[Libs-Or] Shakespeare Books & Antiques closing

Mon Sep 5 15:03:52 PDT 2016

Here is the statement from Oregon Shakespeare Festival 

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A response to the “bookstore story”

Dear Community:

No doubt many of you have been following the story of the Festival’s ongoing disagreement with the owner of Shakespeare Books and Antiques. I hope you will allow me this opportunity to respond.

First of all, I am mindful that OSF owes a debt of gratitude to the entire local community for making Ashland one of the best places to visit on the West Coast; our theater thrives in large part because of the vibrancy of our region’s business community. I also respect Judi Honoré’s (the owner of Shakespeare Books and Antiques) commitment to celebrating free speech through the books she carries, and her tradition of showcasing banned books in her store window. As an individual, I don’t presume to have all the answers to these tricky issues, but I am proud to be part of the tradition we both represent of raising the questions.

Free speech is a cornerstone of our country’s democracy—a precious tradition that must be protected. Independent bookstores are among the true assets to our community, providing pleasure and education to both our local residents and our visitors, many of whom also patronize OSF. This is not surprising, given that we have such an overlap of mission; bookstores and theaters exist to expand minds and open hearts and generate debate on sometimes fraught issues.

The latest local coverage of our dealings with Judi focuses on her claim that she is closing her business as a result of diminished sales and stress caused by the “squabble” with OSF. While we have serious questions about the accuracy of this narrative (as it appears that Judi has been planning a business change for several months), I want to focus on the heart of this dispute: the relationship among public displays, free expression and racially offensive speech.

While some community members have been engaging in spirited discussions with Judi for years over their concerns about her window displays, the conversations between OSF company members and Judi related to this ongoing story centered on a personal request to consider placing the book Little Black Sambo elsewhere in her store, and not showcasing it directly next to a copy of The Wizard of Oz in her Main Street window display of banned books, especially while we are producing The Wiz. (To this day, I have yet to hear a persuasive argument for the juxtaposition of these two books, other than testing the limits of free expression with offensive messaging.)

I want to emphasize the phrase “placing elsewhere in her store” since the common, and inaccurate, version of the story is that company members asked her to remove it, or not display it at all, or not sell it. Company members of color who are performing in The Wiz politely asked, as individual citizens, for Judi to consider moving an edition of Little Black Sambo featuring illustrations that reinforce stereotypes of African Americans so that it was not next to The Wizard of Oz. 

The first conversation resulted in Judi doing exactly that. Judi then restored the display to its original placement, and when company members went in to ask why, Judi said she was angry that the previous conversation had been discussed amongst some company members at OSF.

After a series of attempts at constructive dialogue about this reversal, OSF Executive Director Cynthia Rider privately informed Judi that she would be instructing our staff to not make business-related purchases in her store. For the sake of clarity, OSF has only once made a purchase at Judi’s store, but it felt important to let her know that, based on her conversations with our company members, a business decision had been made.

OSF has never sought publicity or media attention for its ongoing discussions with Judi about her window display. We intended privacy for all of our communications, written and verbal, prior to Judi reaching out to the Ashland Daily Tidings (a publication for which Judi’s husband is a columnist). I would like to emphasize that not once has anyone at OSF called for a public boycott of Judi’s bookstore. Our employees are, of course, always free to shop anywhere for their personal purchases, and before today we had never brought up this subject in any communications with our patrons or membership.

I stand by our decision not to do business with a person who has treated members of our company and community with disrespect. Since Judi went public about OSF’s decision, we’ve received numerous reports from staff and patrons about problematic and insensitive interactions in and outside of her store and on the OSF campus. Our attempts to continue the dialogue with her—with a mediator, if she would prefer—have gone unanswered.

Many who have expressed disappointment in OSF’s choice to not make business-related purchases from Judi sense hypocrisy, given the broad range of plays we produce. They’ve compared the display of these books in a store window to OSF producing potentially controversial plays such as Roe, Othello, or The Merchant of Venice. I respectfully find fault in this parallel.

Bookstore owners can and should sell whatever books they want, and we can and should produce whatever plays we want. The question is what is appropriate for each of us to showcase in our most public space, and how we can respect a diversity of community sensibilities to any given symbol displayed in a public space. A more accurate OSF parallel to the bookstore window display is a marketing poster for one of our shows hanging on Main Street. For instance, had we chosen to market a given play with a gratuitously violent, sexually explicit, or culturally offensive image, I imagine that we would have heard from some who found that choice inappropriate. What people of all ages walking on Main Street see displayed cannot be avoided. We have a different, greater set of moral considerations about what we display in our Main Street-facing spaces than what people experience inside a store or inside one of our theaters.

My children are mixed race, and as a parent I have a deep sensitivity to how their identity as people of color is reflected back to them in our overwhelmingly white town. Ashland is a beautiful, generous community, one that I am proud to raise my family in. I’m also often reminded of our blind spots, especially given the relative lack of racial diversity here.

In this regard, I was disappointed that our local newspaper in a “What Do You Think?” article only interviewed white people about our disagreement with Judi. In fact, no direct quote has ever been published about the thoughts and feelings of the OSF company members who were originally pained by the nature of the display. The lack of curiosity from many quarters about the views of the OSF company members who had the original concern is troubling to me.

