Race remains one of the touchiest and most heated subjects of our culture, yet direct conversation on it can be rare. It may seem a problematic topic for a person of white privilege to address for a paper in the field of library science, but an unwillingness in the profession to address it through open discussion is equally problematic. To assume that a discussion of racial inequality (or any inequality for that matter) can come only from those who have experienced that inequality is to ignore the fact that social justice movements are always essentially about the relationships between groups of people, not just groups of people in isolation. Libraries are a crucial lens through which to look at those relationships, as they have always strived towards the neutral dissemination of information and good-will for their communities, and yet as Tracie D. Hall wrote, they are also “deeply racialized spaces where race-conscious motives, practices, and policies are inevitably enacted.†(Hall, 197). It may not be surprising to consider that libraries have historically reflected the racist values of their societies, and in this sense may seem no better or worse than any other American institution. But if we consider how fundamental literacy was in the maintenance of the racial status quo, and how much illiteracy contributed to inequality, particularly with regards to African Americans (who will be the primary subject of this paper), then suddenly the centrality of libraries to the issue becomes clearer.
michaelbeiser
Latest posts by michaelbeiser (see all)
- Inclusion/Exclusion: Libraries and Race - May 9, 2014