burlington County residents*

Monmouth County residents*

*Ocean County Library has reciprocal borrowing with Burlington County Library and Monmouth County Library.

Ocean County Library cardholders may also borrow from the Burlington County Library and the Monmouth County Library. Find more information here:

Burlington County Library: 5 Pioneer Boulevard, Westampton, NJ 08060; (609) 267-9660

Monmouth County Library: 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan, NJ 07726; (732) 431-7220

Out-of-county customers with proof of address may purchase a temporary card for $9.50 a month.

Ocean County Library Card Helpful Information:

Click below to print out a Welcome Brochure in Englishor Español.

Here is some more useful information about your Ocean County Library account.

Ocean County Library Policies, Fines, & Fees

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Please fill out the online application here. If you have any questions, please contact your home branch. →Solicitud de Membresía en Español Click for ENGLISH or SPANISH to print out an application for an Ocean County Library card. Bring current identification and proof of Ocean County residency to any location.

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Ocean County Library Discussing Race with Kids

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Ocean County Library Discussing Race with Kids

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Click Here for More Information June 16, 2020 Library Commission Meeting Notice The Ocean County Library system will be unavailable from 6:00 PM Monday (6/15/2020) until 9:00 AM Thursday (6/18/2020) due to necessary system maintenance. All services will be unavailable during this time.

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Teen Guide to Social Justice Resources @ Ocean County Library

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Teen Guide to Social Justice Resources @ Ocean County Library

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Teen Guide to Social Justice Resources @ Ocean County Library

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Teen Guide to Social Justice Resources @ Ocean County Library

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Ocean County Library Discussing Race with Kids

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Ocean County Library Discussing Race with Kids

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Click Here for More Information June 16, 2020 Library Commission Meeting Notice The Ocean County Library system will be unavailable from 6:00 PM Monday (6/15/2020) until 9:00 AM Thursday (6/18/2020) due to necessary system maintenance. All services will be unavailable during this time.

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OCL Anti-Racist: Pro-Racial Literacy Reading List

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OCL Anti-Racist: Pro-Racial Literacy Reading List

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Anti-Racist: Pro-Racial Literacy Reading List

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Click Here for More Information June 16, 2020 Library Commission Meeting Notice The Ocean County Library system will be unavailable from 6:00 PM Monday (6/15/2020) until 9:00 AM Thursday (6/18/2020) due to necessary system maintenance. All services will be unavailable during this time.

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Ocean County Library Discussing Race with Kids

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Ocean County Library Discussing Race with Kids

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Click Here for More Information June 16, 2020 Library Commission Meeting Notice The Ocean County Library system will be unavailable from 6:00 PM Monday (6/15/2020) until 9:00 AM Thursday (6/18/2020) due to necessary system maintenance. All services will be unavailable during this time.

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Reading about Race: Free YA Book Club Resources Created by Librarians & Literature Scholars

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Reading about Race: Free YA Book Club Resources Created by Librarians & Literature Scholars

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Join the National Day of Racial Healing by watching the YouTube livestream, hosted by Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue Lindsay Peoples Wagner. This livestream event will include conversations and performances, featuring guest speakers like Elaine Welteroth, Storm Reid, Baratunde Thurston, and many others.

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W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION NATIONAL DAY OF RACIAL HEALING 2020

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The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment, equality, and social justice. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the Urban League collaborates at the national and local levels with community leaders, policymakers and corporate partners across to elevate standards of living for African Americans and other historically underserved groups.

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We work toward this vision through programs and initiatives in these areas:

Our Vision:

Every American has an equal right and responsibility to fully participate in our democracy and civic processes, and all people have a right to justice and fairness.

Civil rights don't exist in a vacuum. They are meaningful only in the real world - the world where people have to survive to work, to raise their families, to instill in their children hope for the future."
- Vernon E. Jordan
Advocacy in Action

Justice Impact

New voters have registered with our partners

Our Vision:

Every American has an equal right and responsibility to fully participate in our democracy and civic processes, and all people have a right to justice and fairness.

Civil rights don't exist in a vacuum. They are meaningful only in the real world - the world where people have to survive to work, to raise their families, to instill in their children hope for the future."
Advocacy in Action

Affiliate offices on the ground

Urban League Affiliates Across The Nation:

Find an Urban League Affiliate Near You:
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Get the latest news, events and updates in your inbox:

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We work toward this vision through programs and initiatives in these areas: Our Vision: Civil rights don't exist in a vacuum. They are meaningful only in the real world - the world where people have to survive to work, to raise their families, to instill in their children hope for the future."

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Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

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Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

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The Joint Center's mission is to inform and illuminate the nation's major public policy debates through research, analysis, and information dissemination in order to improve the socioeconomic status of Black communities in the United States; expand their effective participation in the political and public policy arenas; and promote communication and relationships across racial and ethnic lines to strengthen the nation's pluralistic society.

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This is a difficult moment for the world and the United States, and for Black communities in particular. The Joint Center is working closely with several other Black organizations to ensure that the challenges facing Black communities are considered and adequately addressed in COVID-19 policy decisions.

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The African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey

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The African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey

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The AACCNJ is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities and businesses through entrepreneurship and capitalistic initiatives throughout the state of New Jersey and through its partnership with the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (NBCC).

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african american chamber of commerce of new jersey

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African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey | Trenton, NJ

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The AACCNJ is dedicated to economically empowering & sustaining African American communities & businesses through entrepreneurship & capitalistic initiatives.

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Founded in 1996, The African American Policy Forum (AAPF) is an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. We utilize new ideas and innovative perspectives to transform public discourse and policy.

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OUR MISSION

Founded in 1996, The African American Policy Forum (AAPF) is an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. We utilize new ideas and innovativ e perspectives to transform public discourse and policy. We promote frameworks and strategies that address a vision of racial justice that embraces the intersections of race, gender, class, and the array of barriers that disempower those who are marginalized in society. AAPF is dedicated to advancing and expanding racial justice, gender equality, and the indivisibility of all human rights, both in the U.S. and internationally.

TAKE ACTION

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Intersectionality | African American Policy Forum | United States

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The African American Policy Forum is home to the SayHerName Campaign and an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists, and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. We utilize new ideas and innovative perspectives to transform public discourse and policy.

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African American History Titles from Bookpage

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African American History Titles from Bookpage

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Behind the Book by James L. Swanson

Chasing King's Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassin, can trace its origins back to my childhood. When I was a boy, my mother-an artist-led me to what she called her "morgue": a tall, floor-to-ceiling closet with a sliding door that concealed...

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Behind the Book by James L. Swanson Chasing King's Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassin, can trace its origins back to my childhood. When I was a boy, my mother-an artist-led me to what she called her "morgue": a tall, floor-to-ceiling closet with a sliding door that concealed...

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Ocean County Library Anti-Racist: Pro-Racial Literacy Reading List

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Ocean County Library Anti-Racist: Pro-Racial Literacy Reading List

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Anti-Racist: Pro-Racial Literacy Reading List

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Click Here for More Information June 16, 2020 Library Commission Meeting Notice Please be advised the hoopla digital service is currently experiencing some technical difficulties and you may temporarily see some challenges when accessing the service. The hoopla team is working on correcting the issue. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

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Family­ Care, Community ­Care and Self­ Care Tool Kit: Healing in the Face of Cultural Trauma 

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Family­ Care, Community ­Care and Self­ Care Tool Kit: Healing in the Face of Cultural Trauma 

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This Tool Kit is for us—developed by and for people of African ancestry to comfort and inspire us in these difficult times. It provides resources to help us take care of ourselves and each other, and strengthen our sense of community for the journey ahead.

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The superwoman theory that we can do it all, at all costs has many sufferings from stress, depression, fatigue, anxiety and the fear of missing out (FOMO). If this is you, it’s time to put some self-care tips in motion.

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Taking time for yourself does not mean you're exercising societal avoidance.

These self-care tips will allow your peace and sanity to become a priority.

Personally, I believe women, especially Black women have mastered the art of maximizing their time, putting everyone else's needs before our own. How many times have work, children, family, significant others, church and philanthropy taken up all your time and energy? This superwoman theory that we can do it all, at all costs has many sufferings from stress, depression, fatigue, anxiety and the fear of missing out (). If this is you, it's time to put some self-care tips in motion.

July is Minority Mental Health Month. Let's talk about therapy.

In addition, Forever First Lady Michelle Obama joined in the conversation at the 2019 Essence Festival in New Orleans saying "Many of us, we have a hard time putting ourselves on our own priority list, let alone at the top of it," she said. "And that's what happens when it comes to our health as women. We are so busy giving and doing for others that we almost feel guilty to take that time out for ourselves." (View at 32 minutes into the video).

Watch these current movies and TV shows with Black actors.

I myself have run into bouts of depression and anxiety because not putting my health before other's needs. Instead of letting it spiral out of control, I began to practice self-care. For those who don't understand it, they think it's selfish. For those who need it, they see the importance of it. And for those who think it's as simple as getting a massage, well, it can be. But it is also so much more. Here are my personal self-care tips.

I'm not sure why eating chicken, waffles, eggs, potatoes and drinking bottomless champagne infused orange juice between the hours of 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. makes people so happy, but it does. There is no scientific reason for this. No stats to report. Just do it.

Many suggest meditation as a way to disconnect, but that doesn't work for me. Dancing, singing, cleaning and decluttering do. So, on Saturdays, my neighbors hear off-pitch Beyoncé verses, emotional gorging of SZA and a little ratchetness from Megan The Stallion and Saweetie.

Workouts can be more therapeutic than you think. Rather you get your blood pumping through cardio, weights, yoga or TRX, devoting 30 - 60 minutes a day to your mind and body will help prevent stress and promote focus and weight-loss. If possible, turn off notifications on your phone or use a separate device to listen to music to avoid any distractions. Check out these Cincinnati Black trainers.

Plants are the best listeners that don't talk back. All they need is love, water and sunlight. Sound familiar?

Just because you aren't booked, doesn't mean you need to become busy. The only way self-care works is if you actually take the time to practice. Learn to say no to friends, family and even your job if it means keeping your sanity. I would distance yourself from negative people.

Adapting a practice from Gabriel Union's character on Being Mary Jane, I write positive and motivational quotes on colorful post-its and stick them on my mirror. Whenever I need a pick-me-up, I find one that resonates with the type of day I am having and repeat it. This allows me to be more optimistic throughout the day. Check out these Mary Jane quotes to start.

I challenge myself to read one book a month. It allows my mind to constructively wonder into a reality that is not mine. Here are some Cincinnati Black authors you may like.

Basically, you can find any and everything online now. Calm your mind and watch your favorite TV shows rather current or from childhood. Grab your snacks and find movies and TV series with strong characters of interest. A couple of my favorites are Imposters and She's Gotta Have It. Add these Black Netflix movies and series to your watch list.

Connect with a higher power and keep a journal. Write about what you are grateful for, so you can continue to see what makes you happy. Write what makes you tick so you can figure out what sparks any anger, sadness or loneliness you may have.

Although my gut shows me no mercy, baking sugary treats makes me smile from ear to ear. Sugar cookies, pound cake and brownies are my favorites! PS- Baking a whole personal pizza and eating it works too!

Of course, any of these activities can be accompanied with a glass of wine! I hope this helps blossom everyone's dedication to self-care. What are some ways you practice self-care? Let me know in the comments. If there is anything I missed, please let us know at The Voice of Black Cincinnati.

Frequently Asked Questions About Self-Care and Mental Health

How many Black adults are living with a mental health condition?
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that 18.6% of Black adults are living with a mental health condition. This can be anything from bipolar and schizophrenia to anxiety, depression and more.

How do I know if I am possibly living with mental health issues?
- There are six signs to know if you or someone you know may be experiencing mental health. Those signs are anxiety, hopelessness, irritability or being easily agitated, isolation from the core group or a previously enjoyed activity, stress, self-medicating with food, alcohol, drugs or other substances.

What is the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)?
- The Fear of Missing Out is having general anxiety, or social anxiety characterized by a continuous need to be connected with activities with friends and other people. It's the idea that other people may be having fulfilling experiences without you.

Are there any Black therapists in Cincinnati?
- Cincinnati is fortunate to be home to these African-American mental health providers ~ Limitless Counseling and Consulting Services, LLC, A Sound Mind Counseling, Dr. Dwonna Thompson-Lenoir and TREEmendous Care , LLC. Search to find an African American therapist in your area.

How can I help others that may be experiencing mental health?
-Mental Health FirstAide helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In these courses, you learn risk factors and warning signs of mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help for adults and youth. to learn more about mental health in Black Cincinnati today.

Marissa Staples, Writer
The Voice of Black Cincinnati

The Voice of Black Cincinnati is a media company designed to educate, recognize and create opportunities for African Americans. Want to find local news, events, job posting, scholarships and a database of local Black-owned businesses? Visit our , explore other articles, like our page, join our Facebook group and text VOBC to 797979.

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Here are useful self-care tips that make sense. Start them today!

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Personally, I believe women, especially Black women have mastered the art of maximizing their time, putting everyone else's needs before our own. How many times have work, children, family, significant others, church and philanthropy taken up all your time and energy?

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In ‘Unapologetic,’ Charlene Carruthers Offers Young Black Organizers Inspiration, Purpose, and Strength

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In ‘Unapologetic,’ Charlene Carruthers Offers Young Black Organizers Inspiration, Purpose, and Strength

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In that spirit, Unapologetic offers Black organizers a framework from which to draw inspiration, purpose, and strength. It stands apart from other books about movement work by offering guidance to Black youth organizers who are in today’s liberation movement, or who are seeking to join or learn more about it and its Black queer feminist praxis from one of its progenitors.

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For more anti-racism resources, check out our guide, Racial Justice Is Reproductive Justice.

One of Charlene Carruthers' earliest memories about power comes from her visits with her mother to the public aid office in Chicago for food stamps or cash assistance. She recalls entering a "colorful and always noisy" room full of Black and brown women, many of them with children. The front desk "was placed on high, and even then the symbolism of this was evident to me, and I found the arrangement uncomfortable and odd," Carruthers writes in her new book, Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements, published last month by Beacon Press.

"I also didn't understand why we had to wait in a room all day for a conversation of no more than fifteen minutes with a caseworker," Carruthers continues. "I didn't understand why the caseworker asked my mother invasive questions about my very present father. I didn't know the government viewed Black fathers as a barrier to need and Black mothers as unworthy of dignified treatment."

This experience was one of many that left an imprint on Carruthers as she came to understand the impact of anti-Blackness, patriarchy, and capitalism in the United States and around the world. But it was social justice movement work that showed the Chicago-based organizer, who would serve as founding national director of Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), how to "think more expansively about Black freedom and collective liberation."

In that spirit, Unapologetic offers Black organizers a framework from which to draw inspiration, purpose, and strength. It stands apart from other books about movement work by offering guidance to Black youth organizers who are in today's liberation movement, or who are seeking to join or learn more about it and its Black queer feminist praxis from one of its progenitors.

As historian and longtime political activist Barbara Ransby-who co-founded the Chicago-based Black Radical Congress in the late 1990s-argues in her new book, Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the 21st Century, "This is the first time in the history of U.S. social movements that Black feminist politics have defined the frame for a multi-issue, Black-led mass struggle that did not primarily or exclusively focus on women."

BYP100 is a member-based organization for Black youth between the ages of 18 and 35 focused on transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and education. Like Black Lives Matter, BYP100 was originally a hashtag-in this case, for the 2013 "Beyond November Movement Convening" developed by longtime Black feminist activist and political scientist Cathy Cohen. Created after the acquittal of the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the organization has led some of the most significant actions defending the dignity of Black people, such as the #StopTheCops and #FundBlackFutures campaigns; it has chapters in Chicago; Washington D.C.; Detroit; Durham, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi, New Orleans; New York City; and the San Francisco Bay Area, along with a national membership for young people who are outside of those regions.

Carruthers, the sole staff member for the organization's first year after leading grassroots and digital strategy campaigns for Color of Change and the Women's Media Center-among other national groups-unpacks in her book BYP100's Black queer feminist (BQF) organizing lens. Drawing inspiration from such luminaries as Ella Baker, Barbara Smith, and the Combahee River Collective, she defines it as a "political praxis (practice and theory) based in Black feminist and LGBTQ traditions and knowledge, through which people and groups see to bring their full selves into the process of dismantling all systems of oppression." This lens enables BYP100 to create "alternatives of self-governance and self-determination" and through its application while organizing, members are able to "more effectively prioritize problems and methods that center historically marginalized people in our communities."

Carruthers provides numerous examples of the BQF lens in practice throughout the book. One example that stands out is BYP100's holistic response to an allegation of sexual assault involving one of its leaders. As has been acknowledged publicly, a visible leader in BYP100 Chicago, Malcolm London, was accused of sexually assaulting a young Black woman identified as Kyra. Rather than forcing London from the organization, the BYP100 community facilitated a "survivor-led process of transformative justice" with London and Kyra, led by experts in that process, while the organization placed London on hiatus and underwent internal changes "to address and prevent harm within our organization."

"While BYP100 had not even existed when the assault took place, our organization and its leaders chose to be accountable to the survivor and broader community. In the ... transformative justice process, I came to realize what it meant to embody Black queer feminism as a praxis." That meant not disowning members but instead practicing compassion for their community. "All too often our responses to our people mirror our responses to the state. Our comrades should not become our targets," Carruthers writes.

It's not a perfect lens-it's "full of contradictions because we are working to practice and explain what it means"-but the takeaway here is the extraordinary possibilities for radical transformation when using a framework that expands what many people see as responses to violence, even when it involves an accusation brought against one of their own comrades. "Did we set ourselves up for failure by opening a space that espouses values no one can completely live up to? I can accept that," Carruthers writes. "We are fighting for our lives against formidable enemies, but we are optimistic and steadfast in the idea that we can lean to treat each other better."

When asked how the BQF lens has transformed her personally, Carruthers explained to Rewire.News in a recent phone interview, "It allows me to think much more expansively and not to move out of a spirit of scarcity but a spirit of abundance and thinking about all the possibilities that we have before us. Queer politics, at least radical queer politics, are about expansiveness, about imagination, and about possibility."

Another example of Black queer feminist organizing in practice is the May 2015 national day of action raising awareness of police violence against Black women and girls. The action kicked off at the time that Chicago organizers were calling for the firing of officer Dante Servin, who fatally shot 22-year-old Rekia Boyd but remained on the city's payroll three years after her killing. During Servin's trial, Boyd's mom, Angela Helton, said to Carruthers "in a voice heavy with grief, 'They never talk about the women and girls.'"

That planted a seed in the organizer's mind that was swiftly followed by support from BYP100 and other organizations to organize a national day of action, in coordination with the release of the African American Policy Forum's groundbreaking report Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women. "Together we wove a narrative about the impact of policing Black women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people that changed how everyday people understood the meaning of #BlackLivesMatter."

It is in the "Reviving the Black Radical Imagination" chapter that the author reminds readers how Black people have always found a way to see beyond the violence inflicted upon them. She discusses an analogy shared by the legendary Cicely Tyson of a ladder that represents the world's social order and places Black women below white men, white women, and Black men, on the last rung. Black women "are being trampled on by all those three above, and still we hold on. That's our strength. That's the reason we survive-because we will not let go of that rung," said the actor.

Carruthers diverges from Tyson on the part about whether holding on is Black women's strength. "The killing of the Black imagination, I believe, tells us that we must rise only as far as the world will allow us," she writes. "But I argue that Black women have always demanded and done more."

"We've never accepted that the bottom rung is where we will remain. And that's where the Black imagination lives. It lives in our ability to create alternatives, whether those are alternative economies, alternative family structures, or something else entirely."

This space where the Black imagination lives is where tools for collective liberation are born, Carruthers explains. It's where strategies are designed to create transformative change, "meaning change that dismantles oppressive systems and fundamentally shifts power into the hands of communities." Carruthers writes that this change takes time, but notes a shift is underway, and it is very clearly being led by young Black abolitionists.

When Rewire.News spoke with her on the phone about maintaining radical imagination amid darkness, she explained: "I'm not free of sadness, free of anxiety, free of despair. That stuff is super present for me. It's about moving through that and not getting stuck in it. And the only way I'm not able to get stuck-the only reason I'm not always stuck in it-is because I'm connected to other people doing the work."

"There's no magic bullet. I don't have some spell or incantation to tell people. There's no secret sauce," Carruthers said. "At some point, people have to be driven and make an active choice to engage in some kind of way, no matter what that is. And oftentimes the single choice to do something leads to being able to deepen our work."

Collective action over individualism is a crucial precursor to collective liberation. "There are things that we could do as individuals and there are things that we can only do as a collective group of people, and creating transformative change is one of those things," Carruthers said.

The idea that change is not only possible but in our control may seem suspect to individuals who are struggling to see themselves as enough, often as a consequence of those with power doing the most to kill Black imagination and self-determination. For young Black people, Carruthers had this to say: "First, know that we live in a world that tells us every single day that we are not enough: We don't have the right body, we don't have the right ideas, we don't have the right amount of money, we don't come from the right kind of family. And yet we still persist. And while there are people who tell you that you are not enough, there is someone around the corner who absolutely believes that you are enough."

