Tuesday, August 11, 2020
The Death of a Fake Twitter Personality Reveals the Systemic Rot of Academia; Medium, August 11, 2020
"The creation of such an identity — as multiple Native scholars and writers have pointed out — isn’t just deeply disrespectful to the small community of Natives in academia, and it doesn’t just play into a gross American tradition of appropriation. It’s also coming at a time when Native people are being killed by Covid-19 at 19 times the rate of all other populations combined in New Mexico alone. Before McLaughlin was unmasked, Duarte says, she had been avoiding social media, which for those with family in the Four Corners region of the Southwest felt like a rolling obituary. She and Washuta both recalled hearing the news that a Native colleague had died and instantly wondering if it was someone they knew. Killing off a fake Native account through Covid-19 registers as doubly cruel.
“The behavior of this individual Dr. McLaughlin eclipses the actual work of Native colleagues,” Duarte says, as well as the struggles of LGTBQ Native people who themselves suffer disproportionate rates of violence. “It sort of feels like being rendered invisible many times over.”"
The Anonymous Professor Who Wasn’t; The New York Times, August 4, 2020
Jonah Engel Bromwich and , The New York Times; The Anonymous Professor Who Wasn’t
A professor at Arizona State University does not exist.
"Among scientists and academics, the shock of mourning was already laced with suspicion. Enough of them had unpleasant interactions with the combative account and were troubled by its inconsistencies and seeming about-turns.
“You have these internal alarms that are like, ‘Oh, I don’t trust you,’” said Julie Libarkin, the head of the Geocognition Research Laboratory at Michigan State University. “Kind of the same as when I worked with BethAnn.”"
A professor at Arizona State University does not exist.
"Among scientists and academics, the shock of mourning was already laced with suspicion. Enough of them had unpleasant interactions with the combative account and were troubled by its inconsistencies and seeming about-turns.
“You have these internal alarms that are like, ‘Oh, I don’t trust you,’” said Julie Libarkin, the head of the Geocognition Research Laboratory at Michigan State University. “Kind of the same as when I worked with BethAnn.”"
Sunday, August 2, 2020
Sold: An 1891 Patent by Granville T. Woods, Innovative Black Engineer; Atlas Obscura, July 22, 2020
Matthew Taub, Atlas Obscura; Sold: An 1891 Patent by Granville T. Woods, Innovative Black Engineer
Woods was prolific, but was largely forgotten for many years after his death.
"Beginning during Woods’s lifetime, trade publications and other newspapers took to calling Woods the “Black Edison,” a nickname that reflected the virtual absence of Black Americans in engineering during Reconstruction and the late 19th century. That reality haunted Woods, who, according to a recent belated obituary in The New York Times, often said that he was born in Australia in order to distance himself from the strictures of America’s racial hierarchy. Though Woods found (relatively) more financial success later in life, after selling a series of inventions to the likes of General Electric and George Westinghouse—including an early version of the “dead man’s brake,” which can stop a train with an incapacitated conductor—he was still deprived of the recognition that others in his field enjoyed. In fact, despite working at the top of his field, alongside figures such as Westinghouse, Woods was buried in an unmarked grave in Queens, which only received a stone in 1975.
His life is a lesson not only in science and innovation, but also in the precariousness of legacy. Inventors, says Fouché—both those who enjoy credit and those who are denied it—rarely innovate in isolation. Many brilliant minds work simultaneously on the same problem, and for reasons of prejudice, luck, or law, just a few of them enter the historical record."
Sunday, July 19, 2020
How 'John Lewis: Good Trouble' serves as a warning; CNN, July 4, 2020
Brandon Tensley, CNN; How 'John Lewis: Good Trouble' serves as a warning
""I tell friends and family, colleagues and especially young people that when you see something that's not right or fair, you have to do something, you have to speak up, you have to get in the way," as Lewis put it in 2018."
""I tell friends and family, colleagues and especially young people that when you see something that's not right or fair, you have to do something, you have to speak up, you have to get in the way," as Lewis put it in 2018."
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
What ‘X-Men’ Pulled Off 20 Years Ago, According to Those Who Made It; Observer, July 14, 2020
, Observer; What ‘X-Men’ Pulled Off 20 Years Ago, According to Those Who Made It
"Winter hasn’t watched the movie front-to-back in a long time, but has seen sections and clips. “I don’t know if it ages as well as it could. But I think the thematics—Is there a place for me? Will I be discarded?—make the movie relevant whether you’re 14 years old or 84 years old. I think that discussion is still going on today. How do we find a place?”
Donner believes the success of X-Men helped open the doors for Sony’s Spider-Man franchise, which laid the groundwork for Marvel’s eventual shared cinematic universe conquest. But, more importantly, she believes the message of X-Men remains its best contribution.
“The legacy is tolerance,” she said. “We’re all mutants in a way. All of us. Most of us feel like misfits, and this movie shows that we’re all good. We’re all equal in who we are and we should be proud of who we are. Intolerance should not be tolerated.”"
"Winter hasn’t watched the movie front-to-back in a long time, but has seen sections and clips. “I don’t know if it ages as well as it could. But I think the thematics—Is there a place for me? Will I be discarded?—make the movie relevant whether you’re 14 years old or 84 years old. I think that discussion is still going on today. How do we find a place?”
Donner believes the success of X-Men helped open the doors for Sony’s Spider-Man franchise, which laid the groundwork for Marvel’s eventual shared cinematic universe conquest. But, more importantly, she believes the message of X-Men remains its best contribution.