Free speech is necessary, but not all speech is neutral; all language, images and symbols are not equal. The fact that speech can be damaging must be acknowledged. As an institution and as individuals, how we use our right of free speech is a moral choice. It is not neutral to propound messages that deepen the isolation and oppression experienced by members of groups that have been historically marginalized. Propagating images that were historically stigmatizing to black people and that some people continue to experience as hurtful and stigmatizing is not a neutral act. In my view, we grow most when we listen with empathy and curiosity to all those who are different from us about their own life experiences.

I know that we can only make progress together with a true spirit of kindness, generosity, and respect. We plan to host a Town Hall meeting this fall, one that I hope can help us all listen to one another for the benefit of our entire community and our visitors. I hope that many in our community will attend, that we can have one or more facilitators who aren’t part of OSF, and that we can collectively commit to learning and growing from this very contentious public dialogue.

With respect,

Bill Rauch
Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival

We believe the inclusion of diverse people, ideas, cultures and traditions enriches both our insights into the work we present on stage and our relationships with each other. We are committed to diversity in all areas of our work and in our audiences. OSF is a public charity as outlined in section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Production images are property of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and are not to be copied without permission.

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> On Sep 4, 2016, at 1:44 PM, Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney <kbrodbeck-kenney at lincolncity.org> wrote:
> 
> Mark, I really appreciate your raising the thornier aspects of this.
>  
> I have found myself conflicted over this. I do see this as an intellectual freedom issue.
>  
> However, I also know that boycotts are a time-honored mode of exercising freedom of speech. In this case, while this is an intellectual freedom issue, it is also, ultimately, about a conflict between two entities -- a private business and a non-profit corporation -- who do not agree on the best modes of handling racially sensitive material. In some ways, I wonder how this would play out if a book and antique store were displaying golliwog dolls in the window, or a particularly fine collection of WWII German memorabilia. I am saddened that OSF and Shakespeare Books & Antiques couldn't come to an agreement that left both parties feeling that their concerns could be satisfied.
>  
> What it has caused me to contemplate in a library context is to what extent we have a responsibility to ensure that our educational displays serve the community and do not re-traumatize individuals who are feeling the direct effects of attacks based on their race, gender, sexuality, etc. I recently had opportunity to discuss this particular issue with a friend of mine who works in museums and often has occasion to work on displays incorporating racist imagery. She feels that choice on the part of the individual is deeply important, and stated that the choice she would make as a museum professional would be to have the material available to view, but allow the viewer to make the decision to view it, rather than having it be in a public thoroughfare. I find myself agreeing, although I think the specifics would need to be adjusted for every context and community. There are a great number of items that I would fight tooth and nail to retain in my library collection, but that I would not force on any patron without their consent.
>  
> Just some further thoughts.
> 
> Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney, MLIS
> Library Director
> Driftwood Public Library
> 801 SW Hwy 101, #201
> Lincoln City, OR 97367
> 541-996-1251 (desk)
> 541-996-1262 (fax)
> www.driftwoodlib.org
>  
> >>> Mark KILLE <markk at multcolib.org> 9/2/2016 11:10 AM >>>
> Hi all,
> 
> Okay, now that the "truth to power" line has been broken out, I feel I have to say something.
> 
> I wish people would stop talking about this situation as though there is one clear villain and one clear hero. For a relatively balanced presentation, see for example: http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160805/NEWS/160809755
> 
> I think we can all agree that freedom of speech, as an ethical principle as opposed to a legal right, comes with an obligation to use that speech responsibly. I think we can also all agree that you have to expect that other people may speak right back at you, if they don't like what you have to say.
> 
> It's an extremely sad situation--especially since the two private entities involved seem to have roughly similar views about what racism is and why it's bad--but OSF didn't make their complaint up out of nothing. It came from the real pain and concerns of real people.
> 
> It's fine if folks sympathize more with Shakespeare Books & Antiques than those concerns as expressed by OSF. It's fine if folks think OSF was overbearing and counterproductive. Just, please, don't dismiss the pain and concern that led to their actions--or their equal right to their own free speech.
> 
> I say this *especially* in the context of calls for libraries to use this situation as an opportunity to educate patrons about censorship. Consider that some of those patrons might actually approve of OSF's actions, and might already be mistrustful of public institutions that may be perceived to care more about abstract principles than creating a welcoming space for everyone in the community.
> 
> To pick just one related example: Libraries can and should have books that express the full range of views on same-sex relationships. But in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized marriage equality across the country, I would have never set up a display that included those books in order to "teach the controversy." Because it *sucks* to walk in and see books denying the validity of one's existence being actively promoted as being of interest.
> 
> I am not trying to convince anybody here of anything, or to start an argument. I'm just saying--please look at this situation, and others like it, as holistically as possible.
> 
> Thanks for your consideration,
> Mark
> 
> Mark Kille
> Library Assistant
> Multnomah County Library
> Hillsdale Library
> 503.988.5388
> multcolib.org
> 
> <mime-attachment.png>
> 
>> On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 10:27 AM, Tony <tony_greiner at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Ross' reminder about the upcoming Banned Books week gives us the opportunity to point out to our library readers the censorship and bullying tactics used by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It is a great opportunity to speak truth to power.
>> 
>> Tony Greiner
>> 
>> Primo and Alma: Making WorldCat Local Look Good
>> **tony_greiner at hotmail.com**
>> 
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