"And so we quite frankly have to find our people. Find our people, find our village."

BYP100 is one such village. And after five years, Carruthers is transitioning out from her national director position and welcoming two co-directors, Janaé Bonsu and D'atra "Dee Dee" Jackson.

Regeneration is a common theme throughout Unapologetic. Carruthers addresses the concept directly in the "Three Commitments" chapter, in which she invites organizers to take up "adopting healing justice as a core organizing value and practice," "combating liberalism with principled struggle," and "building many strong leaders." These three practices can enable movements to "cultivate radical and even revolutionary means for liberation," Carruthers argues. Within this chapter, she reminds readers about the importance of doing self-work and healing to create more effective movements, as well as snuffing out harmful liberalism practices that "do harm without consequence," such as allowing people and organizations to identify as "progressive" without committing to "ensuring reproductive freedom or ending mass incarceration or poverty," or "allows so-called progressive elected officials to fund wars but vote no on immigrant rights."

When asked how she and BYP100 prepare young leaders, Carruthers clarified that "we're not training the next generation of leaders; we are training people who are leading right now. So whether we're working with people who are in middle school or in high school or people who are young adults ... we're not preparing them for something five years from now, we're doing things for right now-and for 20 years from now, 30 years from now, 40 years from now."

Training for people leading right now includes strategic communications and "teaching people how to facilitate a meeting and giving them space to do it. Those things are the building blocks of organizing," Carruthers said.

The book offers numerous case studies on how young Black people are working to fulfill the mandate for Black people, as espoused by Southerners on New Ground Co-Director Mary Hooks: to avenge the suffering of our ancestors; to earn the respect of future generations; and to be willing to be transformed in the service of the work. At the same time, it acknowledges that the Black liberation movement must continue to grow and evolve, and in many ways speaks to future generations about how the task of reimagining must continue to address unforeseen circumstances of today.

"Nobody gave [BYP100] a plan," Carruthers said. "We had to figure it out, just like generations before us." And the same will be true of future generations. Fortunately they have one more guide in the canon of radical Black organizing books to lead them-to lead us-to collective liberation.

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In 'Unapologetic,' Charlene Carruthers Offers Young Black Organizers Inspiration, Purpose, and Strength - Rewire.News

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"There's no magic bullet," Carruthers told Rewire.News. "At some point, people have to be driven and make an active choice to engage in some kind of way, no matter what that is. And oftentimes the single choice to do something leads to being able to deepen our work."

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The Free People Project is a spiritual justice conversation focused on creating programming, curating content, and holding safe space for community building around issues related to and important to marginalized people - specifically people of color - more specifically black people - most specifically black women.

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EbonyJanice Moore is a womanist scholar, author, and activist doing community-organizing work, most specifically around black women's body ownership as a justice issue, black women's access to ease, joy, and play, and Hip Hop as a tool for sociopolitical and spiritual/religious movement making. She has created curriculum for leadership development for high school-aged girls in Kenya and South Africa, developed programming for teenagers in housing projects in Decatur, Georgia giving them exposure to culture, STEM programs, and the arts, and she supports the tuition of several girl students at PACE High School in Nyahururu, Kenya - towards her passion to ensure gender parity in spaces considered "the least of these."

EbonyJanice has presented papers on Hip Hop as Liberation Theology, Hip Hop As The Language Of The AfroFuture, Black Girl Hand Games As Spiritual and Religious Ritual, Beyonce & African Spirit Justice, and Hip Hop And Womanist Theology at Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Chicago, the Institute of Buddhist Studies, the Graduate Theological Union, University of Southern California, and UC Berkeley.

Her research interests include issues pertaining to blackness, woman-ness, and spirituality - most specifically black women's use of spirit, conjure, and/or the supernatural as a tool to impact social justice, and the pluralism of Black Christianity and the interconnectedness of the Southern Black Christian experience with Indigenous African religions and African Spirituality. She is a Hip Hop Scholar and hosts a podcast focused on hip hop and womanism called Rap Theology. She recently performed an original creative piece about The Rebellion at Igbo Landing at The Public Theater in New York City and is currently working on an expansion of that play focused on the women that often get lost in the story.

EbonyJanice has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Political Science, and a Master of Arts in Social Change with a concentration in Spiritual Leadership, Womanist Theology, and Racial Justice. She is the founder of Black Girl Mixtape, a multi-platform safe think-space, centering the intellectual authority of black women in the form of a lecture series, a podcast, and an online learning institute lead by black women scholars.

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EbonyJanice of The Free People Project is an Author, Entrepreneur, Black Girl Activist, Minister, Hip Hop Womanist, Freedom Consultant, Your Auntie & Best Friend. Here you will find all things EbonyJanice, The Free People Project, Black Girl MIxtape, Hip Hop Womanist, & A Little Self

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Self Care for People of Color After Psychological trauma

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Self Care for People of Color After Psychological trauma

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When people of color are exposed to repetitive acts of racism (racism has been shown to be processed in our brains as trauma) a kind of post traumatic stress syndrome can develop.

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I love Black people. I love us so much. I have so many friends who work in the anti-racist space. I worry for our wellbeing when we are inundated with racism. Continuing to engage in confronting racism in the online space can mean taking a risk with your brain and psychological wellbeing. All of the interactions and conversations in the online space, can be received as micro-aggressions and race-based traumas. Though the work of creating a better racial digital landscape is all of our responsibility and intentional conversations matter, we must be mindful to take good care of ourselves. We must be mindful to create space, establish relaxation routines, and recharge with people who give us life while engaging in these discussions and doing this very important work.

When people of color are exposed to repetitive acts of racism (racism has been shown to be processed in our brains as trauma) a kind of post traumatic stress syndrome can develop. Race-based trauma can come in several forms:

Witnessing ethnoviolence or discrimination of another person, historical or personal memory of racism, institutional racism, micro aggressions, and the constant threat of racial discrimination (Helms et al., 2012).

This syndrome can be a response to any traumatic event and can be marked by an acute state of fear, anxiety, and hopelessness. If the acute trauma does not reach resolve, or is not diffused within a reasonable timeframe, it can develop into post traumatic stress disorder.If you are a person of color or an ally you need to evaluate yourself and your loved ones for signs of emotional and psychological trauma. If you already have a history or mental illness, you need to be extra diligent.

If you or your loved one are showing signs of trauma you need to take active steps to care for your psychological well-being (and your brain). To make what happens in your brain plain lets consider what happens to a muscle:

Say 200 people lined up to press their thumb firmly into your bicep. After the 20th person you may feel a little sore, but your body isn't sending signals that you should stop. Each time the next person presses their thumb into your muscle you might flex to resist the pressure. By the 50th person your muscle is communicating signs of pain and fatigue, but there are still people in line to press their thumb into your bicep. You realize that what you are about to experience will hurt.

[In anticipation of the pain, your body signals to activate the limbic system. The limbic system is responsible for the functions that inform our survival instincts and reflexes. It also regulates the autonomic nervous system and informs your stress and relaxation. Your amygdala lights up and begins attaching emotional meaning to these sensations (the thumb in your arm). It signals other parts of the brain that there is danger (habitual pain) and sends outputs to the hypothalamus for activation of your sympathetic nervous system.]

You don't run, because you can't. So you endure 50 more and then 100 more thumbs being pressed into your bicep. When it is over, a bruise has formed. If you don't stop, rest that bicep, provide nutrients that promote healing the wounded part, your adrenal systems goes into overdrive. Your sympathetic nervous system requires a level of signals that communicate that you are safe (no one is going to stick their thumb in your bicep now) in order to achieve homeostasis . If homeostasis isn't achieved, the message of fight or flight gets stuck and other systems attempt to compensate and increase their neuro-response to keep up with your fear signals. Essential your brain will continue to work as if it needs to respond to thumbs being pressed into your bicep even when no one is threatened to repeat the act. The thumb pressing has now been assigned in your brain as a trauma memory. This memory can be triggered (thus activating your fight or flight into a hyper-elevated response) by anything that your brain has filed as related to the incident (schema).

(Of course environment and other biological factors impact this process as well, but for the point of the illustration I've parsed some of the systems down.)

So to bring this illustration back to race-based trauma, your brain is the bicep and the neuro-response translates to your emotional and psychological well-being. Race-based trauma literally leaves bruised spots on your brain. By continuing to enter online conversations, as important as you warrant them to be, you are allowing the bruise to be pressed on over and over. You are harming yourself if you do not step away and heal. These conversations are impacting your emotional and psychological well-being.

If you are still with me, I've provided a way to respond to the trauma in order to help discharge the fight-or-flight response and create homeostasis for your brain.

Take Care of You

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Self Care For People of Color After Psychological Trauma - Just Jasmine

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I love Black people. I love us so much. I have so many friends who work in the anti-racist space. I worry for our wellbeing when we are inundated with racism.

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WHY WE NEED SELF-CARE IN THE FACE OF RACE-BASED TRAUMA

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WHY WE NEED SELF-CARE IN THE FACE OF RACE-BASED TRAUMA

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We need to take care of ourselves to deal with the ongoing government-sanctioned murder and tragedy that feels so deeply personal.

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Feminista Jones created the viral "You OK, Sis?" hashtag on Twitter to comfort women who experienced street and online harassment. I think of it now as I see the hurt many of us are sharing online. I know the answer is no, we're not ok. I wanted to share a few tips and resources that may help you or someone you know dealing with the emotional fallout of this ongoing trauma. Please feel free to leave resources you've found helpful in the comments.

Get off social media

Seeing the video stills, the news reports, the racist memes and retweets, even the posts that echo my anger and sadness just makes me more upset.

"By continuing to enter online conversations, as important as you warrant them to be, you are allowing the bruise to be pressed on over and over," mental health professional Jasmine Banks Brown wrote in a piece on self-care for people of color after emotional trauma. "You are harming yourself if you do not step away and heal. These conversations are impacting your emotional and psychological well-being."

I'm taking a break from social media to avoid that additional stress of seeing triggering images and words. If you're addicted to social media like I am, use SelfControl or other website blocking apps to keep Facebook at bay.

Find a therapist

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black people are 20% more likely "to report having serious psychological distress than Non-Hispanic Whites." I believe the unchecked stress of living under racism contributes to that fact. "Race-based trauma can create symptoms much like PTSD," writes Banks Brown. "Repeated race-based trauma puts your emotional, psychological, and physical well-being at stake."

If you're worried about the expense, I would counter that it can be well worth the cost. One of the best investments I've ever made in myself was finding a therapist. When I lived in Chicago, I found a women-focused center that offered sliding scale fees based on income; as a graduate student, I only paid $5 per session-and I honestly believe those sessions saved my life. Now I'm looking into finding practices with similar structures in New York to help me address my anxiety.

Buzzfeed has a helpful beginner's guide to therapy if you're looking for a place to start. TalkSpace is an online therapy option that is cheaper than traditional sessions. Also, if finding a therapist of the same background is important to you, BlackCounselors.com has a database you can search through using your zip code. If you have insurance, you can visit ZocDoc and look for therapist in your area who accept your insurance.

Create safe spaces for yourself

As our wellness columnist Alex Elle wrote about creating safe spaces, "We can create our own versions of emotional safety wherever we choose. It's all about finding what works for you and your mood." It's important to create environments that aren't a continuation of the hostility we feel in the spaces we have to be.

Be with people who get it

Those aforementioned safe spaces can include people, specifically those who love and support us. Surrounding yourself with friends who understand is critical during these moments where so many loud and wrong people are ready to question your feelings or speak in support of a racist society online. You can gather to create a safe space to discuss what you all are feeling and to process what's happening.

Also know that you don't have to educate anyone if you don't want to. That's not your job-you can direct would-be allies to Google or just choose not to engage with the racists or "I don't see color" folks antagonizing us online.

Find and be in silence

This goes in hand with my earlier suggestion of avoiding social media. Everyone on all sides of the issue is sharing their pain and rage online, which creates a chaotic cacophony that can fill up our heads with negativity and stress. I think finding a quiet place to think and process our own feelings can be invaluable.

If you want to do anything but think about what's going on for a moment, that's fine too. Silence can help with reconnecting with your body and spirit as well. Black Girl In Om's Lauren Ash offers free guided audio meditations, and you can try these three meditation exercises yoga teacher Dana A. Smith shared with us.

Do something for you

Being woke is tiring. And contrary to what some would have you believe, taking a break from the upsetting news cycle isn't proof that you're not affected by it. It's taking stock of your own health and well-being, and if you're a mother or caregiver, those of your loved ones as well.

For me, that means catching up on some of my favorite podcasts, learning how to swim and practicing in my neighborhood pool, getting a good night's sleep, and planning a trip back home to Kansas City, Missouri to visit my family. Taking the time to get to be with them means so much to me now.

Anthonia Akitunde is the founder of mater mea. She lives in Astoria in Queens, New York.

If you have any resources or events you'd like to share, please leave them in the comments.

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Why We Need Self-Care In The Face Of Race-Based Trauma - mater mea

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Feminista Jones created the viral "You OK, Sis?" hashtag on Twitter to comfort women who experienced street and online harassment. I think of it now as I see the hurt many of us are sharing online. I know the answer is no, we're not ok.

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If you witness public instances of racist, anti-Black, anti-Muslim, anti-Trans, or any other form of oppressive interpersonal violence and harassment, use these tips on how to intervene while considering the safety of everyone involved.

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DO make your presence as a witness known. If possible, make eye contact with the person being harassed and ask them if they want support. Move yourself near the person being harassed. If you feel you can risk doing so, create distance or a barrier between the person being harassed and the attacker. If it's safe to do so-and the person being harassed consents-film or record the incident.

DO take cues from the individual being harassed. Is the person engaging with the harasser or not? You can make suggestions, "Would you like to walk with me over here? Move to another train car? For him to leave you alone?," and then follow their lead. Notice if the person being harassed is resisting in their own way, and honor that. (Especially white folks, don't police the tone of the person being harassed). Follow up with the individual being harassed after the incident is over, see if they need anything else.

DO keep both of you safe. Assess your surroundings-are there others nearby you can pull in to support? Working in a team is a good idea, if it is possible. Can you and the person being harassed move to a safer space/place?

DON'T call the police. For many communities experiencing harassment right now (including Arab and Muslim communities, Black people, queer and trans folks, and immigrants) the police can cause a greater danger for the person being harassed.

DON'T escalate the situation. The goal is to get the person being harassed to safety, not to incite further violence from the attacker.

DON'T do nothing. Silence is dangerous-it communicates approval and leaves the victim high and dry. If you find yourself too nervous or afraid to speak out, move closer to the person being harassed to communicate your support with your body.

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How to intervene if someone is being harassed

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DO make your presence as a witness known. If possible, make eye contact with the person being harassed and ask them if they want support. Move yourself near the person being harassed. If you feel you can risk doing so, create distance or a barrier between the person being harassed and the attacker.

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Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism–from Ferguson to Charleston

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Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism–from Ferguson to Charleston

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Everyone has a role in ending racism, but the analogy shows how little sense it makes for only those facing the heel-end of oppression to do all the work. It’s time for White America to take on a far bigger role...

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Surviving & Resisting Hate: A Toolkit for People of Color

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Surviving & Resisting Hate: A Toolkit for People of Color

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We Need to Start Telling the Truth About White Supremacy in Our Schools

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We Need to Start Telling the Truth About White Supremacy in Our Schools

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From the outset of my class I'd promise, "Everybody is going to learn about themselves in here." I didn't just mean individually, but historically, because my belief is we all come from great people.

What is apparent however, is that most are not exposed to history from diverse perspectives. One could get upset at the likes of Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) for saying White people are hated by Blacks because they're successful and Black people aren't. Or at Rep. Steven King (R-IA) who contended that Whites have contributed more to modern civilization than any other subgroup. But honestly, can you blame them? What information have they received to the contrary in their educational career?

If journalist Roland Martin's epic takedown of alleged "alt-right" (I prefer neo-nazi) front man Richard Spencer tells us anything, it's that the belief in White Supremacy has been facilitated through a severe miseducation process. It's the only thing that makes the myth of racial superiority believable. A true historical examination of the aforementioned claims would most certainly force a shift in paradigm.

I'd be willing to guess believers in this ideology have likely never been exposed to a historical education where Europe is not completely centered. Or exposed to authors like Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, Martin Bernal, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, or Basil Davidson.

They've probably never entertained the thought that indigenous people of Ancient Kemet (Egypt) were the teachers of the Greeks, waging their greatest building campaigns before Ancient Greece even existed. Or that North African Moors were responsible for many of the cultural and technological advancements that led Europe out of the Dark Ages.

They probably never entertained the thought that pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations were charting the movement of the sun, moon and planets, and engaging in complex architecture prior to making contact with Europeans. Or that innovations aiding Western European development like printing press technology and gunpowder have their origins in Asia.

I could go on, but my larger point is the accomplishments of people of color are hidden in our everyday curriculum and contribute to notions of inferiority.
Calling It By Name
At some point, as an instructor I had to give this phenomenon language. After trying for several years to teach around it, I decided to call this issue by name. I concluded that my students' sincere questions about the course content deserved an honest answer.

"Mr. Ford," they'd ask, firing off questions like these: "Why did Columbus feel like he could brutalize the Native Americans like that?" "What was the justification for the three-fifths compromise?" "What made Europeans feel like they could just split up Africa amongst themselves?" "Why wouldn't the British give India their independence?" "How could the Australian government forcibly remove Aboriginal children from their homes?"

"Among other things...White supremacy," I said.The questions kept coming. There was no need to dance around it any longer. "Among other things...White supremacy," I said.

Although several complex political, cultural and economic factors were at play, at a base level, belief in the inherent genetic superiority of Europeans inspired everything from the exploration to imperialism. I had to grapple with this in front of my students, to not distort history and rob them of the hard truth. I'm certain my decision gave them a more acute understanding of the past as well as current events.

In the end, I'm in agreement with Jane Elliott. Nobody is born racist, it is taught. It's likely introduced in the household, but is certainly reinforced in the schools. As teachers, we may not know how much racism is kept alive both by what we teach and don't teach.

I tried to confront the biases embedded in my curriculum for the sake of all my students. I can only hope more educators will be emboldened to do the same.

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As a former high school world history teacher in an urban district, and socio-politically conscious Black male, I've often struggled with how to deliver such a Eurocentric curriculum to students who descend primarily from African, Asian and Latin American countries. It's a challenge that takes cogni

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The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB), 

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The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB), 

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is a national and international collective of antiracist, multicultural community organizers and educators dedicated to building an effective movement for social transformation.

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The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond

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The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) focuses on understanding what racism is, where it comes from, how it functions, why it persists and how it can be undone.

Our workshops utilize a systemic approach that emphasizes learning from history, developing leadership, maintaining accountability to communities, creating networks, undoing internalized racial oppression and understanding the role of organizational gate keeping as a mechanism for perpetuating racism.

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The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) focuses on understanding what racism is, where it comes from, how it functions, why it persists and how it can be undone. Our workshops utilize a systemic approach that emphasizes learning from history, developing leadership, maintaining accountability to communities, creating networks, undoing internalized racial oppression and understanding the role of organizational gate keeping as a mechanism for perpetuating racism.

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Picture books to help talk to kids about racism

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Picture books to help talk to kids about racism

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Books are a great teaching tool, especially when it comes to talking to kids about tough subjects. Many parents might struggle with talking to their kids about institutionalized racism and prejudice and I hope these picture books about racism will help, because an open and honest dialogue is the only way our kids can work to combat the problem so that they and their friends can live in a better society.

My intention with this list is to suggest books that will help you address issues surround race directly, not a general, "everyone is equal" statement, nor with a metaphorical allusion to racism. I agree that those books are extremely valuable and great for our very youngest kids. But school aged kids are ready to talk about tough subjects and tackle them head on. You'll do your kids a great service by reading them these books, as well as the books on our list of picture books to teach inclusion and anti-bias.

One note: many of these books discuss racism in an historical context, but it is crucial to connect it to the present day. It's important not to let our children think all the problems have been solved just because Jim Crow laws have been repealed, so keep the discussion going, even after the book is closed. Do you have other books to add to this list? Let's make it a great resource together and add your suggestions to the comments below.

More: See the index of all our book lists.

(Note: covers and titles are affiliate links.)

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation tells the story of school desegregation 10 years before Brown v. the Board of Education. In 1944, Sylvia's family moved to a new community. When she tried to attend school, she was told that she would have to go to "the Mexican school". Sylvia and her family fight back and eventually win a very important court battle, setting the stage for future desegregation cases. This is a great book to teach our kids that segregation extended beyond the Jim Crow laws of the South.