“The legacy is tolerance,” she said. “We’re all mutants in a way. All of us. Most of us feel like misfits, and this movie shows that we’re all good. We’re all equal in who we are and we should be proud of who we are. Intolerance should not be tolerated.”"
Saturday, July 11, 2020
“Keep on Pushing” Celebrating the life and career of E. J. Josey; American Libraries, June 27, 2020
Phil Morehart , American Libraries; “Keep on Pushing”
Celebrating the life and career of E. J. Josey
[Kip Currier: Uplifting article about the late E.J. Josey, Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences and indefatigable champion for full inclusion of Black Americans during the tumultuous 1960's Civil Rights era and beyond. Dr. Josey was a consummate challenger of barriers to equality. His life and this article inform one of several capstone essays that graduate students in my inaugural LIS 2040: The Information Professional in Communities course are writing this month:
Reflection Essay 1: Breaking Down Barriers to Access by Communities
1. Barriers to information and resources are prevalent and persistent for many kinds of analog and digital communities. Read this 6/27/20 American Libraries article, “Keep On Pushing”: Celebrating the life and career of E.J. Josey. (see https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/keep-on-pushing/). The late E.J. Josey was a professor at Pitt’s School of Library and Information Sciences and was a “transformative force and leader” whose entire life was about breaking down barriers:
At the 1964 ALA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Josey “did something extraordinary” by putting forth a resolution to prevent the Association from working with Southern state library chapters that refused membership to Black librarians. “All hell broke loose,” said [Prof. Renate] Chancellor, quoting Josey, but the resolution passed.” https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/keep-on-pushing/
In a 750 – 1,000 word essay, identify and discuss at least one barrier that information professionals face in promoting access to information and resources for at least one specific community. Talk about at least one tangible strategy that you, as an information professional, can use to help to break down barriers and promote more access to information and resources for the community you identify. Cite at least one scholarly source in your essay.
Kip Currier (c) 2020]
[Excerpt]
"The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) honored the legacy of a trailblazing librarian—and celebrated its own 50th anniversary—at a live-streamed event at ALA Virtual June 26.
“E. J. Josey’s 1964 Charge: ‘Keep on Pushing’” charted the life of E. J. Josey (1924–2009), librarian, educator, author, activist, founding member of BCALA, and 1984–1985 American Library Association (ALA) president...
The session was moderated by Anthony Dunbar, librarian, sociology professor, and equity-diversity-inclusion consultant at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. He began by asking speaker Renate Chancellor—associate professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and author of E. J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020)—to briefly encapsulate Josey before they moved into the breadth of his work.
“He was a transformative force and leader,” Chancellor said. “A lot of younger librarians may not be aware of his contributions to the profession.”...
1964 was a pivotal year for Josey, Black librarians, and civil rights, Chancellor said. At the 1964 ALA Annual Conference in St. Louis, Josey “did something extraordinary” by putting forth a resolution to prevent the Association from working with Southern state library chapters that refused membership to Black librarians. “All hell broke loose,” said Chancellor, quoting Josey, but the resolution passed.
“Josey was so passionate about equal rights and equality,” Chancellor said, describing how those issues drove much of his life’s work, from working with the student chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People while employed at Savannah (Ga.) State College; cofounding BCALA in 1970; and eventually becoming ALA president in 1983. One of Josey’s strengths, Chancellor said, was his ability to see the bigger picture."
LSU Renames Library; Schools Across the Nation Take Similar Steps To Address Racist Past; Library Journal, July 2, 2020
Lisa Peet , Library Journal; LSU Renames Library; Schools Across the Nation Take Similar Steps To Address Racist Past
"As calls for accountability are amplified across the country, many institutions are starting by addressing their racist history—many of which involved naming rights for funders or founders. Recently the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University (LSU) unanimously voted to remove the name of former university president Troy H. Middleton, whose 1961 correspondence stated his wish to keep the school segregated, from the LSU Library.
Members of the LSU community—particularly Black students—have long taken issue with the fact that their library was named for a man who would have preferred to exclude Black students from sports and school functions, Dean of Libraries Stanley Wilder told LJ. “This is not simply a knee-jerk reaction to the recent troubled times that we've been going through,” he noted. But “this time it happened in the context of a cultural moment where the LSU community was able to listen and act.”
Middleton’s papers are preserved in the LSU archives—among them, a letter he wrote to former University of Texas Chancellor Harry Ransom. At the time, the University of Texas was facing widespread legal and internal pressure to desegregate its dormitories, and Ransom had written to leaders at several other Southern schools to ask them how they handled integration.
Middleton wrote back: “Though we did not like it, we accepted Negroes as students.” But LSU did not allow Black and white students to room together, he said. “We keep them in a given area and do not permit indiscriminate occupancy.”
He went on to write, “Our Negro students have made no attempt to attend social functions, participate in athletic contests, go in the swimming pool, etc. If they did, we would, for example, discontinue the operation of the swimming pool.” If a Black student asked to participate in school athletics, Middleton concluded, “I think I could find a good excuse why he would not participate. To be specific—L.S.U. does not favor whites and Negroes participating together on athletic teams.” LSU’s varsity football team did not have a Black member until the early 1970s.
The library, which opened in fall 1959, was named for Middleton after his death in 1979."
"As calls for accountability are amplified across the country, many institutions are starting by addressing their racist history—many of which involved naming rights for funders or founders. Recently the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University (LSU) unanimously voted to remove the name of former university president Troy H. Middleton, whose 1961 correspondence stated his wish to keep the school segregated, from the LSU Library.
