[Libs-Or] Fwd: [alacoun] ALA statement affirming the rights of transgender people

[Diedre Conkling]

http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2020/06/ala-statement-affirming-rights-transgender-people


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Marsha Burgess <mburgess at ala.org>
Date: Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 7:56 AM
Subject: [alacoun] ALA statement affirming the rights of transgender people
To: ALA Council List <alacoun at lists.ala.org>


*The following message is sent on behalf of the American Library
Association President Wanda Kay Brown*

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA), and particularly its
Rainbow Round Table, unequivocally and emphatically stands in solidarity
with its transgender staff and members, transgender library workers,
transgender library users, transgender authors, and the transgender members
of the communities we serve. As an organization committed to social
justice, ALA seeks to support all transgender people, and in particular,
those who are vulnerable or at risk of discrimination, including supporting
the specific needs and perspectives of transgender people who are Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color, transgender people in sex work,
transgender migrants and asylum seekers, intersex people (who may or may
not identify as trans), transgender children and youth, senior transgender
people, and transgender people with disabilities.

ALA celebrates the recent Supreme Court decision recognizing the workplace
equality of all people and categorically rejects all statements and actions
intended to invalidate, harm, erase, and oppress transgender people’s
identities and lives.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are embedded within the work of ALA.
Discrimination based on gender identity or expression is damaging to the
health of children, families, and society. Libraries must actively affirm
and support the safety and rights of transgender people.

ALA condemns violence against transgender people and honors the lives of
transgender people killed due to their identity. ALA mourns the recent
deaths of Jayne Thompson, Riah Milton, Dominique “Rem'mie” Fells, Tony
McDade, Nina Pop, Penélope Díaz Ramírez, Layla Pelaez Sánchez, Serena
Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Johanna Metzger, Lexi, Monika Diamond, Yampi
Méndez Arocho, Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, and Dustin Parker.

ALA affirms that diverse gender expressions, regardless of gender identity,
and diverse gender identities, including nonbinary, are normal and positive
variations of the human experience.

ALA urges all library workers and library stakeholders to refer to
transgender individuals by their stated pronouns and names.

ALA encourages library leaders and staff to create safe environments for
gender diverse, transgender, and intersex library users, allowing everyone
access to facilities, activities, and programs that are consistent with
their gender identity and where possible providing gender-neutral restroom
options for individuals who would prefer to use them; and safe spaces for
dialog that allow for intellectual freedom as well as the safety for all
members of the community, including trans, non-binary, and gender diverse
people.

ALA also encourages library workers to serve as allies and advocates for
gender and sexual orientation diverse children and adolescents in schools,
including advocating for the inclusion of gender identity, gender
expression, and sexual orientation in all relevant school district
policies, especially anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies.

ALA urges all members and member organizations, members of the wider LIS
community, and library institutions everywhere to incorporate the rights of
transgender people within their intersectional social justice frameworks
and to actively seek out and work with other stakeholders with vested
interests in protecting the rights of transgender people.

Sincerely,



Wanda Kay Brown

ALA President




-- 
*Diedre Conkling*
*diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude.”―Maya Angelou
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