Ruth and the Green Book. Here's something I didn't know, but which breaks my heart. From 1936-1964, "The Green Book" was a travel guide for African-Americans that included a listing of service stations that would serve them. That's something to talk about with the kids on your next road trip! Ruth and her family are en route from Chicago to Alabama to visit grandma. Ruth learns about Jim Crow laws for the first time and makes it her job to help navigate with the help of The Green Book. This is a great book about a less frequently told story. ( A good chapter book to use in conjunction is the superb, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963)
There are many other wonderful books to teach kids about the legacy of racism and to help them combat it. What would you add?
More useful book lists to help you talk to kids about racism:

We post a new book list every Monday, sign up to get them delivered straight to you:

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Picture Books that Teach Kids to Combat Racism

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Books are a great teaching tool, especially when it comes to talking to kids about tough subjects. Many parents might struggle with talking to their kids about institutionalized racism and prejudice and I hope these picture books about racism will help, because an open and honest dialogue is the only way our kids can work to combat the problem so that they and their friends can live in a better society.

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Watch and learn

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naacp "civil rights" nonprofit vote "advocacy group" "naacp videos"

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This channel highlights some of the NAACP activities and messages from the National office and Units from across the nation. Also, be sure to participate in ...

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NAACP Virtual Town Hall Call to Action Programs

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NAACP Virtual Town Hall Call to Action Programs

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Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

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Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger's regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All of which, or none of these versions could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln's authority over the rebellious states was in question. Whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

General Order Number 3

One of General Granger's first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began most significantly with:

"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."

The reactions to this profound news ranged from pure shock to immediate jubilation. While many lingered to learn of this new employer to employee relationship, many left before these offers were completely off the lips of their former 'masters' - attesting to the varying conditions on the plantations and the realization of freedom. Even with nowhere to go, many felt that leaving the plantation would be their first grasp of freedom. North was a logical destination and for many it represented true freedom, while the desire to reach family members in neighboring states drove some into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Settling into these new areas as free men and women brought on new realities and the challenges of establishing a heretofore non-existent status for black people in America. Recounting the memories of that great day in June of 1865 and its festivities would serve as motivation as well as a release from the growing pressures encountered in their new territories. The celebration of June 19th was coined "Juneteenth" and grew with more participation from descendants. The Juneteenth celebration was a time for reassuring each other, for praying and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston on this date.

Juneteenth Festivities and Food

A range of activities were provided to entertain the masses, many of which continue in tradition today. Rodeos, fishing, barbecuing and baseball are just a few of the typical Juneteenth activities you may witness today. Juneteenth almost always focused on education and self improvement. Thus, often guest speakers are brought in and the elders are called upon to recount the events of the past. Prayer services were also a major part of these celebrations.

Certain foods became popular and subsequently synonymous with Juneteenth celebrations such as strawberry soda-pop. More traditional and just as popular was the barbecuing, through which Juneteenth participants could share in the spirit and aromas that their ancestors - the newly emancipated African Americans, would have experienced during their ceremonies. Hence, the barbecue pit is often established as the center of attention at Juneteenth celebrations.

Food was abundant because everyone prepared a special dish. Meats such as lamb, pork and beef which were not available everyday were brought on this special occasion. A true Juneteenth celebrations left visitors well satisfied and with enough conversation to last until the next.

Dress was also an important element in early Juneteenth customs and is often still taken seriously, particularly by the direct descendants who can make the connection to this tradition's roots. During slavery there were laws on the books in many areas that prohibited or limited the dressing of the enslaved. During the initial days of the emancipation celebrations, there are accounts of former slaves tossing their ragged garments into the creeks and rivers and adorning themselves with clothing taken from the plantations belonging to their former 'masters'.

Juneteenth and Society

In the early years, little interest existed outside the African American community in participation in the celebrations. In some cases, there was outwardly exhibited resistance by barring the use of public property for the festivities. Most of the festivities found themselves out in rural areas around rivers and creeks that could provide for additional activities such as fishing, horseback riding and barbecues. Often church grounds were the site for such activities. Eventually, as African Americans became land owners, land was donated and dedicated for these festivities. One of the earliest documented land purchases in the name of Juneteenth was organized by Rev. Jack Yates. This fund-raising effort yielded $1000 and made possible the purchase of Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas. In Mexia, the local Juneteenth organization purchased Booker T. Washington Park, which had become the Juneteenth celebration site in 1898. There are accounts of Juneteenth activities being interrupted and halted by white landowners demanding that their laborers return to work. However, it seems most allowed their workers the day off and some even made donations of food and money. For decades these annual celebrations flourished, growing continuously with each passing year. In Booker T. Washington Park, as many as 20,000 African Americans once attended during the course of a week, making the celebration one of the state's largest.

Juneteenth Celebrations Decline

Economic and cultural forces led to a decline in Juneteenth activities and participants beginning in the early 1900's. Classroom and textbook education in lieu of traditional home and family-taught practices stifled the interest of the youth due to less emphasis and detail on the lives of former slaves. Classroom textbooks proclaimed Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 as the date signaling the ending of slavery - and mentioned little or nothing of the impact of General Granger's arrival on June 19th.

The Depression forced many people off the farms and into the cities to find work. In these urban environments, employers were less eager to grant leaves to celebrate this date. Thus, unless June 19th fell on a weekend or holiday, there were very few participants available. July 4 th was already the established Independence holiday and a rise in patriotism steered more toward this celebration.

Resurgence

The Civil Rights movement of the 50's and 60's yielded both positive and negative results for the Juneteenth celebrations. While it pulled many of the African American youth away and into the struggle for racial equality, many linked these struggles to the historical struggles of their ancestors. This was evidenced by student demonstrators involved in the Atlanta civil rights campaign in the early 1960's, who wore Juneteenth freedom buttons. Again in 1968, Juneteenth received another strong resurgence through the Poor Peoples March to Washington D.C. Rev. Ralph Abernathy's call for people of all races, creeds, economic levels and professions to come to Washington to show support for the poor. Many of these attendees returned home and initiated Juneteenth celebrations in areas previously absent of such activities. In fact, two of the largest Juneteenth celebrations founded after this March are now held in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

Texas Blazes the Trail

On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official state holiday through the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator. The successful passage of this bill marked Juneteenth as the first emancipation celebration granted official state recognition. Edwards has since actively sought to spread the observance of Juneteenth all across America.

Juneteenth In Modern Times

Today, Juneteenth is enjoying a phenomenal growth rate within communities and organizations throughout the country. Institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Henry Ford Museum and others have begun sponsoring Juneteenth-centered activities. In recent years, a number of local and national Juneteenth organizations have arisen to take their place along side older organizations - all with the mission to promote and cultivate knowledge and appreciation of African American history and culture.

Juneteenth today, celebrates African American freedom and achievement, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. As it takes on a more national, symbolic and even global perspective, the events of 1865 in Texas are not forgotten, for all of the roots tie back to this fertile soil from which a national day of pride is growing.

The future of Juneteenth looks bright as the number of cities and states creating Juneteenth committees continues to increase. Respect and appreciation for all of our differences grow out of exposure and working together. Getting involved and supporting Juneteenth celebrations creates new bonds of friendship and understanding among us. This indeed brightens our future - and that is the Spirit of Juneteenth.

History of Juneteenth ©JUNETEENTH.com

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Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

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Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders

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Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders

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Given the immense harm inflicted on individuals and groups of color via prejudice and discrimination, it becomes imperative for our nation to begin the process of disrupting, dismantling, and disarming the constant onslaught of micro- and macroaggressions.

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How to Respond to Racial Microaggressions When They Occur

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How to Respond to Racial Microaggressions When They Occur

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Racial microaggressions often go unchecked and often result in racial battle fatigue, which is physical and psychological stress that comes from being immersed in chronically racist environments

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by J. Luke Wood & Frank Harris III

Over the last decade, there has been a significant rise in awareness among educators and the public about racial microaggressions. Coined by Chester Pierce in the 1970's, racial microaggressions are the subtle forms of racism that are communicated to people of color through messages that degrade and demean them. Many people of color in the academy have experienced being told (with a sense of surprise) that they are "so articulate," or assumed to have cheated on exams or papers when they outperform low expectations, being treated as intellectually inferior, being overlooked at the campus stores and eateries, and being told they come from "bad" schools or neighborhoods.

Despite an increased awareness of racial microaggressions in academia and the public, institutions rarely take proactive and effective approaches to address them. This is due, in part, to observers not knowing what to do when they occur. Often, when an observer witnesses someone microaggressing another person or group of people, they experience a sense of shock or surprise and struggle to determine how to respond quickly and effectively. Consequently, racial microaggressions often go unchecked and often result in racial battle fatigue, which is physical and psychological stress that comes from being immersed in chronically racist environments.

In the widely referenced article, Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life, Dr. Derald Wing Sue and colleagues argued that this sense of paralysis occurs because observers are typically unsure about what actually occurred, lack awareness on how to respond, are concerned about negative repercussions that may occur if they do respond, perceive that it may be better do to nothing, or somehow convince themselves that what observed really did not happen. Our belief is that educators have a moral duty to respond when a microaggression occurs. Simply put, not interceding is allowing harm to occur.

In light of the aforementioned challenges in responding to microaggressions, we developed the R.A.V.E.N-a framework that is particularly useful when responding to microaggressions that occur in public (physical and online) spaces. The R.A.V.E.N. is a five-step approach that entails 1) Redirecting the conversation or interaction, 2) Asking probing questions, 3) Values clarification, 4) Emphasizing your own thoughts, and 5) offering concrete Next steps. Each step of the R.A.V.E.N. is further explained below.

1. Redirect the interaction with the goal of immediately stopping the conversation to prevent further harm from occurring. For example, For example, observers can do so by intervening and asking the aggressor if they could "speak with them for a moment." If the microaggression occurs in a public space, like a physical or virtual classroom, then the message should be direct, "I'd like to pause this conversation right here, because I'm concerned with the language that is being used." Observers could also immediately correct and pull them aside depending upon the level of egregiousness of the message. Regardless of the approach that observers decide to take, they should remember that they need to intercede to stop harm from occurring.

2. Ask probing questions to the aggressor to help them understand their statements and actions and how they can be perceived as rude, threatening, or harmful. Because racial microaggressions are often the consequences of implicit bias, aggressors are not always aware that their statements and actions are harmful. Therefore, asking probing questions can be an effective way to create the cognitive dissonance that is necessary to recognize that their statements or actions are problematic. For example, observers could ask: "I think I heard you say that student barely speaks English and doesn't belong in college. What did you mean by that?" or "I want to make sure I understand you, were you saying that non-native English speakers shouldn't be in college?" In most instances, these questions will prompt the aggressor to reflect and reconsider what they said.

3. Values clarification is the third step in the R.A.V.E.N. Values clarification involves identifying shared organizational values (e.g., trust, diversity, inclusion, safe spaces, welcoming environments, treating everyone with dignity and respect) and conveying to the aggressor that their actions or statements are not aligned with these values. Every organization has a mission statement or set of principles, values, or standards of community that are designed to guide actions and behaviors. Often, classrooms also have standards of expected behavior set forth in the syllabus. Thus, observers can appeal to these values by saying, "At the beginning of the semester, we all agreed to create an environment that was safe and welcoming. The statement you just made is not aligned with these values." or "What you said is not aligned with our institutions values of equity and inclusion."

4. Emphasize your own thoughts and feelings is the next step in the model. Oftentimes aggressors fail to recognize that a racial microaggression is not only harmful to the person or persons who were directly targeted but also to those who are present to observe it. Thus, when intervening, it is important to not only empathize with those who were targeted but also emphasize your own thoughts and feelings about the harm that has been done. Using "I" statements (e.g., "I think," "I feel," "I was hurt," "I was disappointed.") followed by an explanation of how the aggressor's words or actions may have hurt a targeted person or group can be an effective way to do so. For example, one could say "I was saddened to hear you say that about people from Valencia Hills. I think someone from that community would be hurt by what you said." or "When you said that John was 'articulate,' I felt like you were implying that John spoke better than you expected him to speak."

5. Next steps is the final action, where one suggests what the aggressor can do to correct or change their behavior moving forward. This can include a range of actions designed to address the harm that has been done as well as to reduce future harm. These actions can include offering an authentic apology to the person or persons who were targeted, being more mindful of their actions in the future, and guiding them to resources on implicit bias and microaggressions.

The R.A.V.E.N. is not intended to be a sequential process but rather a framework to guide thinking and actions to disrupt racial microaggressions when they occur. The framework also works best when actions and statements are unconscious in nature and not intentionally racist as the latter requires a direct and stern response. Ultimately, we find that individuals benefit from having a framework such as this to consider what they would do. Otherwise, they are likely to do nothing. Microaggressions are harmful, so don't be a bystander...do something.

Smith, W. A., Allen, W. R., & Danley, L. L. (2007, December). "Assume the position...You fit the description": Psychosocial experiences and racial battle fatigue among African American male college students. American Behavioral Scientist, 51(4), 551-578.

Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., & Colleagues. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271-286.
Dr. J. Luke Wood is the associate vice president for faculty diversity and inclusion and distinguished professor of education at San Diego State University. Dr. Frank Harris III is a professor of postsecondary education and co-director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL) at San Diego State University.

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How to Respond to Racial Microaggressions When They Occur

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Over the last decade, there has been a significant rise in awareness among educators and the public about racial microaggressions. Coined by Chester Pierce in the 1970's, racial microaggressions are the subtle forms of racism that are communicated to people of color through messages that degrade...

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If You're a White Person Seeking to Be a Better Ally, Add These Books to Your Reading List

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If You're a White Person Seeking to Be a Better Ally, Add These Books to Your Reading List

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Throughout this last week of May, protesters across America have demanded justice for the continued acts of fatal violence against Black Americans. In the wake of George Floyd's killing by Minneapolis police - which followed the recent shootings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade - many people are asking what they can do to turn their opposition to racism into action. White Americans, especially, should be asking that question of themselves. To be better allies, we need to educate ourselves, donate what we can, demonstrate, speak out, and confront our own complicity - even when it's uncomfortable. And it's not a one-time exercise, but an ongoing process.

Earlier in the week, activist and writer Brittany Packnett circulated a list compiled by two white activists, Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein, on Twitter. The list is full of resources for other white people to educate themselves on race - books, podcast, articles, and films. The selection of books below is partly culled from and inspired by that list. It also includes additional books I've read in recent years that helped me understand how I can become a better ally, educated me on our nation's real history, and exposed me to new ideas and understandings about both systemic and interpersonal racism. These are books I think may help you do the same.

Education is just the start - but it's an important step that's incumbent on white Americans to take ourselves. Of course, these books are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the outstanding literature on the topic that's available, but I think they're a good place to begin:

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If You're a White Person Seeking to Be a Better Ally, Add These Books to Your Reading List

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Throughout this last week of May, protesters across America have demanded justice for the continued acts of fatal violence against Black Americans. In the wake of George Floyd's killing by Minneapolis police - which followed the recent shootings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade - many people are asking what they can do to turn their opposition to racism into action.

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Disrupting Whiteness in Libraries and Librarianship: A Reading List

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Disrupting Whiteness in Libraries and Librarianship: A Reading List

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This bibliography contains citations and links (when available) to resources focused on race, racism, and disrupting whiteness and white supremacy in libraries. Particular emphasis is placed on the field of library and information science and librarianship as a profession.

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Developed by Karla J. Strand, DPhil, MLIS
Gender and Women's Studies Librarian
University of Wisconsin System
2019
This bibliography is number 89 in the series " Bibliographies in Gender and Women's Studies," published by the University of Wisconsin System Office of the Gender and Women's Studies Librarian.

Introduction

This bibliography contains citations and links (when available) to resources focused on race, racism, and disrupting whiteness and white supremacy in libraries. Particular emphasis is placed on the field of library and information science and librarianship as a profession. The resources are organized by topic; non-LIS-specific resources can be found at the bottom of the list. Updates to the list will be highlighted at the top with the date. "New" indicates a new addition to this guide, not necessarily a newly-published resource.

If you have suggestions of resources for this list, please contact Karla Strand, GWSL, karla.strand@wisc.edu.

New to this list (updated June 2021)

Blogs, Orgs, and Periodicals

Core Resources

Blackburn, F. (2015). The intersection between cultural competence and whiteness in libraries. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/culturalcompetence/

Bourg, C. (2014). The unbearable whiteness of librarianship. Feral Librarian. Retrieved from https://chrisbourg.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/the-unbearable-whiteness-of-librarianship/

Brown, J., Ferretti, J. A, Leung, S., & Méndez-Brady, M. L. (2018). We Here: Speaking Our Truth. Library Trends, 67(1), 163-181. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5cb040z6

Davis-Kendrick, K.D. (2009). The Kaleidoscope concern: An annotated chronological bibliography of diversity, recruitment, retention, and other concerns regarding African American and ethnic library professionals in the United States. Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/booksanddigitalresources/digital/kaleidoscopic.pdf

Espinal, I. (2001). A new vocabulary for inclusive librarianship: Applying whiteness theory to our profession. In L. Castillo-Speed (Ed.), The power of language = el poder de la palabra: Selected papers from the second REFORMA National Conference (pp. 131-149). Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. Retrieved from https://works.bepress.com/isabel_espinal/5/

Espinal, I., Sutherland, T., & Roh, C. (2018). A Holistic Approach for Inclusive Librarianship: Decentering Whiteness in Our Profession. Library Trends, 67(1), 147-162.

Ettarh, F. (2014). Making a new table: Intersectional librarianship. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2014/making-a-new-table-intersectional-librarianship-3/

Gohr, M. (2017). Ethnic and racial diversity in libraries: How white allies can support arguments for decolonization. Journal of Radical Librarianship, 3, 42-58. Retrieved from https://journal.radicallibrarianship.org/index.php/journal/article/view/5

Honma, T. (2005). Trippin' over the color line: The invisibility of race in library and information studies. Interactions, 1(2). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4nj0w1mp

Hudson, D.J. (2017). On 'Diversity' as Anti-Racism in LIS: A Critique. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i1.6

Leung, S.Y. & Lopez-McKnight, J.R., eds. (2021). Knowledge Justice: Disrupting Library and Information Studies Through Critical Race Theory. MIT Press.

Morales, M., Knowles, E. C., & Bourg, C. (2014). Diversity, social justice, and the future of libraries. Libraries and the Academy, 14(3), 439-451. DOI: 10.1353/pla.2014.0017. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/549202

Ossom-Williamson, P.; Williams, J.; Goodman, X.; Minter, C. I.J.; and Logan, A. (2020). Starting with I: Combating Anti-Blackness in Libraries. Journal Articles: Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library, 9. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/mcgoogan_articles/9

Pateman, J. (2003). Libraries contribution to solidarity and social justice in a world of neo-liberal globalisation. Information for Social Change, 18. Retrieved from http://libr.org/isc/articles/18-Pateman-2.html

Schlesselman-Tarango, G., ed. (2017.) Topographies of whiteness: Mapping whiteness in library and information science. CA: Library Juice Press.

Schlesselman-Tarango, G., ed. (2016). The legacy of Lady Bountiful: White women in the library. Library Trends, 64(4). Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/622027

Sierpe, E. (2019). Confronting Librarianship and its Function in the Structure of White Supremacy and the Ethno State. Journal of Radical Librarianship, 5. Retrieved from https://journal.radicallibrarianship.org/index.php/journal/article/view/39

Swanson, Damasco, Gonzalez-Smith, Hodges, Honma, & Tanaka. (2015). Why diversity matters: A roundtable discussion on racial and ethnic diversity in librarianship. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/why-diversity-matters-a-roundtable-discussion-on-racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-librarianship/

Tuck, E. and K.W. Yang. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education and Society, 1(1), 1-40. Retrieved from https://clas.osu.edu/sites/clas.osu.edu/files/Tuck%20and%20Yang%202012%20Decolonization%20is%20not%20a%20metaphor.pdf

Velez, L. & Villa-Nicholas, M. (2017). Mapping race and racism in U.S. library history literature, 1997-2015. Library Trends, 65(4), 540-554. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/669456/pdf

Walker, C. On Privilege, Intersectionality, and the Librarian Image. Cecily Walker. Retrieved from https://cecily.info/2013/12/20/on-privilege-intersectionality-and-the-librarian-image/

Yeo, S. & Jacobs, J.R. (2006). Diversity matters? Rethinking diversity in libraries. Counterpoise, 9(2), 5-8. Retrieved from https://freegovinfo.info/files/diversity_counterpoise.pdf

Academic Libraries

Anaya, T. & Maxey-Harris, C. (2017). Diversity and Inclusion. SPEC Kit 356. Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries. Retrieved from https://publications.arl.org/Diversity-Inclusion-SPEC-Kit-356/

Brook, F., Ellenwood, D., & Lazzaro, A.E. (2015). In pursuit of antiracist social justice: Denaturalizing whiteness in the academic library. Library Trends, 64(2). Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/43d8/f06a09e80f11e3db3f18908494acbc52de6d.pdf

Buttlar, L. (1994). Facilitating cultural diversity in college and university libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20(1), 10-14. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0099133394901287

Frederick, JK & Wolff-Eisenberg, C. (2021). National Movements for Racial Justice and Academic Library Leadership: Results from the Ithaka S+R US Library Survey 2020. Ithaka S+R. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.314931. Retrieved from https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/national-movements-for-racial-justice-and-academic-library-leadership

Hines, S. (2019). Leadership Development for Academic Librarians: Maintaining the Status Quo? Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship, 4(Feb), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.33137/cjal-rcbu.v4.29311 Retrieved from https://cjal.ca/index.php/capal/article/view/29311

Ibacache, K. (2021). University Libraries as Advocates for Latin American Indigenous Languages and Cultures. College & Research Libraries, 82(2), 182. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.2.182

Lazzaro, A.E., Mills, S., Garrard, T., Ferguson, E., Watson, M., & Ellenwood, D. (2014). Cultural competency on campus: Applying ACRL's diversity standards. College and Research Libraries News, 75(6), 332-335. https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/9145

Schonfeld, RC & Sweeney, L. (2017). Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity: Members of the Association of Research Libraries: Employee Demographics and Director Perspectives. Ithaka S+R. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.304524. Retrieved from https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/inclusion-diversity-and-equity-arl/

Warner, J.N. (2001). Moving beyond whiteness in North American academic libraries. Libri, 51, 167-172. doi:10.1515/LIBR.2001.167 Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.524.6115&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Archives and Special Collections

Altman, A. (2021). Searching for Black women in the archives [series in four parts]. Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Retrieved from https://dp.la/news/searching-for-black-women-in-the-archives

Botnick, J. (2019). Archivists as Amici Curiae: Activating Critical Archival Theory to Confront Racialized Surveillance. Journal of Radical Librarianship, 5. Retrieved from https://journal.radicallibrarianship.org/index.php/journal/article/view/35.