Members of the LSU community—particularly Black students—have long taken issue with the fact that their library was named for a man who would have preferred to exclude Black students from sports and school functions, Dean of Libraries Stanley Wilder told LJ. “This is not simply a knee-jerk reaction to the recent troubled times that we've been going through,” he noted. But “this time it happened in the context of a cultural moment where the LSU community was able to listen and act.”
Middleton’s papers are preserved in the LSU archives—among them, a letter he wrote to former University of Texas Chancellor Harry Ransom. At the time, the University of Texas was facing widespread legal and internal pressure to desegregate its dormitories, and Ransom had written to leaders at several other Southern schools to ask them how they handled integration.
Middleton wrote back: “Though we did not like it, we accepted Negroes as students.” But LSU did not allow Black and white students to room together, he said. “We keep them in a given area and do not permit indiscriminate occupancy.”
He went on to write, “Our Negro students have made no attempt to attend social functions, participate in athletic contests, go in the swimming pool, etc. If they did, we would, for example, discontinue the operation of the swimming pool.” If a Black student asked to participate in school athletics, Middleton concluded, “I think I could find a good excuse why he would not participate. To be specific—L.S.U. does not favor whites and Negroes participating together on athletic teams.” LSU’s varsity football team did not have a Black member until the early 1970s.
The library, which opened in fall 1959, was named for Middleton after his death in 1979."
I was wrongfully arrested because of facial recognition. Why are police allowed to use it?; The Washington Post, June 24, 2020
Robert Williams, The Washington Post; I was wrongfully arrested because of facial recognition. Why are police allowed to use it?
"Federal studies have shown that facial-recognition systems misidentify Asian and black people up to 100 times more often than white people. Why is law enforcement even allowed to use such technology when it obviously doesn’t work?...
Even if this technology does become accurate (at the expense of people like me), I don’t want my daughters’ faces to be part of some government database. I don’t want cops showing up at their door because they were recorded at a protest the government didn’t like. I don’t want this technology automating and worsening the racist policies we’re protesting. I don’t want them to have a police record for something they didn’t do — like I now do."
"Federal studies have shown that facial-recognition systems misidentify Asian and black people up to 100 times more often than white people. Why is law enforcement even allowed to use such technology when it obviously doesn’t work?...
Even if this technology does become accurate (at the expense of people like me), I don’t want my daughters’ faces to be part of some government database. I don’t want cops showing up at their door because they were recorded at a protest the government didn’t like. I don’t want this technology automating and worsening the racist policies we’re protesting. I don’t want them to have a police record for something they didn’t do — like I now do."
Wrongfully Accused by an Algorithm; The New York Times, June 24, 2020
, The New York Times; Wrongfully Accused by an Algorithm
In
what may be the first known case of its kind, a faulty facial
recognition match led to a Michigan man’s arrest for a crime he did not
commit.
"Clare Garvie, a lawyer at Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology, has written about problems with the government’s use of facial recognition.
She argues that low-quality search images — such as a still image from a
grainy surveillance video — should be banned, and that the systems
currently in use should be tested rigorously for accuracy and bias.
“There are mediocre algorithms and there are good ones, and law enforcement should only buy the good ones,” Ms. Garvie said.
About Mr. Williams’s experience in Michigan, she added: “I strongly suspect
this is not the first case to misidentify someone to arrest them for a
crime they didn’t commit. This is just the first time we know about it.”"
Library seeks community's help to document COVID-19 changes to daily life; University of North Georgia, May 21, 2020
Clark Leonard, University of North Georgia; Library seeks community's help to document COVID-19 changes to daily life
"Joy Bolt, dean of libraries at UNG, said part of the impetus for the project came when she and Allison Galloup, special collection and digital initiatives librarian, sought documents related to the 1918 flu pandemic.
"We were both somewhat surprised to find little in our collection on the subject," Bolt said. "This is one reason why we thought it was important for us to collect information about the experiences of our Northeast Georgia community for future scholars and researchers. It will be there when people want to look back on this time and see how things were for so many of us."
To submit your story, use the library's collection form and upload your file or email it to archives@ung.edu.
Galloup knows many people will wonder if their items are needed or worth sending. She has a simple message.
"Nothing is too mundane to share. We cannot do this without the community's help. While there may be similarities in all of our stories, each person's experience and perspective is unique," Galloup said. "We're asking you to share whatever you'd like, in whatever format you'd like. Those who would like to participate can submit videos, voice recordings, scans, photographs, or text documents.""
Friday, July 10, 2020
Smithsonian’s Leader Says ‘Museums Have a Social Justice Role to Play’; The New York Times, July 2, 2020
, The New York Times; Smithsonian’s Leader Says ‘Museums Have a Social Justice Role to Play’
Lonnie
Bunch, who oversees a host of museums and libraries, says the role of
cultural institutions is to make people “feel comfortable with nuance
and complexity.”
"In
your memoir, you recalled when President Trump visited the National
Museum of African-American History and Culture. And you shared this
detail that the president didn’t want to see anything “difficult.” I
feel like that story is emblematic of this broader tendency in American
culture where many people, again, simply don’t want to confront the
reality of some of the things that have happened in this country. How do
we get people to engage with these difficult chapters in our history,
especially when the legacy of some of these incidents is still very much
with us today?
