[Reforma_or] Reforma_or Digest, Vol 83, Issue 1

[Alma Plasencia]

Thank you, Marci! 

I especially love these following statements in the Statement Against White Appropriation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color's Labor

-Stop trying to profit off of the labor that BIPOC workers have put into racial justice work or benefit from our existence or experiences in this field.

You say that you value social justice without actually practicing it. In fact, you do the exact opposite of what you think you are signaling, which some of you do intentionally. You compete for and win professional opportunities in our institutions and largest professional organizations, such as ALA and ACRL. These spaces continue to be historically white because white people continue to support and endorse their white peers. You say you want to dismantle oppressive systems and decenter whiteness, but you are not actually willing to give up any of the opportunities or power that those actions require. We see all of you upholding a culture of self-congratulatory whiteness. Other white people might celebrate you, but BIPOC know better. Behind the scenes, you abuse, bully, racelight [2], marginalize, invalidate, police, exclude, and maintain hostile work and educational environments for BIPOC who navigate these spaces with you.

- We been telling you and you still don't listen.

BIPOC library, archives, and information workers and educators are tired of your Diversity Theater. We see you performing with your statements, your display of the vocabulary of anti-racism, your hashtags, profile photos, and symbolic gestures. What we want to see is you clearing obstacles and preventing harm while providing BIPOC library workers with clear tangibles, including but not limited to compensation, positions, opportunities, authority, and the other clear avenues of respect we deserve.


- We here and we see you. White person, if you think we're not talking about you, we are. We mean YOU.

Thank you for your continued advocacy and leadership, Marci!

-Alma

-----Original Message-----
From: Reforma_or <reforma_or-bounces at omls.oregon.gov> On Behalf Of reforma_or-request at omls.oregon.gov
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2021 12:00 PM
To: reforma_or at omls.oregon.gov
Subject: Reforma_or Digest, Vol 83, Issue 1

Send Reforma_or mailing list submissions to
	reforma_or at omls.oregon.gov

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	https://omls.oregon.gov/mailman/listinfo/reforma_or
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	reforma_or-request at omls.oregon.gov

You can reach the person managing the list at
	reforma_or-owner at omls.oregon.gov

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Reforma_or digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. Why should you read this statement? (Marci Jenkins)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2021 19:50:02 +0000
From: Marci Jenkins <Marci.Jenkins at mcminnvilleoregon.gov>
To: "libs-or at omls.oregon.gov" <libs-or at omls.oregon.gov>
Subject: [Reforma_or] Why should you read this statement?
Message-ID:
	<SJ0PR09MB6095095297CF1D11B21E4921E0D59 at SJ0PR09MB6095.namprd09.prod.outlook.com>
	
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"


Dear colleagues,

The link below will direct you to a powerful statement signed by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) library staff from all over the country, including myself. As we discussed several times during the EDI Antiracism Toolkit trainings, BIPOC personal experiences are not to be questioned or diluted and they must be taken seriously. They are meant to be reflected upon and they should encourage us to be better and do better. Our experiences with systemic racism and oppression are not going to be pretty, and our choice of words are not going to be soft, because there is nothing pretty and soft about the challenges BIPOC employees experience in their professional lives. If the awakening needs to start somewhere, let it be here in our libraries, led by our libraries' leaders. I wish we could set the tone for institutions all over the public and private sectors in our state, but if this is too "ambitious", I hope that we can at least make an effort to read, understand and support begi  nning here.

https://www.wocandlib.org/features/2021/9/3/statement-against-white-appropriation-of-black-indigenous-and-people-of-colors-labor<https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/sOh3CAD2O9S2DvwtGf3_Z>

Thank you,

Marci Ramiro-Jenkins
Oregon Library Association Vice President, 2021-2022 olavp at olaweb.org<mailto:olavp at olaweb.org>
[https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1FCbJeALX2EX3kXuKTdoYy3gPNk4G5LOt&revid=0B2g4l1aLjlC4cWxkUC9NTUNCOUQ1OVFlWHhUOGlqNVFlSnhNPQ]
The ideas and beliefs expressed in this email are my own

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/reforma_or/attachments/20210909/3388af05/attachment-0001.html>

------------------------------

Subject: Digest Footer

_______________________________________________
Reforma_or mailing list
Reforma_or at omls.oregon.gov
https://omls.oregon.gov/mailman/listinfo/reforma_or


------------------------------

End of Reforma_or Digest, Vol 83, Issue 1
*****************************************