Caswell, M. (2017). Teaching to Dismantle White Supremacy in Archives. The Library Quarterly, 87(3), 222-235. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1086/692299

Caswell, M. (2014). Inventing New Archival Imaginaries: Theoretical Foundations for Identity-Based Community Archives. In Identity Palimpsests: Ethnic Archiving in the U.S. and Canada, edited by Dominique Daniel and Amalia Levi. Sacramento, CA: Litwin.

Caswell, M., Broman, G., Kirmer, J., Martin, L., & Sowry, N. (2012). Implementing a Social Justice Framework in an Introduction to Archives Course: Lessons from Both Sides of the Classroom. InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies, 8(2).

Dunbar, A. (2006). Introducing critical race theory to archival discourse: Getting the conversation started. Archival Science, 6, 109-129.

Eagle, J.H. (2019). "I Want Them to Know We Suffer Here": Preserving Records of Migrant Detention in Opposition to Racialized Immigration Enforcement Structures. Journal of Radical Librarianship, 5. Retrieved from https://journal.radicallibrarianship.org/index.php/journal/article/view/32

Gilliland, A. (2011). Neutrality, Social Justice, and the Obligations of Archival Education and Educators in the Twenty-First Century. Archival Science, 11(3-4), 193-209.

Hobart, E. (2020). Ethical Cataloging and Racism in Special Collections. In Archives and Special Collections as Sites of Contestation, edited by Mary Kandiuk. Sacramento, CA: Litwin. Retrieved from https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/710822b0-34ba-412c-a70e-d9e27bda29dc

Hughes-Watkins, L. (2018). Moving Toward a Reparative Archive: A Roadmap for a Holistic Approach to Disrupting Homogenous Histories in Academic Repositories and Creating Inclusive Spaces for Marginalized Voices. Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies, 5. Article 6. Retrieved from https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol5/iss1/6

Jules, B. (2016). Confronting Our Failure of Care Around the Legacies of Marginalized People in the Archives. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/on-archivy/confronting-our-failure-of-care-around-the-legacies-of-marginalized-people-in-the-archives-dc4180397280

Kandiuk, M., ed. (2020). Archives and Special Collections as Sites of Contestation. Sacramento, CA: Litwin.

Kim, E. (2017). Appraising Newness: Whiteness, Neoliberalism & the Building of the Archive for New Poetry. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(2). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i2.38

Sutherland, T. (2017). Archival Amnesty: In Search of Black American Transitional and Restorative Justice. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(2). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i2.42

Williams, S. & Drake, J. (2017). Power to the People: Documenting Police Violence in Cleveland. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(2). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i2.33

Attribution and Citation

Collection Development

Decentering Whiteness in Research and Knowledge

Collins, P. H. (2019). Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory. Duke University Press.

Crenshaw, K., N. Gotanda, and K. Thomas. (1996). Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement. The New Press.

Delgado, R. and J. Stefancic. (2017). Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. 3rd ed. NYU Press.

Feagin, J. R. (2020). The White Racial Frame: Centuries of Racial Framing and Counter-Framing. 3rd ed. Routledge.

Freire, P. (2018). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 4th ed. Bloomsbury Academic.

Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. NYU Press.

Santos, B. de Sousa and M. P. Meneses. (2019). Knowledges Born in the Struggle: Constructing the Epistemologies of the Global South. Routledge.

Strega, S. and L. Brown. (2015). Research as Resistance. 2nd ed. Canadian Scholars' Press Inc.

Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books.

Walter, M. and C. Andersen. (2013). Indigenous Statistics: A Quantitative Research Methodology. Routledge.

Wilson, S. (2008). Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods. Fernwood Publishing.

Zuberi, T. and E. Bonilla-Silva. (2008). White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology. Rowman & Littlefield.

Diversity/Multicultural Studies Librarianship

Harrell, M. & Menon, V. (nd). Serving diverse library users: The multicultural studies librarian at an urban research university. Retrieved from www.lib.uiowa.edu/wwwarchive/cicdiversity/harrell.doc

Ransom, C. (1994). The Diversity Librarian. In Cultural diversity in libraries edited by Riggs and Tarin. NY: Neal Schuman.

Health Sciences Librarianship

Barr-Walker J, Sharifi C. (2019, April 15). Critical librarianship in health sciences libraries: an introduction. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 107(2), 258-64. Retrieved from http://jmla.mlanet.org/ojs/jmla/article/view/620

Perry G. (2020, Jan.). The activist health sciences librarian. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 108(1), 5-16. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6920003/

Martin ER. (2019, July). Social justice and the medical librarian. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 107(3), 291-303. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6579597/

Minter, C.I.J. (2020). A Case Study on Anti-Black Publishing Practices. Climbing the Stacks [blog of Christian I.J. Minter, MSLIS]. Retrieved from https://christianminter.com/2020/12/11/a-case-study-on-anti-black-publishing-practices/

Williams, J. (2020). When Publishing Goes Wrong. The Diversity Fellow's Blog [blog of Jamia Williams]. Retrieved from https://diversityfellow.blog/2020/12/12/when-publishing-goes-wrong/

History

Chancellor, Renate L. (2020). E. J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Cooke, N. A. (2017). The GSLS Carnegie Scholars: Guests in Someone Else's House. Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 1(1), 46-71. DOI: 10.5325/libraries.1.1.0046. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/libraries.1.1.0046

Hanbury, D. (2018). "It is simply out of the question to eliminate the colorline": The Development of Black Library Service in Atlanta and the Integration of the Atlanta Public Library. Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 2(1), 24-47. DOI: 10.5325/libraries.2.1.0024

Hand, S. (2012). Transmitting Whiteness: Librarians, children, and race, 1900-1930s. Progressive Librarian, (38/39), 34-63.

Josey, E. J. (1972). Libraries, reading, and the liberation of black people. The Library Scene, 1(1), 4-7.

Knowlton, S.A. (2017). The "Negro Branch" Library in Memphis: A Case Study of Public Services in a Segregated Southern City. Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 1(1), 23-45. DOI: 10.5325/libraries.1.1.0023

Macias, M. (2016, October 23). Whiteness in libraries. Lowrider Librarian. Retrieved from https://lowriderlibrarian.blogspot.com/2016/10/whiteness-in-libraries.html.

Stauffer, S.M. (2017). Libraries Are the Homes of Books: Whiteness in the Construction of School Libraries. Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 1(2), 194-212. DOI: 10.5325/libraries.1.2.0194

Wiegand, W. (2017). "Any Ideas?": The American Library Association and the Desegregation of Public Libraries in the American South. Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 1(1), 1-22. DOI:10.5325/libraries.1.1.0001

Information Literacy

Knowledge Organization, Classification, and Cataloging

Adler, M. (2011). Paraphilias: The Perversion of Meaning in the Library of Congress Subject Headings. 22nd ASIS SIG/CR Classification Research Workshop, 1-20. doi:10.7152/acro.v22i1.12517. Retrieved from https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/acro/article/view/12517

Adler, M. (2017). Classification along the color line: Excavating racism in the stacks. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i1.17

Berman, S. (1993). Prejudices and Antipathies: A Tract on the LC Subject Heads Concerning People. 3rd ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Retrieved fromhttps://www.sanfordberman.org/prejant.htm

Broadley, S. & Baron, J. (2019). Change the subject. [film.] Dartmouth College. Retrieved from https://sites.dartmouth.edu/changethesubject/

Drabinski, E. (2008). Teaching the Radical Catalog. In Roberto, K.R. (ed.), Radical Cataloging: Essays at the Front. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. Retrieved from http://www.emilydrabinski.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/drabinski_radcat.pdf

Drabinski, E. (2013). Queering the Catalog: Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 83(2), 94-111.

Duarte, M. & Belarde-Lewis, M. (2015). Imagining: Creating Spaces for Indigenous Ontologies. Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, 53(5-6), 677-702.

Dudley, M.Q. (2017). A Library Matter of Genocide: The Library of Congress and the Historiography of the Native American Holocaust. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 8(2). Retrieved from: https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7519

Helton, L. (2019). On Decimals, Catalogs, and Racial Imaginaries of Reading. MLA Commons. http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/f3km-xk26. Retrieved from https://mla.hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:28677/

Hobart, E. (2020). Ethical Cataloging and Racism in Special Collections. In Archives and Special Collections as Sites of Contestation, edited by Mary Kandiuk. Sacramento, CA: Litwin. Retrieved from https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/710822b0-34ba-412c-a70e-d9e27bda29dc

Knowlton, S.A. (2005). Three Decades Since Prejudices and Antipathies: A Study of Changes in the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 40(2), 123-145. doi:10.1300/J104v40n02_08. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J104v40n02_08

Littletree, S. & Metoyer, C.A. (2015). Knowledge Organization from an Indigenous Perspective: The Mashantucket Pequot Thesaurus of American Indian Terminology Project. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 53(5-6), 640-657. doi:10.1080/01639374.2015.1010113. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/01639374.2015.1010113

Lo, G. (2021). Biases in Law Library Subject Headings. Boston University Law Review Online, 101, 26-37. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/bulawreview/2021/04/06/biases-in-law-library-subject-headings/

Smith-Yoshimura, K. (2018). Creating metadata for equity, diversity, and inclusion. Hanging Together [research blog of OCLC]. Retrieved from https://hangingtogether.org/?p=6833

Various authors. (2015). Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 53(5-6). [Special Issue: Indigenous Knowledge Organization].

Librarians of Color

American Indian Library Association (AILA)

Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)

At the Intersection: Blog about the intersection of libraries, law, feminism, and diversity [April Hathcock]

Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA)

Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA)

Chou, R.L. & Pho, A., eds. (2018). Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS. Library Juice Press.

Cite Black Women Collective

Clarke, J.H., Pun, R., & Tong, M., eds. (2017). Asian American Librarians and Library Services: Activism, Collaboration and Strategies. MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

de la Peña McCook, K., ed. (1998). Women of color in librarianship: An oral history. Chicago: American Library Association.

Green Book for Libraries [Black/Indigenous/People Of Color only]

Hankins, R. & Juarez, M. eds. (2016). Where are all the librarians of color? The experiences of people of color in academia. Library Juice Press.

Hathcock, A. (2020). Your Learning Hurts. At the Intersection. Retrieved from https://aprilhathcock.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/your-learning-hurts/

Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC, Inc.)

Kendrick, K. (2019, Feb. 13). Tweet-dux: White Supremacy and Racism in the PoC Low-Morale Experience. Renewals. Retrieved from https://renewerslis.wordpress.com/2019/02/13/tweet-dux-white-supremacy-and-racism-in-the-poc-low-morale-experience/

Kendrick, K. (2018, March 19). Running The Gauntlet: Lives of Practicing Minority Academic Librarians. The Ink On The Page. Retrieved from https://theinkonthepageblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/the-gauntlet-the-life-of-the-practicing-minority-academic-librarian/

Kendrick, K. (2018, May 21). Considering: The Diversity Discount. The Ink On The Page. Retrieved from https://theinkonthepageblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/21/the-diversity-discount/

Kendrick, K. (2018, Feb. 5). Considering: Deauthenticity in the Workplace. The Ink On The Page. Retrieved from https://theinkonthepageblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/considering-deauthenticity-in-the-workplace/

Kendrick, K. & Damasco, I.T. (2019). The Low-Morale Experience of Minority Academic Librarians: A Review. Presentation delivered at IDEAL 2019. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/pqawnmki_foy/the-low-morale-experience-of-minority-academic-librarians-a-review/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

McLaughlin, M. (2005). The need for American Indian librarians. Native American Times. Reprinted in Versed: the Bulletin of the Office for Diversity American Library Association.

REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking

VanScoy, A. & Bright, K. (2019, October). Articulating the Experience of Uniqueness and Difference for Librarians of Color. The Library Quarterly, 89(4), 285-297. https://doi.org/10.1086/704962. Retrieved from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/704962

We Here: Supportive community for library and archive workers of color

Library Initiatives

LIS Programs

Cooke, N.A. & Sweeney, M.E., eds. (2017). Teaching for justice: Implementing social justice in the LIS classroom. Library Juice Press.

Cooke, N., Sweeney, M., & Noble, S.U. (2016). Social Justice as Topic and Tool: An Attempt to Transform an LIS Curriculum and Culture. Library Quarterly, 86(1), 107-24.

Gabiola, J. (2016). Instruction for Inclusion: Addressing Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the LIS Curriculum. Paper presented at the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) conference, Boston, MA.

Greiner, Tony. (2008, May). Diversity and the MLS. Library Journal, 133(8), 36. Retrieved from https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=backtalk-diversity-and-the-mls

Peterson, L. (1996). Alternative perspectives in library and information science: Issues of race. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 37(2), 163-174.

Microaggressions

Alabi, J. (2015). Racial microaggressions in academic libraries: Results of a survey of minority and non-minority librarians. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(1): 57-53.

Alabi, J. (2015). "This actually happened:" An analysis of librarians' responses to a survey about racial microaggressions. Journal of Library Administration, 55(3): 179-191.

Neutrality in LIS

Birdi, B. & Macdonald, S. (2019). The concept of neutrality: a new approach. Journal of Documentation, 76(1), 333-353. doi: 10.1108/JD-05-2019-0102.

Bourg, C. (2015). Never Neutral: Libraries, Technology, and Inclusion. Feral Librarian [blog of Chirs Bourg]. Retrieved from https://chrisbourg.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/never-neutral-libraries-technology-and-inclusion/.

Bourg, C. (2018). Debating y/our humanity, or Are Libraries Neutral? Feral Librarian [blog of Chris Bourg]. Retrieved from https://chrisbourg.wordpress.com/2018/02/11/debating-y-our-humanity-or-are-libraries-neutral/

Burgess, J. (2016). Reconciling Social Responsibility and Neutrality in LIS Professional Ethics: A Virtue Ethics Approach. In Kelly, M. & Bielby, J. (Eds.), Information Cultures in the Digital Age: A Festschrift in Honor of Rafael Capurro, (pp. 161-172). Springer VS. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-14681-8_9.

Knowles, E.C. (2018). Can libraries be neutral? Should they strive to be neutral? Simmons SLIS Blog. Retrieved from https://slis.simmons.edu/blogs/emclaireknowles-publications/

Schlesselman-Tarango, G. (2017). How cute! Race, gender, and neutrality in libraries. Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 12(1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.21083/partnership.v12i1.3850

Stoffle, C.J. & Tarin, P.A. (1994). No place for neutrality: The case for multiculturalism. Library Journal, 119(12). Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/10251094/No_Place_for_Neutrality_The_Case_for_Multiculturalism?auto=download

Publishing

Association of University Presses. (2020). Statement on Equity and Anti-Racism. Retrieved from https://aupresses.org/about-aupresses/equity-and-antiracism/

Dixon, J.H. (2020). How Two Black Women Sidestepped Corporate America to Build a Fierce, All-Star Literary Agency. The Root. Retrieved from https://theglowup.theroot.com/how-two-black-women-sidestepped-corporate-america-to-bu-1845515170

Jiménez, LM & Beckert, B. (2020). Where is the Diversity in Publishing? The 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey Results. Lee & Low Books. Retrieved from https://blog.leeandlow.com/2020/01/28/2019diversitybaselinesurvey/

McLaughlin, B. (2021, March 18). Reckoning with Whiteness in Scholarly Publishing. The Scholarly Kitchen. Retrieved from https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2021/03/18/guest-post-reckoning-with-whiteness-in-scholarly-publishing/

McMillan, L. (1996, Jan. 5). The Racial Divide at University Presses. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-racial-divide-at-university-presses/

Minter, C.I.J. (2020). A Case Study on Anti-Black Publishing Practices. Climbing the Stacks [blog of Christian I.J. Minter, MSLIS]. Retrieved from https://christianminter.com/2020/12/11/a-case-study-on-anti-black-publishing-practices/

Roh, C. & Gabler, V. (2020). Systemic barriers and allyship in library publishing: A case study reminder that no one is safe from racism. College & Research Libraries News, 81(3), 141. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.81.3.141

Williams, J. (2020). When Publishing Goes Wrong. The Diversity Fellow's Blog [blog of Jamia Williams]. Retrieved from https://diversityfellow.blog/2020/12/12/when-publishing-goes-wrong/

Recruitment, Staffing, Hiring, and Pay

Kung, J.Y., Fraser, K., & Winn, D. (2020). Diversity Initiatives to Recruit and Retain Academic Librarians: A Systematic Review. College & Research Libraries, 81(1), 96. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.81.1.96. Retrieved from https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/17484/32063

Li, Y. (2021). Racial Pay Gap: An Analysis of CARL Libraries. College & Research Libraries, 82(3), 436. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.3.436

Reference Services

Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. NYU Press.

Teves, S. N., A. Smith*, and M. H. Raheja. (2015). Native Studies Keywords. University of Arizona Press. *I'm including this book because of its other editors; I do not condone Andrea Smith's false claims to Native identity.

School Libraries

Statements

Other LIS

Berry, J. D. (2004). White privilege in library land. Library Journal, 129 (11), 50.

Lipsitz, G. (2008). Libraries & memories: Beyond white privilege 101. Progressive Librarian, (32), 3-9.

Morehart, P. (2018). Battling racism below the surface: Interactive session sheds light on bias in the workplace. American Libraries. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/battling-racism-surface/

Neely, T.Y. & Abif, K.K. (1996). In our own voices: The changing face of librarianship. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow.

Neely, T.Y. & Lopez-McKnight, J.R. (2018). In our own voices, redux: The faces of librarianship today. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Riggs & Tarin, eds. (1994). Cultural Diversity in Libraries. NY: Neal Schuman.

St. Lifer, E. & Nelson, C. (1997). Unequal opportunities: Race does matter. Library Journal, 42-46.

Other resources on whiteness and anti-racism (not LIS-specific)

Anderson, C. (2016). White rage: The unspoken truth of our racial divide. Bloomsbury USA.

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2017). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield. [5th ed.]

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299.

Dyson, M.E. (2017). Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America. New York: St. Martin's.

Eberhardt, J.L. (2019). Biased: Uncovering the hidden prejudice that shapes what we see, think, and do. Viking.

Feagin, J. R. (2020). The White Racial Frame: Centuries of Racial Framing and Counter-Framing. 3rd ed. Routledge.

Gusa, D.L. (2010). White Institutional Presence: The Impact of Whiteness on Campus Climate. Harvard Educational Review, 80(4), 464-490. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.80.4.p5j483825u110002

Hamad, R. (2020). White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color. Catapult.

Hill, M., ed. (1997). Whiteness: A critical reader . New York: New York University Press.

Johnson, T. (2020, June 11). When black people are in pain, white people just join book clubs. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://wapo.st/3stl0Bc.

Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to Be an Antiracist. One World.

McIntosh, Peggy:

Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. NYU Press.

Oluo, I. (2018). S o you want to talk about race. Seal Press.

Oluo, I. (2020). Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America. Seal Press.

Rankine, C. (2020). Just Us: An American Conversation. Graywolf Press.

Ricketts, R.. (2020). Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy. Atria.

Saad, L. F. (2020). Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor. Sourcebooks.

Sen, S. (2018). Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America. Penguin Books.

Slater, K. & Stern, M. (2021). 2021 Anti-racist Roadmap. Kate Slater https://kateaslater.com/. Retrieved from https://kateaslater.com/antiracist-roadmap.

Stovall, T. (2021). White freedom: The racial history of an idea. Princeton University Press.

Tatum, B.D. (2017). Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race. Basic Books. [updated ed.]

Wilkerson, I. (2020). Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Random House.

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Disrupting Whiteness in Libraries and Librarianship: A Reading List

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Developed by Karla J. Strand, DPhil, MLIS Gender and Women's Studies Librarian University of Wisconsin System 2019 This bibliography is number 89 in the series " Bibliographies in Gender and Women's Studies," published by the University of Wisconsin System Office of the Gender and Women's Studies Librarian.