Americans in some ways want to romanticize history. They want selective history. As the great John Hope Franklin
used to say, you need to use African-American history as a corrective,
to help people understand the fullness, the complexity, the nuance of
their history. I know that’s hard. I remember receiving a letter once
that said, “Don’t you understand that America’s greatest strength is its
ability to forget?” And there’s something powerful about that. But
people are now thirsty to understand history. I hear people all the time
saying, “I didn’t know about Juneteenth. Help me understand about the Tulsa riots.”
History
often teaches us to embrace ambiguity, to understand there aren’t
simple answers to complex questions, and Americans tend to like simple
answers to complex questions. So the challenge is to use history to help
the public feel comfortable with nuance and complexity."
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Copyright in Pride; Library of Congress, June 25, 2020
Holland Gormley, Library of Congress; Copyright in Pride
"June is Pride Month, and this year is the 50th anniversary of the first pride parade in New York City. What do copyright and pride have in common? Quite a bit, actually. Where would our celebrations, our heroes, and our increasing understanding of advocacy and allyship be without posters and speeches? Literature? Zines? Given that, in honor of pride, the Copyright Office is highlighting just a few of the countless LGBTQ+ writers who have helped pave the way for the celebrations today through their contributions to the copyright record."
"June is Pride Month, and this year is the 50th anniversary of the first pride parade in New York City. What do copyright and pride have in common? Quite a bit, actually. Where would our celebrations, our heroes, and our increasing understanding of advocacy and allyship be without posters and speeches? Literature? Zines? Given that, in honor of pride, the Copyright Office is highlighting just a few of the countless LGBTQ+ writers who have helped pave the way for the celebrations today through their contributions to the copyright record."
Monday, June 15, 2020
Supreme Court Delivers Major Victory To LGBTQ Employees; NPR, June 15, 2020
Nina Totenberg
, NPR; Supreme Court Delivers Major Victory To LGBTQ Employees
"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the 1964 Civil Rights Act barring sex discrimination in the workplace protects LGBTQ employees from being fired because of their sexual orientation.
The vote was 6-3 with conservatives Chief Justice John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch joining the court's four liberal justices in the majority.
The opinion is available here."
"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the 1964 Civil Rights Act barring sex discrimination in the workplace protects LGBTQ employees from being fired because of their sexual orientation.
The vote was 6-3 with conservatives Chief Justice John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch joining the court's four liberal justices in the majority.
The opinion is available here."
Saturday, June 13, 2020
To my white friends, the time for talk has passed. Now is the time for work.; The Washington Post, June 12, 2020
, The Washington Post; To my white friends, the time for talk has passed. Now is the time for work.
"Maybe you believe you have nothing in common with those people, that good intentions, tolerant upbringings or enlightened parenting will protect against such corruption. Maybe you believe the diverse activism on display nationwide will make things right. But sincere concern and time have not fixed our problems. They are not enough to protect any of us from the influence of the malignant system we all live in...
The question going forward is whether people suppress the desire to deny this problem or distance themselves from it. The forces that created the monsters so many now decry also help to generate white privileges. Talk alone will not dismantle a system that has torn at all Americans — body, mind and soul — since this country’s inception. It’s time to educate friends and family, and demand more of leaders. It is time to be more than a cheerleader or ally and find ways to make permanent change."
"Maybe you believe you have nothing in common with those people, that good intentions, tolerant upbringings or enlightened parenting will protect against such corruption. Maybe you believe the diverse activism on display nationwide will make things right. But sincere concern and time have not fixed our problems. They are not enough to protect any of us from the influence of the malignant system we all live in...
The question going forward is whether people suppress the desire to deny this problem or distance themselves from it. The forces that created the monsters so many now decry also help to generate white privileges. Talk alone will not dismantle a system that has torn at all Americans — body, mind and soul — since this country’s inception. It’s time to educate friends and family, and demand more of leaders. It is time to be more than a cheerleader or ally and find ways to make permanent change."
What Do I Do if My Employer Does Something I Can’t Abide?; The New York Times, June 12, 2020
, The New York Times; What Do I Do if My Employer Does Something I Can’t Abide?
"You have to pick your battles. You have to calibrate the difference between stupid and unacceptable, what you can live with and what you cannot. Because you work for a newspaper that will always publish a range of content, some of which you agree with and some of which you do not, you also have to calibrate the difference between disagreement and disgust.
That’s the tidy answer that doesn’t really force you to make the difficult decision. But now, more than ever, with so much at stake, we have to be willing to make difficult decisions. We have to be willing to make ourselves uncomfortable in service of what’s right. When the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, three of his co-workers stood by and did nothing. When a police officer in Buffalo shoved a 75-year-old man to the ground, dozens of his co-workers walked past that fallen man, bleeding from his ear. They did nothing.
Most situations in which you object to your employer’s conduct won’t be so extreme. But something terrible happened in this country, something that has happened with horrifying frequency. Each time we think maybe this time, something will change. For a few days or even a few weeks, change seems possible — and then we all get comfortable again. We forget about whatever terrible thing once held our attention. A new terrible thing happens. We get outraged. It’s a vicious cycle, but it is one we can break. When your employer does something that violates your ethical code, when it does something that endangers employees or the greater community, you have to ask yourself if you are going to do nothing — or get angry, vent and hold your employer accountable in whatever ways you can. I am, perhaps, simplifying the choices you can make, but maybe doing the right thing is far simpler than we allow ourselves to believe."
You have to calibrate the difference between dumb and unacceptable, what you can live with and what you cannot.
