[Libs-Or] ACRL-OR Statement for Racial Justice

[Candise Branum]

Friends and Colleagues,


On behalf of the ACRL-OR Board, I would like to share our statement for
racial justice, which includes our recommendations for academic library
staff. We acknowledge that our group has a long way to go, but our
leadership is committed to making anti-racist work a priority in our
organization.


In Solidarity,


Candise Branum ACRL-Oregon President (2019-2020)



--

The Oregon Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries /
Academic Division of the Oregon Library Association (ACRL-OR) stands in
solidarity with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association
(BCALA) and REFORMA Oregon in condemning the systematic social injustices
and violence endured by Black people and all people of color. We support
the principles of the Black Lives Matter movement and pledge our support to
library workers and the communities we serve by advocating for the
eradication of racial injustice and White supremacy in our profession. We
recognize the pervasive role of both implicit and explicit racism in
denying equal rights and equitable access, and commit to working towards
becoming an anti-racist chapter that confronts, deconstructs, and
dismantles the systems, policies, and procedures that reify racism and
anti-blackness.



In order to effect change within our organization, the ACRL-OR Board
commits to:


   -

   Exploring ways to support academic library staff in Oregon in doing
   anti-racist work, including providing professional development and staff
   training opportunities that counteract anti-blackness, racism, and White
   supremacy in librarianship;
   -

   Assessing our internal processes and procedures and implementing systems
   that operationalize racial equity;
   -

   Deconstructing the Whiteness of our professional organization by
   actively recruiting BIPOC library staff for leadership positions, and by
   working towards identifying and dismantling the barriers that prevent BIPOC
   library staff from engaging in organizational leadership;
   -

   Ensuring that an ACRL-OR Board member is represented on (and ACRL-OR is
   accountable to) the OLA’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Taskforce.



We recommend that academic library staff commit to:



   -

   Engaging in an equity audit of current policies, processes, and
   procedures that have been built upon and support a legacy of White
   supremacy, and then work to rectify or dismantle these policies and
   procedures;
   -

   Advocating for anti-racist actions within our institutions;
   -

   Ensuring that patrons from historically marginalized groups feel
   welcomed and included in the spaces we manage (both in our libraries and
   our classrooms);
   -

   Providing public programming and displays that further anti-racist
   causes;
   -

   Pursuing professional development and staff training opportunities that
   counteract racism;
   -

   Making resource purchasing decisions using an equity lens;
   -

   Incorporating inclusive design and anti-racist pedagogical principles in
   teaching.


--

ACRL-Oregon Board


*Candise Branum*
Director of Library Services
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM)
503-253-3443 x134 <(503)%20253-3443>   |   75 NW Couch Street, Portland, OR
97209
<https://maps.google.com/?q=75+NW+Couch+Street,+Portland,+OR+97209&entry=gmail&source=g>
|   library.ocom.edu

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