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The following titles, a mix of history, social science, and memoir, offer facts and reflections on systemic racial injustice as well as ways to channel feeling into action.

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"One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an anti-racist. There is no in-between safe space of 'not racist.'" ― Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist The following 11 titles, a mix of history, social science, and memoir, offer facts and reflections on systemic racial injustice as well as ways to channel feeling into action.

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WPC is a conference that examines challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offers solutions and team building strategies to work toward a more equitable world. WPC is a conference designed to examine issues of privilege beyond skin color.  WPC is open to everyone and invites diverse perspectives to provide a comprehensive look at issues of privilege including: race, gender, sexuality, class, disability, etc. - the ways we all experience some form of privilege, and how we're all affected by that privilege.

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WPC is a conference that examines challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offers solutions and team building strategies to work toward a more equitable world.

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Because Black Lives Matter, Read Black Authors

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Because Black Lives Matter, Read Black Authors

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Black youth deserve to see themselves in every day stories full of joy, hope, and promise. And white readers, like me, need to read contemporary stories about Black life that normalize and celebrate every day Black joy.

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Yesterday I tweeted and said something that really resonated with me: Collections Have Consequences. What we buy, what we read, what we share - it all helps shape the narrative. Today I just want to uplift Black authors. Here are a collection of lists of YA books written by Black authors. If you buy books for a library, I challenge you to see how many of these books your library owns. If you parent or are a reader, see how many you have read or bought for the people in your life. And keep in mind, books by Black authors don't always have to be about Black Lives Matter, because part of what we mean when we say that Black Lives Matter is that they matter every day, in every way. Black youth deserve to see themselves in every day stories full of joy, hope, and promise. And white readers, like me, need to read contemporary stories about Black life that normalize and celebrate every day Black joy. On Twitter yesterday I saw a Tweet by Christine Taylor-Butler that said, "in this time of stress people want to "flood" their kids with books about racism. Please provide 20 joyful books for every one book on racism. They also need to know POC kids are like every other kid." This is really important for those of us who build collections to keep in mind always.

31 YA Books by Black Authors: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ehisosifo1/ya-books-by-black-authors-that-you-cant-miss-this-year

Diverse Meet Cutes: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=meet-cutes-come-all-colors-YA-diversity-romance-POC

The YA Books by Black Women You Need to Read: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/04/228625/best-ya-books-by-black-women

Great Reads for Teens by African American Authors: https://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/great-books-teens-african-american-authors

YA Books by African American Authors: https://www.lapl.org/teens/books/african-american-literature-and-history-young-adults

YA Fiction by Black Authors: https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1058529507/1132097257

If you have additional booklists to share or books to recommend, please leave a comment.

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Because Black Lives Matter, Read Black Authors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Yesterday I tweeted and said something that really resonated with me: Collections Have Consequences. What we buy, what we read, what we share - it all helps shape the narrative. Today I just want to uplift Black authors. Here are a collection of lists of YA books written by Black authors.

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Taking Stock and Taking Action to Educate Ourselves and Design Antiracist Curriculum

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Taking Stock and Taking Action to Educate Ourselves and Design Antiracist Curriculum

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We urge teachers and literacy leaders to take stock of their classroom bookshelves, to familiarize themselves with books, ebooks, and digital resources that support antiracist teaching and learning, and to purchase books that interrogate systemic racism in this country and that imagine a better, more human world.

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Like the rest of the nation, and indeed the world, we are devastated by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black men and women. We stand in solidarity with our African American friends and colleagues, neighbors and students. While we can't walk in your shoes, we stand beside you. We shake our fists in anger with you. We weep with you. And we recognize that none of that is enough.

From the beginning, the United States of America as a political entity came at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous communities and enslaved African Americans. Our work as educators depends upon our ability to teach with a critical lens, to provide young people with the opportunity to learn about and grapple with the systemic racism upon which our nation was built, and to envision a new and stronger version of ourselves. During the ten years that we have been writing this blog, we have sought to include books that represent diverse voices and experiences across all genres. We believe that books have the power to transform lives. This statement might sound like a platitude in the face of brutality, murder, tear gas, and rubber bullets, but we continue to be inspired by the words of Christopher Myers in his powerful essay " Young Dreamers " written following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin:
"Literature is a place for imagination and intellect, for stretching the boundaries of our own narrow lives, for contextualizing the facts of our nonfictions within constellations of understanding that we would not be able to experience from the ground, for bringing our dreams and fictions into detail, clarity, and focus. Books allow us a bird's-eye view of our own lives, and especially how our lives relate to those lives around us." (Myers, 2013)
With current protests contextualized by an ongoing pandemic, our societal disparities and systemic inequities are more visible than ever before to the American population as a whole. With traditional schooling structures disrupted and uncertainty around the shape that PK-12 schooling will take in the fall, we have a responsibility to reconsider what we teach, how we teach, who we teach, and who we are as educators.

We have been taking stock of our collection of posts from the past few years. When we feature a book, we recognize that we are making choices about what we center and inevitably what gets left out. We are reckoning with the imperfections of our process and the ways in which we may have been overlooking important books that serve as gateways to critical conversations about how to interrogate and dismantle systems of racial oppression. We commit to doing more to bring the realities of the present day into our text selections, to center books that directly address systemic inequities, and to identify books that encourage student action and activism. We can do more in our work to become anti-racist educators and we invite you to join us.

As we engage in the work of taking stock of our collection, we urge teachers and literacy leaders to take stock of their classroom bookshelves, to familiarize themselves with books, ebooks, and digital resources that support anti-racist teaching and learning, and to purchase books that interrogate systemic racism in this country and that imagine a better, more human world. Creating more diverse classroom libraries is far from enough. We must take an active and vigilant role to acknowledge systems that work for those with privilege and against groups of people who have been systemically disempowered. The conversations we have with students about books require that we get comfortable with the discomforting truths of privilege. We must become aware of our own implicit biases. And, most importantly, we must take action by speaking up for greater inclusivity in the books that are purchased, read aloud, and put in students' hands.

Below, we share some online resources for teaching about the Black Lives Matter Movement. We also share links to the books we have featured in the last two years that center characters or figures from Black communities These books include those that celebrate Black characters and communities, books that portray the historical roots of oppression still at work today, and books written and illustrated by #OwnVoices authors and illustrators. There is much work to be done and we commit to doing more.

-Katie, Erika, Grace, and Mary Ann

Tomorrow night, June 4th, at 7 pm EST via Facebook Live, hosted by The Brown Bookshelf:

https://thebrownbookshelf.com/2020/06/02/kidlit-rally-for-black-lives/ Educator Resources for Teaching About the Black Lives Matter Movement "The American Nightmare," by Dr. Ibram Kendi, The Atlantic, June 1, 2020 The Antiracist Research and Policy Center of American University, Directed by Dr. Ibram Kendi
Black Lives Matter Foundation: https://blacklivesmatter.com

Black Lives Matter at School: https://blacklivesmatteratschool.com/2019/01/25/the-black-lives-matter-at-school-coloring-book-make-this-years-week-of-action-beautiful/

The Children's Book Council: https://www.cbcbooks.org/2016/07/12/blacklivesmatter-booklist-for-teens/

Engaging in Community Literacy During Racially Divergent Times, Compiled by Kass and Cornelius Minor
Education Week Teacher: What Educators Should - and Should Not Do - in Response to George Floyd's Death
The Horn Book: https://www.hbook.com/?detailStory=our-modern-minstrelsy

National Council of Teachers of English: https://ncte.org/blog/2020/06/ncte-takes-stance-racism/

National Education Association: https://neaedjustice.org/black-lives-matter-school-resources/

School Library Journal:
https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=diversity-cultural-literacy-toolkit https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=an-educators-guide-to-stamped-racism-antiracism-and-you-Jason-Reynolds-Ibram-Kendi-lesson-plan-curriculum
Teaching for Change: https://www.teachingforchange.org/tag/black-lives-matter

We Need Diverse Books: Resources for Race, Equity, Anti-Racism and Inclusion
Recent Classroom Bookshelf Entries that Center Black Characters, Communities, and Experiences Award Winning Books Remind Young Readers They Belong: Going Down Home with Daddy and Sulwe Exploring Race, Class, and School Integration with The Long Ride Poetry as History in The Undefeated Celebrating Creativity and Childhood with The Patchwork Bike New Kid by Jerry Craft is a Middle School Must Read Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield's First Ride Exploring Power, Agency, and The Black Freedom Movement with Never Caught Coretta Scott King Honor Book, The Parker Inheritance

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Taking Stock and Taking Action to Educate Ourselves and Design Anti-Racist Curriculum

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Like the rest of the nation, and indeed the world, we are devastated by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black men and women. We stand in solidarity with our African American friends and colleagues, neighbors and students. While we can't walk in your shoes, we stand beside you.

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an active, consistent, and challenging practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person of privilege seeks to work in solidarity with a marginalized group. Learn more here...

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image description below.

almost two years in the making - our allyship zine is officially being launched! we would like to acknowledge, give thanks, and honour the collecive wisdom of the individuals whose work we have compiled as well as those who have come before us - whose names we do not know.

click here for an online/screen reader-friendly version.
click here for a printer-friendly version.

this zine only scratches the surface of what practicing allyship means, and yet through the process of making this zine we have found how adjusting our language in the way we talk about allyship can profoundly impact how we approach those we seek to connect with and the work that we do.

what we have boiled it down to - is that "being an ally" is not simply about the isolated, short term actions we make (or don't make) and is, at the same time, about following leadership from those directly experiencing injustice and the process of un/learning, growing, and building a better world together.

for a condensed version of the zine content, please continue reading below!

[image description: the first page of a zine. it has an inch-sized border going around the edges. inside it says IN TEXT: allyship: begins when a person of privilege seeks to support a marginalized individual or group.

it is a practice of unlearning and relearning, and is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals or groups.

allyship is not an identity 1, nor is it self-defined.

our work and our efforts must be recognized by the people we seek to ally ourselves with. because of this, it is important to be considerate in how we frame and present the work that we do.

i.e. we are showing support for... 2
we are showing our commitment to ending [a system of oppression] by... 3
we are using our privilege to help by... 4
end description.]

ALLYSHIP
an active, consistent, and challenging practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person of privilege seeks to work in solidarity with a marginalized group

allyship is not an identity1-it is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups

allyship is not self-defined-our work and our efforts must be recognized by the people we seek to ally ourselves with

it is important to be intentional in how we frame the work we do

i.e.

we are showing support for...2

we are showing our commitment to ending [a system of oppression] by...3

we are using our privilege to help by...4

responsibilities
we are not acting out of guilt, but rather out of responsibility 5

we actively acknowledge our privileges and openly discuss them6: we recognize that as recipients of privilege we will always be capable of perpetuating systems of oppression from which our privilege came

we listen more and speak less7: we hold back on our ideas and opinions, and resist the urge to "save" the people we seek to work with as they will figure out their own solutions that meet their needs

we do our work with integrity and direct communication8: we take guidance and direction from the people we seek to work with (not the other way around), and we keep our word

we do not expect to be educated by others9 10: we continuously do our own research on the oppressions experienced by the people we seek to work with, including herstory/history, current news, and what realities created by systems of oppression look, feel, smell, taste and sound like

we build our capacity to receive criticism,11 12 to be honest and accountable with our mistakes, and recognize that being called out for making a mistake is a gift-that it is an honour of trust to receive a chance to be a better person, to learn, to grow, and to do things differently

we embrace the emotions that come out of the process of allyship, understanding that we will feel uncomfortable, challenged, and hurt

our needs are secondary to the people we seek to work with13: we are responsible for our self-care and recognize that part of the privilege of our identity is that we have a choice about whether or not to resist oppression; we do not expect the people we seek to work with to provide emotional support14

we do not expect awards or special recognition for confronting issues that people have to live with every day

we act out of a genuine interest in challenging larger oppressive power structures 15
roles

we are here to support and make use of our privilege for the people we seek to work with

we turn the spotlight we are given away from ourselves and towards the voices of those who are continuously marginalized, silenced, and ignored; we give credit where credit is due16

we use opportunities to engage people with whom we share identity and privilege in conversations about oppression experienced by those we seek to work with17

it is important to talk about allyship in this way, as much confusion has come out of the idea of "being an ally". these ideas may be well-meaning, but they often recreate the same oppressions or perpetuate new ones.

allyship is greatly valued and a huge step towards challenging oppression, however, we must understand possible feelings of resentment, bitterness, and even resistance towards us from the people we seek to work with. these feelings are not personal to us, but are reflective of peoples' experiences with allyship with others like us (past and present.) building trust takes time, so we must recognize that what we can offer may not always be immediately needed or accepted, and that our work being seen as help by one person from a marginalized community may not be seen as help from another. 18

in the meantime, we have opportunities to practice allyship every day:

how much space are we taking up in conversations? in rooms? in organizing?

how are our identities taking up space? physically? verbally?

when is it appropriate to take up space and to back off

how much do we know about the people we seek to work with? what are our assumptions and where did they come from?

what are our boundaries in allyship? who determines them?

take a moment to reflect on your own personal relationships with your lovers, friends, and family. it what ways do these relationships look like allyship?

glossary

accountability: being called to account for one's actions; being responsible for one's actions; an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility (www.merriam-webster.com/)

marginalization: the social process of becoming or being made unimportant and without worth, especially as a group within a larger society (www.memidex.com/)

power: the ability to do something or act in a particular way; to make happen what one wants to happen in spite of obstacles, resistance, or opposition; the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of people, the course of events, and/or resources (www.thefreedictionary.com/)

privilege: a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people; a privileged group views its social, cultural, and economic experiences as a norm that everyone should experience; rather than being something that is earned, privilege is something that is given to a person based on characteristics they are assigned at birth, such as cultural identity, ability, class, sex, gender, age, species, size, etc. (www.thefreedictionary.com/)

oppression: the exercise of authority or power in a cruel or unjust manner; an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened mentally, emotionally, and physically; the exploitation of one social group by another for its own benefit-real or imagined; it is a systematic social phenomenon based on the difference between social groups involving institutional control and cultural domination over the oppressed group (www.merriam-webster.com/)

acknowledgements

this document was compiled on unceded and occupied Coast Salish territory-Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations respectively. we acknowledge that colonization exists, and that without it we would not be here. we also recognize that alternatives exist-that another world is possible-and without them we would not be who we are today.

we also acknowledge the pervasiveness of ableism, and that this document creates barriers by: using the english language, using academic words, and other ways in which we are not yet aware.

this document is not exhaustive-we encourage folks to expand this work. below are the various zines, articles, and points of unity which this zine is based on.

1 2 3 4 14 No More "Allies" by Mia McKenzie:
http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/09/30/no-more-allies/
5 6 13 15 Ally Bill of Responsibilities by Dr. Lynn Gehl:
http://www.lynngehl.com/my-ally-bill-of-responsibilities.html
8 Allyship & Solidarity Guidelines compiled by Unsettling America:
http://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/allyship/
9 Allyship, Intersectionality, and Anti-Oppression by Kim Crosby:
http://prezi.com/nesv_ekel126/allyship-intersectionality-anti-oppression/
7 10 11 16 17 18 10 Things Allies Need to Know by Jamie Utt:
http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/11/things-allies-need-to-know/
12 Allyship by Anonymous:
http://zinelibrary.info/files/allyship.pdf

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what is allyship? why can't i be an ally?

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image description below. almost two years in the making - our allyship zine is officially being launched! we would like to acknowledge, give thanks, and honour the collecive wisdom of the individuals whose work we have compiled as well as those who have come before us - whose names we do not know.

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Be there—for kids and colleagues—when caring just isn’t enough.

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Transgender boys in a Wisconsin school are given detention after using the boys' restroom. Male students in a California high school create a "slut page" on Instagram featuring embarrassing photographs of their female peers.
In schools across the United States, students experience oppression based on their race, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability and other identities. Most educators care about the well-being of these students, but when young people are being targeted, caring isn't enough. Ensuring all students feel respected and protected at school requires educators to become allies: partners in empowerment who speak out against injustice and support marginalized groups and individuals on their own terms. How can educators navigate the complexities of allyship in and out of the classroom? What does it take to become an effective ally?

Allyship Starts With Identity

In the past, being an ally in an educational setting was a role associated with white teachers doing anti-racism work. But allies exist across identity lines: Being an ally means recognizing oppression broadly and standing in solidarity with anyone who experiences oppression-whether or not the ally also belongs to a targeted group.

While any educator can become an ally, the journey might look different depending on identity, experience and familiarity with issues of power and privilege. This means there's no blueprint; being effective requires significant self-reflection, according to Ali Michael of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. "A teacher ally is someone who has a strong sense of their own identity, as well as the ways in which their own identities are either privileged or oppressed," she says.

For Billy Travis, a second-year teacher at Center for Inquiry #27 in Indianapolis, becoming a teacher after leaving his first career in finance has been a journey of both professional and personal reflection. "In my old life, I never thought about privilege. But I knew I wasn't making a difference in the world. I became a teacher because I wanted to do something that mattered," he says.

Travis learned almost immediately that developing a sense of his own identity was vital to the process. "Whether or not I wanted it to be the case, my identity as a white male was present in the curriculum. There was a lot of tension in the relationship [with my students] early on, and sometimes there still is," Travis says. "My students come from an experience that is totally different from mine. And even bigger than that, they were distrusting of me at first, which could make things really difficult. One day they were right next to me, and then, the next day, they shoved me away."

Travis began the slow process of exploring who he was as an individual and how his identity differed from his students'. "The teacher's identity journey is crucial in how he or she establishes relationships with students in the classroom," says Sonia Nieto, professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "Investigating your identity through exploring your values, biases and blind spots helps establish who you are as a cultural being. Knowing these things about yourself will help you connect with your students. The more you can connect with students on a personal level, the better your students will see you as a person instead of someone with no real experiences."

Travis' commitment to learning about himself and his privilege has allowed him to better connect with students and positions him to be an effective ally. It still isn't easy, but he feels optimistic about the process. "When you are trying to connect with students, there is a lot of work to be done," he says. "You just have to dig in and be ready for it to be bumpy."

Allyship Requires Commitment

Becoming an ally is a complex and ongoing process that requires courage and commitment. Whether advocating for marginalized students or supporting their fellow educators, teacher allies must accept the responsibility to focus unwaveringly on how power and privilege function in the school environment and beyond.

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Transgender boys in a Wisconsin school are given detention after using the boys' restroom. Male students in a California high school create a "slut page" on Instagram featuring embarrassing photographs of their female peers. In schools across the United States, students experience oppression based on their race, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability and other identities.

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When you see microaggressions occurring against colleagues, how should you respond? Kerry Ann Rockquemore offers guidance.

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I've only recently learned what microaggressions are and the impact they have. Now that I know, I can see them happening frequently to my junior colleagues who are minorities and women, particularly in faculty meetings, hallway conversations and informal gatherings. My problem is that I see what's happening and understand the impact on my junior colleagues, but I don't know what to say or do in the moment. I know what's happening is a problem, and I want to do something, but I freeze. The best I can do is to go see the targeted person afterward to say, "I'm sorry that happened." I feel terrible that these kinds of things happen at all, but I feel worse that I don't know what to do in the moment. I want to be a better ally for my colleagues, but I'm not sure how to do so or whom to ask for help. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Awkward Ally
Dear Awkward,

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your question and your desire to be a better ally. While there are lots of ways to be an ally (e.g., mentoring, being a sponsor, shaping policy), the one that is often unexpectedly challenging is how to respond to microaggressions in the moment. The sad truth is not only are microaggressions a regular occurrence, but they're also painful to receive and observe, and they have a lasting impact.

I experience microaggressions regularly. For example, a few days ago, I attended a local executive club meeting where I was the only female CEO present. In a discussion about expanding the group, I observed that the time of meeting (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) and the activity (we toured a model of a hockey stadium that is being built) might be contributing to the lack of gender diversity in the group. One of the members responded by suggesting, "Maybe we should we meet at the mall next time and focus on shopping."

This comment was met with silence. I waited for an ally to emerge and say something, but nobody did. So I smiled and said, "Actually that's a really bad stereotype." People laughed, the awkward silence was broken and we moved on. Afterward, several men in the room came up to me individually to comment that they "couldn't believe" what was said, apologized that such an inappropriate comment was made and requested that I plan the next event.

This incident impacted me significantly due to the cumulative total of microaggressions I had already experienced that week (it was the last straw). I went home upset and spent an hour processing it with my husband. I woke up in the middle of the night angry about it. And even though I pushed back in the moment, I had to punch some pillows to get out the residual rage that occurs when -- despite the fact that I run the second-fastest-growing company in Detroit -- somebody reveals that they see me as a girl who just wants to go shopping.

I'm sharing this story with you for two important reasons. The first is to get concrete about the reality of silent allies. I think you know this already, but I'll say it anyway:

Silence communicates tacit approval.

Apologizing to the target afterwards adds insult to injury.

The worst ex post facto response of all is asking the target of a microaggression to fix the problem. (For example, "You plan the next event if you think we need more women.")