"You have to pick your battles. You have to calibrate the difference between stupid and unacceptable, what you can live with and what you cannot. Because you work for a newspaper that will always publish a range of content, some of which you agree with and some of which you do not, you also have to calibrate the difference between disagreement and disgust.
That’s the tidy answer that doesn’t really force you to make the difficult decision. But now, more than ever, with so much at stake, we have to be willing to make difficult decisions. We have to be willing to make ourselves uncomfortable in service of what’s right. When the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, three of his co-workers stood by and did nothing. When a police officer in Buffalo shoved a 75-year-old man to the ground, dozens of his co-workers walked past that fallen man, bleeding from his ear. They did nothing.
Most situations in which you object to your employer’s conduct won’t be so extreme. But something terrible happened in this country, something that has happened with horrifying frequency. Each time we think maybe this time, something will change. For a few days or even a few weeks, change seems possible — and then we all get comfortable again. We forget about whatever terrible thing once held our attention. A new terrible thing happens. We get outraged. It’s a vicious cycle, but it is one we can break. When your employer does something that violates your ethical code, when it does something that endangers employees or the greater community, you have to ask yourself if you are going to do nothing — or get angry, vent and hold your employer accountable in whatever ways you can. I am, perhaps, simplifying the choices you can make, but maybe doing the right thing is far simpler than we allow ourselves to believe."
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Imagine weathering this without Internet. Many are — and Congress should help.; The Washington Post, May 27, 2020
, The Washington Post; Imagine weathering this without Internet. Many are — and Congress should help.
"The digital divide was a problem before the pandemic. Now it’s an existential problem for students who can’t access live-streamed classes, for the ill who can’t virtually consult with a doctor, for isolated individuals who can’t find human connection on their laptop screens. The burden, as ever, disproportionately falls on the low-income, rural and nonwhite. There’s more the government can do today, and there’s an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the days to come."
"The digital divide was a problem before the pandemic. Now it’s an existential problem for students who can’t access live-streamed classes, for the ill who can’t virtually consult with a doctor, for isolated individuals who can’t find human connection on their laptop screens. The burden, as ever, disproportionately falls on the low-income, rural and nonwhite. There’s more the government can do today, and there’s an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the days to come."
Merriam-Webster to revise racism definition after woman’s campaign; The Guardian, June 11, 2020
Poppy Noor, The Guardian; Merriam-Webster to revise racism definition after woman’s campaign
Kennedy Mitchum, who asked dictionary to update definition, said racism is ‘prejudice combined with social and institutional power’
"Editors at Merriam-Webster confirmed on Wednesday that they will revise the word’s definition after a campaign by a 22-year-old Drake University graduate, Kennedy Mitchum.
Mitchum wrote to the dictionary asking it to update its definition. She said that people often use the dictionary definition of racism to argue that something is not racist, on the basis that racism requires a personal dislike of someone based on their race to be real.
In an email to Merriam-Webster, Mitchum wrote: “Racism is not only prejudice against a certain race due to the color of a person’s skin, as it states in your dictionary,. It is both prejudice combined with social and institutional power. It is a system of advantage based on skin color.”
The definition, which incorporates the idea that prejudice alone is not racism (rather, racism requires a system of institutional power behind it in order to function) was put forward by the sociologist Patricia Bidol in the 1970s."
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Microaggressions Are A Big Deal: How To Talk Them Out And When To Walk Away; NPR, June 9, 2020
Andrew Limbong, NPR; Microaggressions Are A Big Deal: How To Talk Them Out And When To Walk Away
"Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has spent years researching and writing books on the effects of microaggressions. As these big structural issues play out, he says it's important to confront the small stuff...
So what would you say are three quick bits of advice on having these difficult dialogues?
"Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has spent years researching and writing books on the effects of microaggressions. As these big structural issues play out, he says it's important to confront the small stuff...
So what would you say are three quick bits of advice on having these difficult dialogues?
Do your own work before you even get there. Read blogs and personal essays, understand the lived experiences of historically marginalized groups, watch documentaries and try to think outside of your own perspective.
Set realistic expectations of what you want from these conversations. Also think about, is this actually helping? Is this a conversation that I view as being helpful in any way, shape or form? It's important to acknowledge that no one is going to learn everything in one conversation overnight.
Always be aware of yourself and your mental health when having these conversations. In a world where we all fought for social justice all the time, we would be getting into productive arguments and fights and having protests every day and changing laws, but we don't and we can't because we're also human and we need to rest.
But again, think about your role and your positionality, because if you're a person with privilege and you could fight a little bit longer, then do it. But if you're a person of a historically marginalized group, we want you to be alive and we want you to be healthy in order to continue this fight toward justice."
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
[Podcast] Carla Hayden & Lonnie Bunch, Cultural Institutions at Times of Social Unrest; Library of Congress, June 5, 2020
[Podcast] Library of Congress; Carla Hayden & Lonnie Bunch, Cultural Institutions at Times of Social Unrest
"As part of our National Book Festival Presents series for June, "Connecting the World With Words," Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch discuss the future of their institutions and how they remain accessible and relevant during a period of global pandemic coupled with nationwide protests against injustice. Bunch is the author of “A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Era of Bush, Obama, and Trump.”"
"As part of our National Book Festival Presents series for June, "Connecting the World With Words," Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch discuss the future of their institutions and how they remain accessible and relevant during a period of global pandemic coupled with nationwide protests against injustice. Bunch is the author of “A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Era of Bush, Obama, and Trump.”"
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Chad Helton, a pioneering black librarian, will be new head of Hennepin County Library; Star Tribune, May 29, 2020
David Chanen, Star Tribune; Chad Helton, a pioneering black librarian, will be new head of Hennepin County Library
"As a black kid growing up in the South, Chad Helton rarely used the library because he never felt he belonged in one.
Few patrons looked like him, and the programs at the Mount Airy, N.C., library didn’t reflect his community. Little did he know then that a job delivering books in a golf cart after he dropped out of college would lead to a pioneering career as a library administrator.
Helton, the first black top administrator at several college libraries and the Los Angeles library system, was named director of the Hennepin County Library system last week. He will face the challenge of reopening libraries that have been shut down by COVID-19 and also working with communities wounded by the police-involved death of George Floyd.
“The pandemic just highlighted the important role that libraries play in people’s lives,” said Helton, 42. “This is something we’ve never experienced. It certainly will be interesting.”...
Helton had been a college dropout for eight years, working three jobs at a time and relying on friends for a place to live, when he got on the library track. While delivering books at the University of North Carolina, he ran into a former professor and mentor who stressed how working in a library can change your life.
Helton returned to UNC, earning a bachelor’s degree in African-American Studies and then master’s degrees in library and information studies and public administration."
"As a black kid growing up in the South, Chad Helton rarely used the library because he never felt he belonged in one.
Few patrons looked like him, and the programs at the Mount Airy, N.C., library didn’t reflect his community. Little did he know then that a job delivering books in a golf cart after he dropped out of college would lead to a pioneering career as a library administrator.
Helton, the first black top administrator at several college libraries and the Los Angeles library system, was named director of the Hennepin County Library system last week. He will face the challenge of reopening libraries that have been shut down by COVID-19 and also working with communities wounded by the police-involved death of George Floyd.
“The pandemic just highlighted the important role that libraries play in people’s lives,” said Helton, 42. “This is something we’ve never experienced. It certainly will be interesting.”...
Helton had been a college dropout for eight years, working three jobs at a time and relying on friends for a place to live, when he got on the library track. While delivering books at the University of North Carolina, he ran into a former professor and mentor who stressed how working in a library can change your life.
Helton returned to UNC, earning a bachelor’s degree in African-American Studies and then master’s degrees in library and information studies and public administration."
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Eric Cervini on Celebrating 50 Years of LGBTQ Pride; Library of Congress, May 28, 2020
[Podcast] Library of Congress; Eric Cervini on Celebrating 50 Years of LGBTQ Pride
"In honor of LGBTQ Pride month (June) and the 50th anniversary of Pride celebrations, Eric Cervini discusses his book "The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America," with Roswell Encina, Library of Congress chief communications officer."
"In honor of LGBTQ Pride month (June) and the 50th anniversary of Pride celebrations, Eric Cervini discusses his book "The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America," with Roswell Encina, Library of Congress chief communications officer."
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Movers & Shakers: The People Shaping the Future of Libraries; Library Journal, May 2020
Francine Fialkoff, Project Manager and Cofounder, LJ Movers and Shakers, Library Journal; Movers and Shakers: The People Shaping the Future of Libraries
"Welcome to LJ’s 2020 Movers and Shakers
"Welcome to LJ’s 2020 Movers and Shakers
It is my great pleasure to congratulate and welcome the 46 individuals named 2020 Movers and Shakers. They join a distinguished group that is now nearly 1,000 strong. Reading any of these profiles will surely bring a little light into our COVID-19–quarantined days.
The 2020 Movers, like so many librarians and library workers, are passionate about what they do. They’re transforming their communities, schools, and colleges and universities in myriad ways. They’re changing education for children and adults, with innovative approaches to literacy, learning, and teaching. They’re lowering barriers to access for English language learners and those who aren’t connected to the internet—and creating opportunities. They’re empowering voters. They’re redefining archives to include groups that have been marginalized, erased, or misrepresented. They’re devising strategies to make libraries, and our society, more inclusive for everyone.
With most schools, colleges and universities, and public libraries closed due to COVID-19, they’re delivering formerly inperson services virtually and expanding online services on the fly, like so many reading this. For more on what librarians are doing now and insights on what the “new normal” must include, see Meredith Schwartz’s editorial, “Don’t Settle for Normal.”"
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
To Protect Black Americans from the Worst Impacts of COVID-19, Release Comprehensive Racial Data; Scientific American, April 24, 2020
Joia Crear-Perry, Michael McAfee , Scientific American; To Protect Black Americans from the Worst Impacts of COVID-19, Release Comprehensive Racial Data
Properly reported information is crucial for black communities to recover from this crisis and transcend a history of exclusion
"History shows that when crises strike, Black Americans often experience the worst consequences. We mustn’t continue allowing this to happen. Our organizations—the National Birth Equity Collaborative and PolicyLink—recently joined a coalition called WeMustCount demanding the data. Once we have that data, we’re calling on policymakers to take immediate action to help.
The data on Black Americans and COVID-19 are shocking but not unexpected. Engrained racist structures prevent them from fully accessing health care, education, employment and more—all of which increases susceptibility to COVID-19 and its most devastating health consequences.
These issues trace back far before the current pandemic. It was baked into the nation’s founding and carries forward today. Black Americans have always suffered disproportionately from national crises...