The second reason I'm sharing this story with you is because I want you to know that even though I experience microaggressions (as a woman of color), I also observe other types of microaggressions where I am in a position to be an ally for others (i.e., around homophobia, religious intolerance and disability issues). Even though I know the pain of being the target, the truth is that I still occasionally freeze when it's my turn to act as an ally.

I want you to know that freezing is a common response. It happens a lot more than most allies want to acknowledge, and few people are willing to recognize it, much less work toward learning how to be more active. When I made a conscious choice to improve my own effectiveness as an ally, I attended a workshop with Cynthia Ganote (associate professor, St. Mary's College of California), Floyd Cheung (associate professor, Smith College) and Tasha Souza (professor, Boise State University). Let me share with you what I learned and what I've practiced since then.
Try Moving From Reacting to Resistance
Learning about microaggressions has allowed you to see previously unrecognized hostility in your department's environment. Right now, the way you understand your role in these interactions is "reacting to microaggressions."

What would happen if you reframed your role? Instead of defensively reacting, what if you saw yourself as engaging in "microresistance"? In other words, instead of reacting to an individual's bad behavior, what if you proactively worked toward an equitable environment for everyone in your department?

I don't know how this sits with you, but I love this reframing of my own behavior. When I understand myself as actively engaging in microresistance, it has a different energy than reacting to microaggressions. It keeps me focused on the structural nature of the problem.

In other words, it's not just one person acting like an asshole; what's occurring in everyday interactions is a continual manifestation of privilege. As such, my words and actions matter to the higher-level goals of equity and inclusion. Microresistance empowers me and makes me feel that my daily choices contribute to the overall climate in which I'm embedded.
Practice "Opening the Front Door"
Ganote, Cheung and Souza taught us a technique called "opening the front door" (OTFD) as a first step to engage in microresistance in the kinds of contexts you've described (such as faculty meetings, hallway conversations and informal gatherings). It's quite simple:

Observe: Describe clearly and succinctly what you see happening.

Think: State what you think about it.

Feel: Express your feelings about the situation.

Desire: Assert what you would like to happen.

For example, an ally at the event I attended could have said something like, "When your response to the fact that this group is almost entirely male is to suggest we 'meet at the mall' (observation), it sounds like you think female leaders are primarily concerned with shopping, and that's insulting to them and their accomplishments (think). I feel embarrassed and uncomfortable feel), and I would like us to take the concern seriously and discuss why women have stopped attending our events (desire)."

It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be authentic -- in your own words and expressing your own thoughts, feelings and desires. I bet you can imagine how different the conversation would have been if an ally had intervened. And whenever you're acting, just keep in mind that the goal of microresistance is to relieve the person (or group) who is the target of having to fix the problem. That means that even a suboptimal effort is still a step forward.
Be Committed and Gentle With Your Progress
While you are learning how to engage in microresistance, allow yourself to set the bar low for success. What I mean is that when you are first learning and practicing new skills, success is when you experiment with new behavior. In other words, for a few weeks you can consider yourself successful if you notice when you start to freeze and do something (anything!). Just breaking through the frozen sensation is a victory.

Once you get comfortable engaging in microresistance, you can raise the bar so that you act in ways that are increasingly sophisticated, effective and a fit with your personality. It will take practice for that to happen, but trust me, since I adopted this approach I've gotten better over time. And once you get comfortable with microresistance in daily interactions, you can move on to other ways that you can act as an ally: mentoring, being a sponsor and shaping policy on your campus.

I hope these clear practices will help you to shift your approach to being an ally when microaggressions occur, give you a quick and direct way to respond, and provide encouragement that you will get increasingly effective with practice. If you want to learn more about being an effective ally, you can download an abbreviated version of the workshop I attended. I'm sharing it because I think the more allies who can break through that freezing sensation and communicate directly, the more likely we are to create truly inclusive department environments.

Peace and productivity,

Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Ph.D.

President, National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

P.S. Keep your questions coming! I joyfully receive them at [email protected] .

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How to be an ally to someone experiencing microaggressions (essay)

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I've only recently learned what microaggressions are and the impact they have. Now that I know, I can see them happening frequently to my junior colleagues who are minorities and women, particularly in faculty meetings, hallway conversations and informal gatherings.

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Being an ally doesn’t necessarily mean you fully understand what it feels like to be oppressed. It means you are taking on the struggle as your own.

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Welcome to the Guide to Allyship.

Think of this guide as one of many starting points in your journey to become a better ally. This guide isn't meant to be comprehensive nor is it perfect. There are people far more versed than I, who have dedicated their life's work to this sort of education.

In light of recent events and tragedies, I've been hearing the word "ally" a lot. Many people want to be an "ally", and even more people are unable to fulfill the duties allyship requires.

I use the word "ally" loosely because I find it overused and often abused by those who label themselves "allies." Despite its current misuse, using a different word would only cause confusion. As you read through this guide, be aware that your definition of "ally" may not be the same as the definition I'll introduce you to.

What's so special about this guide?

There are many great guides out there, and I acknowledge their existence. What's different about this guide is that it's open source (any one can contribute to it) and it doesn't get into specifics: racism, transphobia, gender discrimination, etc. and that's by design.

This guide can't and shouldn't be everything to you. At some point, you need to take responsibility and further your education. When you're done with the guide, please find ways to learn more.

Finally, this is a resource to help anyone considering allyship better understand the pros and cons of what being an ally entails. Allies understand their role in collaboration with people whose lives are affected daily by systemic oppression.

Don't take the responsibility of being an ally lightly.

In the summer of 2016, someone I considered an ally stood by and watched as I, a Black person, was berated by a racist. To make matters worse, I had a conversation with this person earlier in the day about the power allies can wield in situations of discrimination. But when the time came for them to take action, they were more interested in protecting their comfort.

Upset, I couldn't understand what happened. Did the conversation we had not get through? What didn't they step up? Then it dawned on me:
Saying you're an ally is much easier than actually being an ally. Saying you're an ally looks good on paper, especially if you're never questioned about your inaction.
Many self-defined "allies" wear the phrase and ideology like an article of clothing, easily discarded when it's no longer fashionable to wear.

If only those from marginalized and underinvested communities could cast away the identities marking them as targets with such ease.

I noted before that I used the word "ally" loosely. In fact, I personally no longer use the word. However, I do think it's a good starting place for those learning to be better allies. I also believe there's an opportunity to explore a better definition of the word. The best definition of "ally" (that I've found) comes from author Roxane Gay in her article for Marie Claire, "On Making Black Lives Matter." In it, she notes:

Black people do not need allies. We need people to stand up and take on the problems borne of oppression as their own, without remove or distance.

We need people to do this even if they cannot fully understand what it's like to be oppressed for their race or ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, class, religion, or other marker of identity.

We need people to use common sense to figure out how to participate in social justice.

To recap: Being an ally doesn't necessarily mean you fully understand what it feels like to be oppressed. It means you're taking on the struggle as your own.

An individual from an underinvested community cannot easily cast away the weight of their identity (or identities) shaped through oppression on a whim. They carry that weight every single day, for better or for worse. An ally understands that this is a weight that they, too, must be willing to carry and never put down.

Why allies are necessary

Anyone has the potential to be an ally. Allies recognize that though they're not a member of the underinvested and oppressed communities they support, they make a concerted effort to better understand the struggle, every single day.

Because an ally might have more privilege and recognizes said privilege, they are powerful voices alongside oppressed ones.

Being an ally is hard work.

Many would-be allies fear making mistakes that could have them labeled as "-ist" or "-ic" (racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, etc). But as an ally, you're also affected by a system of oppression. This means that as an ally, there is much to unlearn and learn-mistakes are expected. You need to own this as fact and should be willing to embrace the daily work of doing better.
As an ally, you need to own your mistakes and be proactive in your education, every day.
If you refuse to acknowledge that your words and actions are inherently shaped and influenced by systemic oppression, you're setting up yourself to fail.

Lack of self-awareness is not a trait of an ally. You'll be complicit in the oppression of those you intend to help. If you choose not to understand this, but label yourself an "ally", you're essentially a wolf in sheep's clothing. You'll find ways to infiltrate vulnerable communities and wield far more power than someone who is outwardly "-ist" or "-ic" because you're "trusted."

Just as society will not change overnight, neither will you. Here are some important do's and don'ts to consider as you learn, grow, and step into the role of an ally.

The Dos

Do be open to listening

Do be aware of your implicit biases

Do your research to learn more about the history of the struggle in which you are participating

Do the inner work to figure out a way to acknowledge how you participate in oppressive systems

Do the outer work and figure out how to change the oppressive systems

Do use your privilege to amplify (digitally and in-person) historically suppressed voices

Do learn how to listen and accept criticism with grace, even if it's uncomfortable

Do the work every day to learn how to be a better ally

The Don'ts

Do not expect to be taught or shown. Take it upon yourself to use the tools around you to learn and answer your questions

Do not participate for the gold medal in the "Oppression Olympics" (you don't need to compare how your struggle is "just as bad as" a marginalized person's)

Do not behave as though you know best

Do not take credit for the labor of those who are marginalized and did the work before you stepped into the picture

Do not assume that every member of an underinvested community feels oppressed

Contributed by Presley Pizzo. Please credit Presley when referencing this section.

While mistakes are to be expected, what's the best way to go about resolving them?

Note: Parts of this section were originally based on Kayla Reed's (@iKaylaReed) tweet sharing her definition of what it means to be an ally. It's another great definition that'll help you follow along with this section!

Imagine your privilege is a heavy boot that keeps you from feeling when you're stepping on someone's feet or they're stepping on yours, while oppressed people have only sandals. If someone says, "ouch! You're stepping on my toes," how do you react?

Because we can think more clearly about stepping on someone's literal toes than we usually do when it comes to oppression, the problems with many common responses are obvious:

Centering yourself: "I can't believe you think I'm a toe-stepper! I'm a good person!"

Denial that others' experiences are different from your own: "I don't mind when people step on my toes."

Derailing: "Some people don't even have toes, why aren't we talking about them instead?"

Refusal to center the impacted: "All toes matter!"

Tone policing: "I'd move my foot if you'd ask me more nicely."

Denial that the problem is fixable: "Toes getting stepped on is a fact of life. You'll be better off when you accept that."

Victim blaming: "You shouldn't have been walking around people with boots!"

Withdrawing: "I thought you wanted my help, but I guess not. I'll just go home."

In reality, most of us naturally know the right way to react when we step on someone's toes, and we can use that to help us learn how to react when we commit microaggressions.

Center the impacted: "Are you okay?"

Listen to their response and learn.

Apologize for the impact, even though you didn't intend it: "I'm sorry!"

Stop the instance: move your foot

Stop the pattern: be careful where you step in the future. When it comes to oppression, we want to actually change the "footwear" to get rid of privilege and oppression (sneakers for all!), but metaphors can only stretch so far!

Reacting in a fair and equitable way isn't about learning arbitrary rules or being a doormat. Rather, it's about restoring and maintaining dignity and respect for everyone involved - both the person who is hurt, and you. Still, it's hard to remember in the moment, because these issues are so charged in our society. As such, it may be helpful to reframe the situation so that you don't feel defensive.

You may have noticed it's easier to handle being corrected about something you didn't know if you're grateful for and even open to the opportunity to learn rather than embarrassed to have been wrong. Being able to let go of your ego is an incredibly important skill to develop.

Try starting with "Thanks for letting me know" to put yourself in a better frame of mind. If after you say that, you need to take some time to think about the situation, that's fine, too. Just remember that this isn't about changing the other person's frame of mind. They're allowed to be upset about being oppressed.

You've made a mistake and you want to apologize. Where do you begin?

What is an apology?

Before you can apologize, you need to know what an apology is.

Apologies are social contracts that hold you accountable. They tell others that you are taking responsibility, are open to the consequences of your actions, and plan to do better in the future.

Bad apologies are performances meant to protect pride and ego. They exist to make the apologizer feel and look good, while defending their intent.

Good apologies are heartfelt acts that let go of pride and ego. They center the pain of the impacted, regardless of the apologizer's intent.

Think of pain as a gradient-it doesn't have to be extreme to have a significant impact. Accidentally misgendering someone can cause them pain. Stepping on someone' toes can cause them pain.

Attributes of a good apology

Apologies aren't a magic fix and won't solve mistakes of the past, but there are a few attributes that make for a good apology.

Timely
Delivered at the right moment in the right place and time.

Consider the context in which you want to apologize and how that might affect not only you but also the person receiving your apology.

Context can include your current mental state (are you feeling defensive? Upset? Nervous? Calm?), the physical space you're in (private or public area), or the apology's medium (phone, online, text message, in person).

Respects boundaries
Given when the person receiving the apology consents to it.

Your desire to give an apology right now doesn't mean that the receiver is ready for it. Some people need space to process, and you should respect that. When they're willing to reconnect, if at all, they may let you know (or they may not).

Self-aware
Know that the act of apology may not lead to the closure you expect.

The apology receiver may choose to never interact with you again. Either after you give an apology or before you give it. You have to find a way to make peace with that. Do not pressure or shame someone into accepting your apology.

One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is learning how to create closure within rather than expecting other people to give it to us.

Reflective
Signals that the apologizer is taking full responsibility for their actions.

Apologizing means letting go of your ego to show that you care about someone and want to make things right. Good apologies center the person being apologized to. They also take direct ownership of the actions that caused pain by naming them clearly.

This Guide is open-source, meaning that anyone can contribute. I'm a queer Black femme and my voice should not be the only one shaping this guide.

If you identify as a member of an underinvested community and want to contribute, please submit a pull-request on this GitHub repository.

If you aren't a GitHub user and would still like to contribute, send me an email at guidetoallyship [to] byamelie [dot] co.

This Guide is a labor of love and provided as a shareable resource for you to use. Please make sure to credit back to the site if you decide to use any content here.

And if you've found this Guide helpful, feel free to show your support and buy me a cup of tea.

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An open-source guide for anyone interested in becoming an ally.

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Twenty African Americans Who Changed History (Universal Class Course)

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Twenty African Americans Who Changed History (Universal Class Course)

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This course examines the circumstances into which these African Americans were brought or born, and the obstacles they faced.

Continuing education courses with Universal Class are free with an Ocean County Library card. Click the link below for instructions.

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Learn something new today with Universal Class!

This resource offers over 500 non-college credit Continuing Education courses! All you need is an Ocean County Library card and an email address to sign up!

If you are already registered with Universal Class, click here to login and start your classes.

If you are new to Universal Class, please click here to register by entering in your library card barcode number. After you register, enroll in an online course and begin!
Quick Facts

You will need to create an account and have a valid e-mail address to sign up for courses

You are welcome to enroll in up to 5 courses at a time

You have up to 6 months to finish each course

You have access to your course 24/7 via the Internet

Attend class and do assignments on your schedule

Each course has a real instructor who you may communicate with using e-mail

These are non-credit courses provided for your personal enrichment, and are not intended to be a substitute for any state, government, licensing, or educational requirements

If you wish to browse what classes are offered before registering, be sure to return to Ocean County Library's Universal Class page to start the registration process to get a free account. If you don't go back to the library website for the "registering here" link, you risk registering on the commercial site and being asked to pay for classes. If you do complete your registration on the commercial site, contact us so we can transfer your registration to the library subscription.

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This resource offers over 500 non-college credit Continuing Education courses! All you need is an Ocean County Library card and an email address to sign up! If you are already registered with Universal Class, click here to login and start your classes.

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GENEALOGY QUICK START is a 30 minute TV program providing the steps needed to begin researching your ancestry. Created and hosted by Shamele Jordon, professional genealogist, producer, lecturer, and writer.

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genealogy quick start tv in is a digital media and video production studio providing a wide range of creative film, video, and multi media services for clients.

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African American Family Research on Ancestry

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African American Family Research on Ancestry

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Part One of this guide walks you through the steps to discovering your family’s unique history through the 20th century and back to the 1870 census. Part Two shows you clues to look for in the 1870 census and earlier records, with tips for continuing your research even further back through time.

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Delve into controversial contemporary issues with this comprehensive resource. Easy-to-use drop down menus make this a great database for students. Contains articles from thousands of diverse sources, and covers political, scientific, economic, and social topics. Funding provided by Ocean County Library.
Search for subjects such as racism, anti-racism, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights, etc.

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Current Events research: Immigration. Global Warming and dozens of other topics. Delve into controversial contemporary issues with this comprehensive resource. Easy-to-use drop down menus make this a great database for students. Contains articles from thousands of diverse sources, and covers political, scientific, economic, and social topics. Funding provided by Ocean County Library.

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Current Events research: Immigration. Global Warming and dozens of other topics. Delve into controversial contemporary issues with this comprehensive resource. Easy-to-use drop down menus make this a great database for students. Contains articles from thousands of diverse sources, and covers political, scientific, economic, and social topics. Funding provided by Ocean County Library.

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African-American History Online (Facts on File Online)

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African-American History Online (Facts on File Online)

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Articles, videos, primary sources, images, biographies and timelines on 500 years of African-American history from Facts on File.

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African-American History Online (Facts on File Online)

Articles, videos, primary sources, images, biographies and timelines on 500 years of African-American history from Facts on File. This database is provided with funding from the Ocean County Library.

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African-American History Online (Facts on File Online)

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African-American History Online (Facts on File Online) Articles, videos, primary sources, images, biographies and timelines on 500 years of African-American history from Facts on File. This database is provided with funding from the Ocean County Library.

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African American History: Research Guides

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African American History: Research Guides

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Web research can be very useful and lead to much useful and important information. While every effort has been made to list only “reliable” sites, researchers should be aware that control of sites change (often without notice) from time to time and, thus, the reliability and point of view of the website may change (for better or worse).

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Stories Collected by: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

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This collection centers and documents the African diasporan experiences of COVID-19 including racial disparities in health outcomes and access, the impact on Black-owned businesses, and cultural production. The collection also seeks to document the community impact on New York City through state and local news, and government responses to COVID-19.

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The National Civil Rights Museum examines today’s global civil and human rights issues, provokes thoughtful debate and serves as a catalyst for positive social change.

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The National Civil Rights Museum, located in Memphis, TN, explores the history of the Civil Rights Movement and its impact on our culture today. Plan your visit today.

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African American Studies Research Guide: Milestones in Black History

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African American Studies Research Guide: Milestones in Black History

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African Americans and their contributions to American society and culture are honored each February with Black History Month. Since arriving in America in 1619 as slaves, African Americans have fought for their independence and to be seen as equals. These struggles have produced many historical figures and events that make all Americans proud, and a few that brought major disappointment. Below is a chronological list of a few of the events that shaped black history and some information about the brave men and women who led the way for later generations.
African Endentured Servants Brought to Jamestown, VA, 1619

A Dutch ship brings 20 African indentured servants to the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia.
Maryland Passes First Law Banning Interracial Marriage, 1664

On Septeember 20 1664, Maryland passed the first antiamalgamation law. This was intended to prevent English women from marrying African men. Interracial marriage was a fairly common practice during the colonial era among white indentured servants and black slaves-as well as in more aristocratic circles.
The Stono Rebellion, 1739

One of the earliest slave revolts takes place in Stono, South Carolina, near Charleston. A score of whites and more than twice as many blacks slaves are killed as the armed slaves try to flee to Florida. For more information, visit Africans in America, Pt. 1, The Terrible Transformation.
Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770

Crispus Attacks, 1st American and African Amrican killed in Revolutionary War, The Crisis, Jan.-Feb. 1999, cover.
Thomas Paine Publishes Anti-Slavery Tract, 1775

Although Paine was not the first to advocate the aboliton of slavery in Amerca, he was certainly one of the earliest and most influential. The essay African Slavery in America was written in 1774 and published March 8, 1775 when it appeared in the Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser. Just a few weeks later on April 14, 1775 the first anti-slavery society in America was formed in Philadelphia. Paine was a founding member.
Declaration of Independence, 1776

A passage by Thomas Jefferson condemning the slave trade is removed from the Declaration of Independence due to pressure from the southern colonies. For more information, see Africans in America, Pt. 1, The Terrible Transformation.
Revolutionary War, 1775-1782

Blacks fought for both the British and the American side during the Revolutionary War, depending on who was offering freedom for doing so. For more information, see Africans in America, Pt. 2, Revolution.
Battle of Trenton, December 25, 1779

African American soldier Prince Whipple, a black man, crossed the Delaware with General Washington on December 25, 1779, on the eve of the Revolutionary War's famous Battle of Trenton. Whipple (pictured in the left rear pulling an oar) was a bodyguard for General Whipple of New Hampshire, an aide to the future President. The Crisis, Jan.-Feb. 1999, p.18-19.
Massachusetts Grants African-Americans Right to Vote, 1780

On February 9, 1780, Capt. Paul Cuffe and six other African-American residents of Massachusetts petitioned the state legislature for the right to vote. Claiming "no taxation without representation," the residents had earlier refused to pay taxes. The courts agreed and awarded Cuffe and the six other defendants full civil rights.
Northwest Ordinance, 1787 U.S. Constitution Adopted, 1789

Slaves counted as three-fifths of a person for means of representation.
First Fugitive Slave Act, 1793

Congress passes the first Fugitive Slave Act, which makes it a crime to harbor an escaped slave.
Gabriel's Conspiracy, 1800 Slave Revolt in Louisiana, 1811

More than a century before the first modern-day civil rights march, Charles Deslondes and his make-do army of more than 200 enslaved men battled with hoes, axes and cane knives for that most basic human right: freedom. Source : 1811 Slave Revolt in Louisiana
The Missouri Compromise, 1820 The Vesey Conspiracy, 1822 Freedom's Journal, 1827-1829

Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm publish Freedom's Journal, the first African American newspaper in America, from March 16, 1827-March 28, 1829
Nat Turner Slave Revolt, 1831 Amistad Case, 1839

Slaves being transported aboard the Spanish ship Amistad take it over and sail it to Long Island. They eventually win their freedom in a Supreme Court case.
Frederick Douglass, 1818-1895

In 1845 publishes Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, one of the enduring classics of American literature.