Buried behind all of this is an underlying fear: Releasing the information would mean bringing attention to a problem that policy makers could otherwise easily ignore
Properly reported information is crucial for black communities to recover from this crisis and transcend a history of exclusion
"History shows that when crises strike, Black Americans often experience the worst consequences. We mustn’t continue allowing this to happen. Our organizations—the National Birth Equity Collaborative and PolicyLink—recently joined a coalition called WeMustCount demanding the data. Once we have that data, we’re calling on policymakers to take immediate action to help.
The data on Black Americans and COVID-19 are shocking but not unexpected. Engrained racist structures prevent them from fully accessing health care, education, employment and more—all of which increases susceptibility to COVID-19 and its most devastating health consequences.
These issues trace back far before the current pandemic. It was baked into the nation’s founding and carries forward today. Black Americans have always suffered disproportionately from national crises...
Buried behind all of this is an underlying fear: Releasing the information would mean bringing attention to a problem that policy makers could otherwise easily ignore
Monday, May 4, 2020
Leaders Are Crying on the Job. Maybe That’s a Good Thing.; The New York Times, May 3, 2020
, The New York Times; Leaders Are Crying on the Job. Maybe That’s a Good Thing.
"“The days when a politician cried and it was over for them — that’s over, ” [Pam Sherman, a leadership coach based in Rochester, N.Y.] said. “Things like empathy, vulnerability, emotional connectedness — these are the things that define today’s leaders.”
In other words: the leadership traits that, traditionally, have been associated with women."
"“The days when a politician cried and it was over for them — that’s over, ” [Pam Sherman, a leadership coach based in Rochester, N.Y.] said. “Things like empathy, vulnerability, emotional connectedness — these are the things that define today’s leaders.”
In other words: the leadership traits that, traditionally, have been associated with women."
Has COVID-19 changed the face of tech ethics forever?; IDG, April 23, 2020
Pat Martlew, IDG; Has COVID-19 changed the face of tech ethics forever?
"So, are the more heavy-handed approaches worth implementing if it leads to lives being saved? Prominent technologist and tech ethics expert Anne Currie says that while she wouldn't necessarily advocate for China's approach, there is a degree to which ethical considerations must be eased if we are to save a considerable number of lives.
"Tech ethics in the good times and tech ethics in the bad times are extremely different. When you've got hundreds of thousands of lives on the line, we all do occasionally need to suspend some of our privileges. That is just the reality of the situation," she says
"Right now, we are in a battle. We're in a battle with an implacable other. We're not battling with a competitor at work and we're not battling with another country, as difficult as that may be. We are battling with a virus that doesn't care at all about us. It doesn't care about fairness, diversity, privacy, or any of the good things that we generally value. It will just kill us if we don't act and that has changed where our priorities lie, which is the right thing to happen."
"So, are the more heavy-handed approaches worth implementing if it leads to lives being saved? Prominent technologist and tech ethics expert Anne Currie says that while she wouldn't necessarily advocate for China's approach, there is a degree to which ethical considerations must be eased if we are to save a considerable number of lives.
"Tech ethics in the good times and tech ethics in the bad times are extremely different. When you've got hundreds of thousands of lives on the line, we all do occasionally need to suspend some of our privileges. That is just the reality of the situation," she says
"Right now, we are in a battle. We're in a battle with an implacable other. We're not battling with a competitor at work and we're not battling with another country, as difficult as that may be. We are battling with a virus that doesn't care at all about us. It doesn't care about fairness, diversity, privacy, or any of the good things that we generally value. It will just kill us if we don't act and that has changed where our priorities lie, which is the right thing to happen."
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
State of America’s Libraries 2020; American Libraries, April 20, 2020
American Libraries; State of America’s Libraries 2020
"On April 20 the American Library Association (ALA) released the State of America’s Libraries 2020 report, an annual summary of library trends released during National Library Week, this year April 19–25, that outlines statistics and issues affecting all types of libraries during the previous calendar year.
Although the report focuses on 2019, libraries are shown to be on the front lines addressing societal and community challenges—a role they are certainly playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many libraries serve as first responders that take on roles outside of traditional library service that support patrons’ needs and community development. Functioning at various times as career counselors, social workers, teachers, and technology instructors, library staff members give special care to adopt programs and services that support the most vulnerable and curious.
The report found that the popularity of libraries in 2019 continued to soar. According to a recent Gallup poll, visiting the library is the “most common cultural activity Americans engage in by far.” In 2019, US adults reported taking an average of 10.5 trips per year to the library, a frequency that exceeded their participation in other common leisure activities like going to the movies, a museum, or the zoo.
The best proof that public libraries are about more than just books is their evolution into libraries of things,offering nontraditional collections that are community-specific and imaginative. The wide array of items available to check out includes air mattresses, dolls, bicycles, binoculars, and accordions."
New report shows libraries on the front lines
"On April 20 the American Library Association (ALA) released the State of America’s Libraries 2020 report, an annual summary of library trends released during National Library Week, this year April 19–25, that outlines statistics and issues affecting all types of libraries during the previous calendar year.
Although the report focuses on 2019, libraries are shown to be on the front lines addressing societal and community challenges—a role they are certainly playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many libraries serve as first responders that take on roles outside of traditional library service that support patrons’ needs and community development. Functioning at various times as career counselors, social workers, teachers, and technology instructors, library staff members give special care to adopt programs and services that support the most vulnerable and curious.
The report found that the popularity of libraries in 2019 continued to soar. According to a recent Gallup poll, visiting the library is the “most common cultural activity Americans engage in by far.” In 2019, US adults reported taking an average of 10.5 trips per year to the library, a frequency that exceeded their participation in other common leisure activities like going to the movies, a museum, or the zoo.
The best proof that public libraries are about more than just books is their evolution into libraries of things,offering nontraditional collections that are community-specific and imaginative. The wide array of items available to check out includes air mattresses, dolls, bicycles, binoculars, and accordions."
8 of last year's 10 most challenged books had one thing in common: LGBTQ content; CNN, April 21, 2020
Alaa Elassar, CNN; 8 of last year's 10 most challenged books had one thing in common: LGBTQ content
"It's clear that the days of censoring books are far from over. And while sex, magic and curse words are all reasons books are still being banned, it's LGBTQ stories that now top the list of challenged books.
In 2019, at least 377 challenges were filed seeking to remove 566 books from libraries, schools and universities, according to a recent news release from the American Library Association (ALA). Out of the top 10 most challenged books of the year, eight of them contained LGBTQ content and characters.
This is the fourth year in a row that books containing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters and story lines have been targeted by mainly patrons, parents, school boards, and political and religious groups."
"It's clear that the days of censoring books are far from over. And while sex, magic and curse words are all reasons books are still being banned, it's LGBTQ stories that now top the list of challenged books.
In 2019, at least 377 challenges were filed seeking to remove 566 books from libraries, schools and universities, according to a recent news release from the American Library Association (ALA). Out of the top 10 most challenged books of the year, eight of them contained LGBTQ content and characters.
This is the fourth year in a row that books containing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters and story lines have been targeted by mainly patrons, parents, school boards, and political and religious groups."
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Open COVID Pledge: Removing Obstacles to Sharing IP in the Fight Against COVID-19; Creative Commons, April 7, 2020
Diane Peters, Creative Commons; Open COVID Pledge: Removing Obstacles to Sharing IP in the Fight Against COVID-19
"Creative Commons has joined forces with other legal experts and leading scientists to offer a simple way for universities, companies, and other holders of intellectual property rights to support the development of medicines, test kits, vaccines, and other scientific discoveries related to COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. The Open COVID Pledge grants the public free, temporary access to IP rights in support of solving the COVID-19 crisis, removing unnecessary obstacles to dissemination of the knowledge and inventions that could save lives and limit suffering."
"Creative Commons has joined forces with other legal experts and leading scientists to offer a simple way for universities, companies, and other holders of intellectual property rights to support the development of medicines, test kits, vaccines, and other scientific discoveries related to COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. The Open COVID Pledge grants the public free, temporary access to IP rights in support of solving the COVID-19 crisis, removing unnecessary obstacles to dissemination of the knowledge and inventions that could save lives and limit suffering."
Monday, April 13, 2020
Public Libraries’ Novel Response to a Novel Virus; The Atlantic, March 31, 2020
Deborah Fallows, The Atlantic; Public Libraries’ Novel Response to a Novel Virus
[Kip Currier: The University of Pittsburgh's Master of Library and Information Science graduate degree program will launch for the 2020 Summer Term a brand new required course -- The Information Professional in the Community -- epitomized by this article demonstrating the vital roles that information professionals exercise in a diverse array of analog and digital communities during challenging times, like the Covid-19 pandemic.]
"America’s public libraries have led the ranks of “second responders,” stepping up for their communities in times of natural or manmade disasters, like hurricanes, floods, shootings, fires, and big downturns in individual lives.
Throughout all these events, libraries have stayed open, filling in for the kids when their schools closed; offering therapeutic sessions in art or conversation or writing after losses of life; bringing in nurses or social workers when services were unavailable to people; and hiring life-counselors for the homeless, whom they offer shelter and safety during the day.
Today, interventions like those have a ring of simpler days. But libraries have learned from their experience and attention to these previous, pre-pandemic efforts. They are pivoting quickly to new ways of offering services to the public—the core of their mission. When libraries closed their doors abruptly, they immediately opened their digital communications, collaborations, and creative activity to reach their public in ways as novel as the virus that forced them into it.
You can be sure that this is just the beginning. Today libraries are already acting and improvising. Later, they’ll be figuring out what the experience means to their future operations and their role in American communities."
[Kip Currier: The University of Pittsburgh's Master of Library and Information Science graduate degree program will launch for the 2020 Summer Term a brand new required course -- The Information Professional in the Community -- epitomized by this article demonstrating the vital roles that information professionals exercise in a diverse array of analog and digital communities during challenging times, like the Covid-19 pandemic.]
"America’s public libraries have led the ranks of “second responders,” stepping up for their communities in times of natural or manmade disasters, like hurricanes, floods, shootings, fires, and big downturns in individual lives.
Throughout all these events, libraries have stayed open, filling in for the kids when their schools closed; offering therapeutic sessions in art or conversation or writing after losses of life; bringing in nurses or social workers when services were unavailable to people; and hiring life-counselors for the homeless, whom they offer shelter and safety during the day.
Today, interventions like those have a ring of simpler days. But libraries have learned from their experience and attention to these previous, pre-pandemic efforts. They are pivoting quickly to new ways of offering services to the public—the core of their mission. When libraries closed their doors abruptly, they immediately opened their digital communications, collaborations, and creative activity to reach their public in ways as novel as the virus that forced them into it.
You can be sure that this is just the beginning. Today libraries are already acting and improvising. Later, they’ll be figuring out what the experience means to their future operations and their role in American communities."
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