Douglass advocates enlisting in the Union Army to lay the groundwork for citizenship during the Civil War.

In December, 1866, The Atlantic Monthly publishes "Reconstruction" , in which Douglass warns Congress of the potential for the de facto re-enslavement of blacks should the South's antebellum political system remain intact. Douglass exhorted Congress to pass a civil-rights amendment affirming the equality of blacks and whites in the United States.

Harriet Tubman, c.1820-March 10, 1913

The most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad. Having escaped slavery herself, she returned time and time again to rescue family and friends in Maryland between 1849 and the outbreak of the Civil War. She was nicknamed General Tubman by John Brown and Grandma Moses by others for leading so many slaves out of bondage. She also served as a spy for Union forces during the Civil War. She was awarded full military honors upon her death. For more information see the The Heroic Struggle of "General" Tubman, The People, Vol.108, no.12, March 1999.
The Compromise of 1850 Sojourner Truth, Electrifies Women's Rights Conference, 1851

Freedwoman Sojourner Truth, a compelling speaker for abolitionism, gives her famous "Ain't I a Woman" speech in Akron, Ohio. Truth would later move to Battle Creek, Michigan

On June 1, 1834, Sojourner Truth set out from New York on an historic journey across America. She traveled far and wide preaching about the evils of slavery and promoting women's rights. She claimed the Lord gave her the name Sojourner Truth, as he had called upon her " to travel up and down the land" declaring the truth to people. Truth was born a slave, originally bearing the name Isabella Baumfree. She gained her freedom when the New York State Emancipation Act was passed in 1827. An impressive sight, she stood six-feet tall and wore a satin banner that said, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." Truth was the guest of President Lincoln at the White House on several occasions and was one of the voices that influenced Lincoln to recruit African-American soldiers for the Union Army during the Civil War.

Uncle Tom's Cabin Published, 1851-1852

Angered by the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes the first of 41 installments of Uncle Tom's Cabin in an abolitionist weekly, June 5, 1851. She intends her novel about slaves Uncle Tom, who is sold and resold, and Eliza, who flees to save her child, to "awaken sympathy" for those suffering under a "cruel and unjust" system. In book form the following year, Cabin sells 300,000 copies and is credited with shaping perceptions leading to the Civil War. In time the novel's stereotypes, exaggerated in minstrel show versions, alter attitudes toward Stowe's hero, and "Uncle Tom" becomes a pejorative for a passive, subservient black man.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 Dred Scott v Sanford (1857) Last Known Slave Ship Arrives in United States, 1859

On August 22, 1859, Captain Foster guided the slaver Clotilde into Mobile, Alabama, under a veil of secrecy. The vessel was laden with human cargo in violation of the ban on the international slave trade. To avoid being arrested by the federal authorities, Captain Foster hid his African captives ashore and set fire to the ship. Foster and the ship's owner, Timothy Meaher, found it impossible to secure buyers for their contraband cargo and were forced to keep all the intended slaves themselves. Not long afterwards, at the outset of the Civil War, Meaher and Foster freed the Clotilde captives. The Clotilde was the last known slave ship to arrive in America.
Nicholas Biddle : First African-American Soldier Wounded in Civil War, 1861

For more information, see John David Hoptak, "Baltimore, Bricks, and First Blood", courtesy of HistoryNet.com. Just days after Fort Sumter, a pro-Confederate mob in Baltimore, Maryland turned ex-slave Nicholas Biddle into the war's first casualty.
Slave Freed in Missouri, But Lincoln Backtracks, 1861

On Aug. 30, 1861, Union Gen. John C. Fremont instituted martial law in Missouri and declared slaves there to be free. (However, Fremont's emancipation order was countermanded by President Abraham Lincoln).
Robert Smalls, Commandeers Confederate Ship, and Delivers It to the Union, May 13, 1862

Robert Smalls became a ship's pilot and eventually a Captain for the Union during the Civil War. Unable to read or write and a former slave, Smalls would ultimately achieve the rank of Major General and serve five terms in the U.S. Congress.
The Emancipation Proclamation, 1862 & 1863 War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863) Bravery Displayed at Fort Wagner (1863) earns First U.S. Medal of Honor for African-American Soldier Wade-Davis Bill (1864) 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865) 1866 Civil Rights Act 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (July 9, 1868) First African American Elected Official In Michigan (1868) Mary Ellen Pleasant, 1868

Long before Rosa Parks, Mary Ellen Pleasant sued to win the right to ride on cable cars in San Francisco. Source: Pleasant v North Beach & Mission Railway and Wikipedia.
15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870)

Passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870, the 15th amendment granted African American men the right to vote. Source : Our Documents . gov : 100 Milestone Documents of American History At the same time, however, the first "Jim Crow" or segregation law is passed in Tennessee mandating the separation of African Americans from whites on trains, in depots and wharves. In short order, the rest of the South falls into step. By the end of the century, African Americans are banned from white hotels, barber shops, restaurants, theaters and other public accommodations. By 1885, most southern states also have laws requiring separate schools.
First Jim Crow Segregation Law Passed, 1871

Tennessee passes the first of the "Jim Crow" segregation laws, segregating state railroads. Other Southern states pass similar laws over the next 15 years. A Brief History of Jim Crow Laws
First Open Heart Surgery Performed by Black Physician, 1873

African American physician Daniel Hale Williams performs the world's first successful open-heart surgery. For another article about Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, see Frank Daniels III, "Doctor performed successful open-heart surgery", The Tennessean, January 17, 2013.
Civil Rights Act of 1875

"That all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal and enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement; subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color, regardless of any previous condition of servitude."
Civil Rights Cases, 1883

"On the whole, we are of opinion that no countenance of authority for the passage of the law in question can be found in either the thirteenth or fourteenth amendment of the constitution; and no other ground of authority for its passage being suggested, it must necessarily be declared void, at least so far as its operation in the several states is concerned." (overturns the Civil Rights Act of 1875)
First Poll Tax Passed, 1890

Mississippi enacts a poll tax, which most African Americans cannot afford to pay, to try to keep blacks from voting.
Ida B. Wells Launches Her Anti-Lynching Crusade, 1892

African American journalist Ida B. Wells begins a crusade to investigate the lynchings of African Americans after three of her friends are lynched in Tennessee.

Daniel Hale Williams successfully performs first hear operation, July 9, 1893.

Received medical degree from Chicago Medical College in 1883. Upset over the fact that African Americans were not allowed treatment in white hospitals, Williams opens Provident Hospital. When James Cornish showed up with a chest wound, Dr.l Williams determined he had internal bleeding. Opening his chest, he was able to sew him up, before the invention of penicillin, antibiotics, and xrays, allowing Cornish to live another 20 years.
Plessy v. Ferguson (May 18, 1896) Louisiana Disenfranchizes All African Americans, 1898

Louisiana passes limits the right to vote to anyone whose fathers and grandfathers were qualified on January 1, 1867. No African Americans had the right to vote at that time. Other southern states follow suit. For more information visit "grandfather clause" in BlackPast.org
Booker T. Washington : First African American To Address a Racially-Mixed Southern Audience, September 18, 1898

On September 18, 1895, Booker T. Washington delivered his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech at the opening of the Cotton States and International Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia. Washington, the founder and president of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, was the first African-American man ever to address a racially-mixed Southern audience. More info from the Library of Congress.
Scott Joplin Helps Launch Ragtime, 1899

Pianist and composer Scott Joplin publishes "The Maple Leaf Rag," a major hit that helps popularize ragtime music.
Black National Anthem, 1900

On November 1, 1900, brothers James Weldon Johnson, author, educator and general secretary of the NAACP (1920-1930), and John Rosamond Johnson composed the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing", commonly referred to as the black national anthem.

DuBois Publishes The Souls of Black Folk, 1903

William Edward Burghardt DuBois, social scientist, critic and public intellectual, was a leading figure in African-American protest for most of his adult life. He emerged at the turn of the century as an opposing voice to Booker T. Washington, who appeared to have accepted segregation, or-in DuBois's eyes -- defeat. His book Souls of Black Folk, written in 1903, presented an alternative to Booker T. Washington's "accommodation" platform and is considered a classic work of the civil rights movement. For DuBois the "color line" was the major problem of the 20th century. In 1905 he will help found the Niagara Movement, demanding full equality for African Americans.
African American Woman Starts A Business Which Will Make Her a Millionaire, 1903

Sarah Breedlove MacWilliams, better known as Madam C. J. Walker, starts an African American hair-care business in Denver and eventually becomes America's first self-made woman millionaire.
Chicago Defender, Chicago's First African American Newspaper, Launched in 1903

Thwarted in practicing law, Robert S. Abbott turns to publishing an African American newspaper in Chicago. Within a decade, it is one of the country's most influential African American weekly papers, and Abbott has become a millionaire.
NAACP Established (1909) First African American Reaches North Pole, 1909

On April 6, 1909, Matthew Henson became the first man to reach the North Pole. Adm. Robert E. Peary, the expedition's commander, arrived about 45 minutes after Henson. The temperature was 29 degrees when Henson planted the American flag at 90 degrees north-the only place on the planet where the only way you can go is south.
Great Migration Begins, 1910-1920

Looking for better opportunities, massive numbers of African Americans move north to seek employment in factories. Trend won't slow down until 1960s, and may start to reverse in the 2000s.
National Urban League Founded, 1911

Started to help the many African Americans who are migrating to the cities find jobs and housing.
First African American Pilot, March 1912

Emory Malick wins pilot's license. Source : Rebecca Maksel, Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine, March 1, 2011
Father of the Blues Produces First Big Hit, 1912

W. C. Handy publishes his song "Memphis Blues," which becomes a huge hit.

Harriet Tubman Dies, March 10, 1913.

Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman served as a "conductor with the Underground Railroad" leading countless slaves to freedom. For her help during the Civil War as a nurse, cook, and spy, she was awarded full military honors upon her death in Auburn, New York.
East Saint Louis Race Riots, 1917

Forty African Americans and eight whites are killed in race riots in East St. Louis, Ill., stirred up by white resentment of African Americans working in wartime industry.
World War I, 1918 Henry Johnson Wins Croix de Guerre in World War I, May 15, 1918.

Kept on the sidelines by the U.S. Army, Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts join the Harlem Hellfighters and fight for the French Army. Attacked by a platoon of German soldiers in the Argonne Woods, running out of grenades, running out of bullets, his rifle splintered, Johnson fights on with a bolo knife to save his comrade Roberts from being captured until reinforcements arrive, receiving 21 separate wounds. For their heroic actions, both Johnson and Roberts were awarded the Croix de Guerre, France's highest military honor; Johnson received an additional coveted Gold Palm for extraordinary valor. Years later, the U.S. belatedly awarded Johnson a Purple Heart, Distinguished Cross, and Medal of Honor. Source: Sarah Pruitt, WWI Hero Henry Johnson Finally Receives Medal of Honor, History, June 2, 2015.
Madam C. J. Walker Dies, May 25, 1919

Escaping the cotton fields of Louisiana, born Sarah Breedlove, Madam C. J. Walker developed her own line of African American hair products and sold them across the country. When she died, her wealth was estimated at over a million dollars, making her the wealthiest African American woman at the time.
Red Summer Race Riots, 1919

Scores of race riots across the country leave at least 100 people dead. These are again sparked by white resentment of African Americans working in industry, and their large-scale migration from South to North.
Oscar Micheaux Produces First Film, 1919

Pioneering director-producer produces his first film, The Homesteader, based on his novel., for the African-American audience
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constituion, 1920

"The rights of citizens...to vote shall not be denied or abridged...on account of sex."

Bessie Coleman Receives Her Pilot's License in France, June 15, 1921.

Suppored by Robert Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender, Coleman travels to France to earn an international pilot's license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.
Jesse Owens Wins Four Gold Medals at Berlin Olympics, August 1936

On August 3, 1936, at the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, Jesse Owens won the 100-meter sprint, capturing his first of four gold medals. Over the next six days, Owens won Olympic gold in the 200-meter dash, the broad jump, and the 400-meter relay.

Marian Anderson Performs at Lincoln Memorial, April 9, 1939.

When the Daughters of the American Revolution denied Anderson the opportunity to sing to an integrated audience at Constitution Hall, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR and invited her to perform at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. Her first song was "My Country 'Tis of Thee"
Eleanor Roosevelt Climbs Into Airplane With Tuskegee Flight Instructor, March 29, 1941. Executive Order 9808 : First President's Committee on Civil Rights Established (1946)

On December 5, 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order No. 9808. This landmark order established the first President's Committee on Civil Rights charged with examining law enforcement agencies and government systems to determine how their means of safeguarding the civil rights of Americans could improve and strengthened. The committee was ordered to report their findings to the president in writing.
Breaking the Color Line in Baseball, April 15, 1947

When Jackie Robinson stepped onto Ebbets field on April 15th, 1947, Robinson became the first African American in the twentieth century to play baseball in the major leagues - breaking the "color line," a segregation practice dating to the nineteenth century. Jackie Robinson was an extremely talented multi-sport athlete and a courageous man who played an active role in civil rights. Source : Baseball and Jackie Robinson.
Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948) Ralph Bunche, First African-American Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, 1950.

On September 22, 1950 Ralph J. Bunch was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as mediator in the Palestinian conflict. Bunch was the first African-American Nobel Peace Prize recipient
Brown v Board of Education (May 17, 1954) Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, December 1955
Althea Gibson, First African American Tennis Champion, May 26, 1956.

Taking up tennis at the age of fourteen, Gibson would go on to win five Grand Slams, including the U.S. Open (twice) and Wimbledon (twice)
Desegregation of Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas (1957) Civil Rights Act Passes Congress (1957)

August 29, 1957, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond (then a Democrat) ended a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours.
Greensboro Woolworth Sit-In, 1960

On Monday, February 1, 1960, at 4:30 p.m., four freshmen from North Carolina Agricultural and Technological College, Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain, sat down at the lunch counter at the local F.W. Woolworth store and ordered coffee and cherry pie. This simple act was extremely bold for the times. These African-American students were acting in defiance of Jim Crow laws that permitted blacks to shop in the store but not to eat a meal there. The Greensboro sit-in is credited with re-igniting the civil rights movement in America, transforming the older generation's don't-rock-the-boat tactics to a more militant, protest-based platform.

Wilma Rudolph, First African American and American Woman to Win 3 Gold Medals in a singly Olympics, September 11, 1960.
Freedom Riders Fight Segregation Across South, 1961

Thirteen members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) set off on a bus ride from Washington D.C. to New Orleans on May 4, 1961. These civil rights activist were testing a 1960 Supreme Court ruling that expanded anti-discrimination laws covering interstate travel to include facilities used by travelers. The Freedom Riders bravely entered segregated terminals, waiting rooms, restrooms and restaurants. They were met with harassment, violence, and even arrest.
Birmingham Campaign and Church Bombing, 1963

The Birmingham Campaign was launched in 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists were soon jailed, but it was the participation of the children that advanced the momentum of the Birmingham movement. They marched alongside the adults and were taken to jail with them as well. Because the 16th St. Baptist Church was close to the downtown area, it was an ideal location to hold rallies and meetings. On Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 1963, dynamite planted by the Ku Klux Klan, exploded in the building. Under the fallen debris, the bodies of four girls were found. Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley died because of the color of their skin. For more information check out an HBO documentary film in association with 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks production ; a Spike Lee Joint ; director, producer, Spike Lee ; producer, Sam Pollard. HBO Home Video, c1998. 1 VHS videocassette (102 min.) F334.B69 A24 1998 Videocassette :Features archival film footage, home photographs, comments by surviving family members, and interviews with local and national figures of the time.

While residing in jail, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" which later appeared in The Atlantic Monthly (under the title "The Negro Is Your Brother"), ...addressing a national audience that did not recognize his full rights of equality as a citizen and human being. A copy of the letter is available in the MSU Libraries Special Collections.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

prohibits sex-based pay differentials on jobs.

August 28, 1963 : Martin Luther King Jr. Delivers "I Have a Dream" in Washington, D.C.

Thanks to the Power of TV and radio, Martin Luther King Jr's speech at the end of the March on Washington was broadcast around the world.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Malcolm X Assassinated, 1965

On Februry 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while speaking at a rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Malcolm X was a charismatic speaker and disciplined leader who quickly rose to prominence through his association with the Nation of Islam.
Bloody Sunday, 1965

The Historic Selma to Montgomery marchers started on March 7, 1965. More than 600 hundred marchers led by the SNCC and SCLC gathered in Selma to march in solidarity. Coupled with the original aim of the protest, marchers also wanted to call attention to the denial of their voting rights. With the 1964 Civil Rights Act passing, King and other leaders hoped the gathering would speed along the opportunity for fairness. Led by current Georgia congressman John Lewis (then-chairman of the SNCC) and Rev. Hosea Williams of the SCLC, the marchers were undeterred until they reached the Edmund Pettus Bridge that crosses the Alabama River heading in to Montgomery. Police gathered and formed a wall barring the passing of the marchers, after Sheriff Jim Clark called all able-bodied White men to become temporary deputies and assist in enforcement. When Rev. Williams tried to peacefully reason with the officers, shoving matches ensued and the carnage began: officers fired tear gas in to the crowd and began beating the non-violent protesters with billy clubs. The aggressive actions of the Alabama police force were televised nationally and around the world, sparking fierce debate and renewed support for the Civil Rights Movement. Reports vary, but between 17 and 50 people were injured and hospitalized with one woman, Amelia Boynton, nearly beaten to death.
Voting Rights Act of 1965 1965 Executive Order 11246

affirmative action requirements of government contractors and subcontractors.
Thurgood Marshall, 1967

First Black appointed to the United States Supreme Court, August 30, 1967. Spent his entire life battling for civil rights, winning 29 out of 32 Supreme Court Cases before ever serving on the Supreme Court. Source : Thurgood Marshall Biographical Sketch, part of the PBS : The Supreme Court : Expanding Civil Rights web page.
Loving versus Virginia, 1967

banned anti-miscegenation laws (race-based restrictions on marriage).
Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated, 1968

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot outside of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King's assassination precipitated marches and rallies across America and riots erupted in over 100 cities. In the melee, 46 people were killed and 20,000 arrested. From April 5 - 11, there were 50,000 federal and state troops called in to keep order. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 an official day of mourning. King was 38 years old at the time of his death.

I Have A Dream. Audio from a speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963. Audio courtesy of the Internet Archive.

"Montgomery Story" Comic Book A print copy of Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story (1957) is available in the MSU Library Special Collections unit.

Arthur Ashe Wins First Tennis Title, August 25, 1968.

Graduating as valedictorian from his high school, Arthur Ashe turned pro at the age of 26. He went on to win the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and became the first African American tennis player to be ranked number one.
Shirley Chisholm, 1968 and 1972

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. A Democrat, she represented the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

In 1972 she became the first African-American woman to run for president with a major political party. Aware that she would not win the nomination, Chisholm explained her motivation for entering the race," The next time a woman of whatever color, or a dark-skinned person of whatever sex aspires to be president, the way should be a little smoother because I helped pave it."

First African-American Astronaut in Space, 1983

On August 30, 1983, the space shuttle Challenger blasted off in the dark from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the first African-American astronaut to go into space. Forty-year-old Col. Guion S. Bluford Jr., a mission specialist, tested the Challenger's mechanical arm, helped launch weather and communications satellites, and performed experiments in electrophoresis
First African-American Miss America, 1983

On September 17, 1983, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first African-American Miss America was crowned. At age of 20, Vanessa Williams of New York had won American's foremost beauty pageant.
Civil Rights Act of 1991

adds provisions to Title VII protections, including right to jury trial.
First Female African-American Astronaut in Space, 1992

On September 12, 1992, Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to go into space.
Colin Powell, 2001 Oprah Winfrey Becomes First African American Female Billionaire, February 27, 2003. Condoleezza Rice, 2005

First African American Woman Secretary of State.
Obama Election, 2008, and Presidency, 2009-2016
For additional postings, see Today in Black History by BlackFacts.com

From Slavery to Civil Rights : A Timeline of African American History. Use this interactive timeline-based activity to introduce the topic of African-American history through primary sources. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Also see African American History Day by Day : A Reference Guide to Events / Karen Juanita Carrillo. Santa Barbara, CA : Greenwood Press, 2012.

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LibGuides: African American Studies Research Guide: Milestones in Black History

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African Americans and their contributions to American society and culture are honored each February with Black History Month. Since arriving in America in 1619 as slaves, African Americans have fought for their independence and to be seen as equals. These struggles have produced many historical figures and events that make all Americans proud, and a few that brought major disappointment.

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Black Futures Lab works with Black people to transform our communities, building Black political power and changing the way that power operates—locally, statewide, and nationally.

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The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) seeks to reach millions, mobilize hundreds of thousands, and organize tens of thousands, so that Black political power is a force able to influence national and local agendas in the direction of our shared Vision for Black Lives.

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VISION FOR BLACK LIVES

Black humanity and dignity requires Black political will and power. Despite constant exploitation and perpetual oppression, Black people have bravely and brilliantly been the driving force pushing the U.S. towards the ideals it articulates but has never achieved.

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Black humanity and dignity requires Black political will and power. Despite constant exploitation and perpetual oppression, Black people have bravely and brilliantly been the driving force pushing the U.S. towards the ideals it articulates but has never achieved.

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We work to help leaders change their world—and the world needs changing. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the loss of far too many Black lives to list, have left our nation anguished and outraged. While now is a time for grief and anger, it is also a time for resolve. Find resources below to learn what you can do to create a more just and equitable world.

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From suggested social media language you can use to advocate for change, to educational guides to keep you up to speed on the latest, the resources below can help you start or continue your journey to take action against injustice.

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The New Era of Public Safety initiative offers groundbreaking tools to create accountability and increase trust, fairness, justice, and mutual respect between police departments and the communities of color they serve. The report and toolkit offer policy solutions to equip communities and police departments with best practices and recommendations for adopting 21st century policing models, including tools for advocacy.

Center for Policing Equity
Center for Policing Equity (CPE) produces analyses identifying and reducing the causes of racial disparities in public safety and advocates for large-scale and meaningful change. Using evidence-based approaches to social justice, CPE uses data to create levers for social, cultural and policy change.

Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter provides a number of toolkits for individuals related to healing action, healing justice, conflict resolution, and more.

Everyday Democracy
Everyday Democracy provides a number of resources for individuals by issue, including around community policing.

National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
NICJR partners with cities and agencies across the country to support efforts focused on reimagining public safety; placing community at the center and transforming policing. Utilizing the organization's successful criminal justice reform model to Reduce-Improve-and Invest, NICJR is guiding newly formed police reform commission efforts in California, including the Oakland Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and the Fresno Commission on Police Reform to establish robust recommendations and implement a sustainable framework to reduce the footprint of law enforcement, significantly improve policing, and reinvest into communities and community based services and supports. They have a number of resources around this work.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives partnered together on the "Future of Public Safety" series, which resulted in this report. In the series, we brought together 38 individuals representing a diverse range of voices for "dialogue across differences." Through everyone's points of healthy disagreement, we identified nine core points of consensus that guided our work and are the framework for the roadmap we provide communities.

These third party external links are being provided as a convenience and for educational and informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Obama Foundation, and the Obama Foundation bears no responsibility for the accuracy or legality of the content of the external site or subsequent links from an external site.

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We work to help leaders change their world-and the world needs changing. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the loss of far too many Black lives to list, have left our nation heartbroken and outraged. Find ways you can meet anguish with action.

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What Is Anti-Racism and Can It Save Society?

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What Is Anti-Racism and Can It Save Society?

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Podcast with Ibram X. Kendi

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What Is Antiracism and Can It Save Society? | Aspen Ideas

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Countering racism is essential to the formation of a just and equitable society - so how can we fight it?

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BAJI educates and engages African American and black immigrant communities to organize and advocate for racial, social and economic justice. Local BAJI Organizing Committees in New York, Georgia, California and Arizona build coalitions and initiate campaigns among communities to push for racial justice.

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BAJI | Black Alliance for Just Immigration

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.The White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington, DC 20500

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As the Global leader of the Black LGBTQ+ Pride movement, CBE is breaking barriers to accessing employment and opportunity through equipping community leaders with the tools, experiences, and knowledge that enable them to unlock the leadership and problem-solving potential of themselves and others.

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Center for Black Equity | Improving Black LGBTQ+ Lives Globally

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We are improving the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people globally by focusing on economic, health, & social equity. Connect with Black LGBTQ+ events, resources, & news.

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The National Coalition of 100 Black Women

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The National Coalition of 100 Black Women

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NCBW is a National 501c3 non-profit organization. Through advocacy we work as change agents to influence policy that promotes gender equity in health, education and economic empowerment. We believe through our efforts we will fulfill our vision of seeing black women and girls living in a world where socio-economic inequity does not exist.

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National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.

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NCBW Home - National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.

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The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. (NCBW) advocates and promotes gender equity in health, education and economic empowerment.

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The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

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From police brutality to COVID-19 to voter suppression, Black communities are under attack. We work to disrupt inequality, dismantle racism, and accelerate change in key areas including criminal justice, health care, education, climate, and the economy. When it comes to civil rights and social justice, we have the unique ability to secure more wins than anyone else. Help make racial equity a reality.
Join the NAACP

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From police brutality to COVID-19 to voter suppression, Black communities are under attack. We work to disrupt inequality, dismantle racism, and accelerate change in key areas including criminal justice, health care, education, climate, and the economy. When it comes to civil rights and social justice, we have the unique ability to secure more wins than anyone else.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute

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Building upon the achievements of Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, the King Institute supports a broad range of activities illuminating Dr. King's life and the movements he inspired.

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The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute

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Skip to content Skip to navigation

Welcome to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute

We are always excited to hear from students engaged in historical research about Dr. King. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to respond to all the research requests we receive. Our website offers some of the best primary and secondary sources available and we hope you enjoy the process of discovering new information and ideas about the past and present. For suggested starting resources, click on the link above.

The Encyclopedia, based on the extensive historical research originally conducted for The Papers, has over 280 articles on civil rights movement figures, events, and organizations.

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The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute

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Skip to content Skip to navigation Welcome to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute We are always excited to hear from students engaged in historical research about Dr. King. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to respond to all the research requests we receive.

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National Museum of African American History

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National Museum of African American History

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Explore, learn and engage with the National Museum of African American History and Culture through our numerous digital resources.

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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As a public health precaution due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), the National Museum of African American History and Culture will temporarily close to the public starting Saturday, March 14. We are not announcing a re-opening date at this time and will provide updates on a regular and as needed basis.

All public events, programming and gatherings are canceled. Please visit our calendar of events for the latest updates. Our visitor passes page has updated information about individual and group passes. We appreciate your understanding.

The African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American.
Lonnie G. Bunch III Founding Director, NMAAHC

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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As a public health precaution due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), the National Museum of African American History and Culture will temporarily close to the public starting Saturday, March 14. We are not announcing a re-opening date at this time and will provide updates on a regular and as needed basis.

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Guide to Black History from the National Archives

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Guide to Black History from the National Archives

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In 1984, to support the growing demand for knowledge of African American history, Dr. Debra Newman Ham, with the help of several other colleagues, took on the responsibility of compiling a guide to black history records at the National Archives. With the publication of Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) became recognized as one of the primary sources for African American historical documents.

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Introduction

In 1984, to support the growing demand for knowledge of African American history, Dr. Debra Newman Ham, with the help of several other colleagues, took on the responsibility of compiling a guide to black history records at the National Archives. With the publication of Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) became recognized as one of the primary sources for African American historical documents. Here you will find an updated version, along with tools and other resources that can be used while conducting research relating to African American History at the National Archives.

If you are just starting archival research, please review guidance about getting started.

What are you researching?

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Introduction In 1984, to support the growing demand for knowledge of African American history, Dr. Debra Newman Ham, with the help of several other colleagues, took on the responsibility of compiling a guide to black history records at the National Archives.

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The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute

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Albert, Peter J., and Ronald Hoffman.
New York: Da Capo Press, 1993.

Baldwin, Lewis V.
Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2002.

Baldwin, Lewis V.
Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1995.

Branch, Taylor.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.

Branch, Taylor.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998.

Burrow, Rufus.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014.

Carson, Clayborne.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Farris, Christine King.
1st Atria Books hardcover ed. New York: Atria Books, 2009.

Garrow, David J.
New York: Vintage Books, 1988.

Garrow, David J.
New York: W.W. Norton, 1981.

Hansen, Drew D.
New York: Ecco, 2003.

Harding, Vincent.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996.

Herron, Matt.
San Rafael: Talking Fingers Publications, 2014.

Honey, Michael K.
New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2007.

Ivory, Luther D.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

Jackson, Thomas F.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.

Jones, Clarence B., and Stuart Connelly.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Kelen, Leslie G., ed.
Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2012.

King, Coretta Scott.
New York: Henry Holt, 1993.

King, Dexter Scott.
New York: Warner Books, 2003.

King, Martin Luther, Jr.
New York: Harper, 1958.

King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Boston: Beacon Press, 1968.

King, Martin Luther, Jr.
New York: Harper & Row, 1964.

King, Mary E.
Paris: UNESCO Publishing, 1999.

Lewis, David L.
New York: Praeger, 1970.

Lischer, Richard.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Manis, Andrew Michael.
Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1999.

McKnight, Gerald.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.

Miller, Keith D.
Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2012.

Miller, Keith.
New York: The Free Press, 1992.

Smiley, Tavis, and David Ritz.
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2014.

Sundquist, Eric J.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.

Washington, James M., ed.
San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986.

Young, Andrew.
New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

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Albert, Peter J., and Ronald Hoffman. New York: Da Capo Press, 1993. Baldwin, Lewis V. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2002. Baldwin, Lewis V.Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1995. Branch, Taylor.New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988. Branch, Taylor.New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998. Burrow, Rufus.Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014. Carson, Clayborne.

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Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938

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Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938

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Library of Congress

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Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA). At the conclusion of the Slave Narrative project, a set of edited transcripts was assembled and microfilmed in 1941 as the seventeen-volume Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. In 2000-2001, with major support from the Citigroup Foundation, the Library digitized the narratives from the microfilm edition and scanned from the originals 500 photographs, including more than 200 that had never been microfilmed or made publicly available. This online collection is a joint presentation of the Manuscript and Prints and Photographs divisions of the Library of Congress.

The Volumes

The published volumes containing edited slave narratives are arranged alphabetically by the state in which the interviews took place and thereunder by the surname of the informant. Administrative files for the project are bound at the beginning of Volume 1. These files detail the instructions and other information supplied to field workers as well as subjects of concern to state directors of the Federal Writers' Project.

Vol. 1

Vol. 2, Arkansas

Vol. 4, Georgia

Vol. 11, North Carolina

Vol. 14, South Carolina

Vol. 16, Texas

Historical Overview

In the Depression years between 1936 and 1938, the WPA Federal Writers' Project (FWP) sent out-of-work writers in seventeen states to interview ordinary people in order to write down their life stories. Initially, only four states involved in the project (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia) focused on collecting the stories of people who had once been held in slavery. John A. Lomax, the National Advisor on Folklore and Folkways for the FWP (and the curator of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress), was extremely interested in the ex-slave material he received from these states. In 1937 he directed the remaining states involved in the project to carry out interviews with former slaves as well. Federal field workers were given instructions on what kinds of questions to ask their informants and how to capture their dialects, the result of which may sometimes be offensive to today's readers (see A Note on the Language of the Narratives). The field workers often visited the people they interviewed twice in order to gather as many recollections as possible. Sometimes they took photographs of informants and their houses. The interviewers then turned the narratives over to their state's FWP director for editing and eventual transfer to Washington, D.C. The administrative files accompanying the narratives detail the information supplied to field workers as well as subjects of concern to state directors of the FWP. For more information about the interviewers, the people interviewed, and the processes of collection and compilation, see Norman Yetman's essay which accompanies this online collection.

In 1939, the FWP lost its funding, and the states were ordered to send whatever manuscripts they had collected to Washington. Once most of the materials had arrived at the Library of Congress, Benjamin A. Botkin, the folklore editor of the FWP who later became head of the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress, undertook the remaining editing and indexing of the narratives and selected the photographs for inclusion. As noted above, he organized the narratives by state, and then alphabetically by name of informant within each state, collecting them in 1941 into seventeen bound volumes in thirty-three parts under the title Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves (Washington, D.C., 1941). The multivolume set and other project files, including some earlier unbound annotated versions of the narratives, are housed in the Manuscript Division and described in the finding aid for the records of the WPA.

Other records relating to the ex-slave project are among the FWP files at the National Archives and Records Administration (Record Group 69.5.5) and are described in the Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States, Vol. I. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995). Volumes 2-17 of The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography, edited by George P. Rawick and others (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972-79), present these narratives with a slightly different organization; the later volumes of Rawick's series also include ex-slave interviews housed in other archives. Anthologies containing selections from the Library of Congress collection include the Federal Writers' Project's Lay My Burden Down: A Folk History of Slavery, edited by B. A. Botkin (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945) and Voices from Slavery (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970), edited by Norman R. Yetman, author of An Introduction to the WPA Slave Narratives under the Articles and Essays tab. For additional works using these narratives as well as other slave narratives, please see the list of Related Resources.

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About this Collection | Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 | Digital Collections | Library of Congress

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Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA).

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Those of us who live in the United States have inherited the legacy of how race and racism have been constructed in this country historically, systematically, and pervasively. Knowing our history is a good way to understand this legacy.

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Those of us who live in the United States have inherited the legacy of how race and racism have been constructed in this country historically, systematically, and pervasively. ​Knowing our history...

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The definition of racism offered here is grounded in Critical Race Theory a movement started in the 1970s by activists and scholars committed to the study and transformation of traditional relationships of race to racism and power.

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​ ​ ​The definition of racism offered here is grounded in Critical Race Theory , a movement started in the 1970s by activists and scholars committed to the study and transformation of…

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Launched in 2019, the Voting Rights Practice Group works across the Deep South in collaboration with community partners and organizers to engage and mobilize voters, restore voting rights to returning citizens, pursue electoral policy reforms, and bring litigation to challenge unconstitutional and discriminatory voting practices.

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Some Southern states retain Jim Crow-era laws that strip voting rights from people convicted of certain crimes, even after they've paid their debt to society. In addition, numerous states have adopted laws in recent years to suppress voting by vulnerable populations such as minority groups, the poor and the elderly.

Through litigation, legislative advocacy and education, the SPLC is working to end systematic voter suppression and to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to make their voice heard at the ballot box.

Alabama
Through the Alabama Voting Rights Project, we're going door to door helping Alabamians restore their right to vote. After the passage of the Definition of Moral Turpitude Act in 2017, Alabama finally clarified which felonies will not disqualify citizens from voting. Now, tens of thousands of people are eligible to restore their right to vote through a simple application to the state.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of newly enfranchised people don't know about their restored voting rights. We're working alongside the Campaign Legal Center to convey a simple message across the state: A felony conviction does not always mean you lose your right to vote.

Mississippi
Mississippi is one of only four states to impose lifelong voting bans for people convicted of certain felonies. The law is a relic of the state's 1890 Constitution, a Jim Crow-era document designed specifically to disenfranchise African Americans following Reconstruction. It's still having its intended effect: One in six black adults in the state - and a total of more than 200,000 Mississippians - can't cast a ballot. The law even allows legislators to decide, on an individual basis, whose rights to restore.

We filed a lawsuit against the state to overturn this discriminatory law on the grounds that it violates the U.S. Constitution, including the 14th Amendment because it arbitrarily grants or deprives citizens of the right to vote and was intended to discriminate on the basis of race.

Florida
We helped secure the Voting Restoration Amendment. The statewide ballot initiative ( Amendment 4) would reinstate the voting rights of 1.4 million Floridians who have been convicted of a felony at some point in their lives. These people - disproportionately people of color - have paid their debt to society and yet the state continues to silence their voices.

Louisiana
We've filed an amicus brief, along with The Sentencing Project and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, in a lawsuit challenging Louisiana's felony disenfranchisement policy. Our brief demonstrates how Louisiana's felony disenfranchisement laws are rooted in racial discrimination.

We also worked successfully to pass legislation in 2018 to restore voting rights to thousands of Louisiana residents who have been on probation or parole for five years.

Teaching Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance's Voting and Voices Project supports educators as they register and motivate young voters and encourage students of all ages to become empowered and enthusiastic voting advocates. We're providing educators with a pledge for students to take home to their families to commit to using their voices and votes in the 2018 election. In partnership with Rock the Vote, the project will also offer Democracy Class as a resource for teaching about voting as well as resources for facilitating student-led voter registration drives.

SPLC on Campus
We're providing information and resources to help our SPLC on Campus clubs implement voting registration drives at their college or university.

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Some Southern states retain Jim Crow-era laws that strip voting rights from people convicted of certain crimes, even after they've paid their debt to society. In addition, numerous states have adopted laws in recent years to suppress voting by vulnerable populations such as minority groups, the poor and the elderly.

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Many vulnerable children across the Deep South are being denied access to a quality public education and the mental health services they need. At the same time, thousands are being pushed out of the classroom and into the juvenile justice system because of discipline policies that punish them severely for minor misbehavior.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana all rank at or near the bottom of the country in terms of poverty, education, health care and other indicators of children's well-being.

Children of color and those with disabilities or mental health conditions are the ones who are harmed the most by these failures - particularly as states slash funding for education and social services."

We must do better.

That's why we're working across the region - using litigation, grassroots organizing and advocacy - to ensure that every child has an equal opportunity. Currently, we're focusing on three priorities:

Stopping the "school-to-prison pipeline"
We're working to eliminate exclusionary policies - unnecessary suspensions, expulsions and school-based arrests of children - that cut short a child's education and increase the likelihood of incarceration.

Ensuring equal access to education
We're working to ensure educational equity for children in poverty and those with disabilities - particularly as states transform the educational landscape by allowing charter schools and by shifting public resources to private schools.

Ensuring access to mental health service
We're working to improve access to effective, community-based mental health services and to reduce the overreliance on institutionalized care that warehouses children without providing the services they need.

We've had many successes in recent years. In Mobile, Alabama, for example, our lawsuit against the school district has resulted in a 75 percent reduction in school days lost to suspension. In New Orleans, we reached a landmark agreement to ensure that children with disabilities have access and proper services in the city's system of charter schools. In Meridian, Mississippi, our investigation sparked a Department of Justice lawsuit that stopped the routine arrest and jailing of children - disproportionately African American - for minor, noncriminal school infractions.

Despite the progress, there is much work still - and we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring equality, fairness and opportunity for all children.

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Many vulnerable children across the Deep South are being denied access to a quality public education and the mental health services they need. At the same time, thousands are being pushed out of the classroom and into the juvenile justice system because of discipline policies that punish them severely for minor misbehavior.

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The SPLC was founded in 1971 to ensure that the promise of the civil rights movement became a reality for all.

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Southern Poverty Law Center monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the U.S. and exposes their activities to law enforcement agencies, the media and the public.

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These organizations are working within the field of racial equity and on a variety of issues and topics. These organizations range from grassroots organizations, to academic institutions, to national advocacy organizations and more.  Using the filters below, you can view the organizations based on area of focus and/or related issues.

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Spiritual Activism: A Conversation with Ruby Sales

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Spiritual Activism: A Conversation with Ruby Sales

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Ruby Sales has been working for civil rights and racial justice since she was a 17-year-old organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Lowndes County, Alabama, during the mid-1960s. Sales went on to become a theologian and a civil rights legend.

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Spiritual Activism: A Conversation with Ruby Sales

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Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo

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Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo

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Dr. Robin DiAngelo is the author of "What Does it Mean to Be White? Developing White Racial Literacy" and has been an antiracist educator, and has heard justifications of racism by white men and women in her workshops for over two decades. This justification, which she calls “white fragility,” is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.

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General Commission on Religion and Race of The UMC

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Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo

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"What Is Systemic Racism?" is an 8-part video series that shows how racism shows up in our lives across institutions and society: Wealth Gap, Employment, Housing Discrimination, Government Surveillance, Incarceration, Drug Arrests, Immigration Arrests, Infant Mortality… yes, systemic racism is really a thing.

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One Nation Many Beliefs: Talking about Religion in a Diverse Democracy

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One Nation Many Beliefs: Talking about Religion in a Diverse Democracy

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For White Allies in Search of a Solution to American Racism / When Folks of Color Are Exhausted

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For White Allies in Search of a Solution to American Racism / When Folks of Color Are Exhausted

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Racism, white privilege and white supremacy are challenges that people of color neither created nor should be expected to resolve. This scholar encourages white allies to step up.

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For White Allies in Search of a Solution to American Racism / When Folks of Color Are Exhausted

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Racism, white privilege and white supremacy are challenges that people of color neither created nor should be expected to resolve. This scholar encourages white allies to step up.

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'Racism' Gets Revised Definition, Thanks to a Black Woman

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'Racism' Gets Revised Definition, Thanks to a Black Woman

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'Racism' Gets Revised Definition, Thanks to a Black Woman

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Said Kennedy Mitchum: "I know what racism is; I've experienced it time and time and time again in a lot of different ways, so enough is enough."