Library and Academic Institution Movements & the Law

Let me tell you about someone I met a couple of years ago in 2019. Her name was Judge Deborah A. Batts. The Honorable Judge Batts was the first openly gay person to be appointed as an Article III federal judge. She held this position for over 25 years in the Southern District of New York. As part of the library team in my previous position, we commemorated her 25 years of service with a candid interview during Pride month with her fellow openly gay judges also at the US Courts for the Second Circuit: Judge Alison J. Nathan, Judge J. Paul Oetken and Judge Pamela K. Chen. If you watch this interview as many times as I have, you can’t escape the gravitas of Judge Batts words when she describes herself as a “trifecta” and says “it’s important to pass it on…” As a librarian, and particularly someone working with the law, I believe the responsibility of pass it on should be a major tenet in our profession And despite that altruistic goal and the best of intentions, I oftentimes find myself in situations where we have failed to do just that. Why is that? What is missing? Who is missing? Whose voices we are missing? I don’t presume to have any of the answers. However, I’ve decided to create this platform and hear from my esteemed friends on the notes we pass to each other. By now, we all know the concepts, or at least we can find a new libguide with further reading. Let’s now dismantle and create. Let’s now more forward and be intentional. Let’s create the space and pass it on. Notes Between Us (NBU) is a blog about conversations and topics of interest to the writers. The writers are expressing their personal opinions solely. Their essays represent their personal beliefs and not that of their workplaces or any organization they are associated with. By Marcelo Rodríguez

AALL stands against racism and we fully support the Black Lives Matter movement. AALL is striving to do better as an Association to bring more awareness to the biases in the legal information profession, and to help others understand the impact of racism. This guide was created to provide resources on anti-racism, diversity, inclusion, and equity for members and their organizations.

Diversity, Leadership and Education Workshops, Training and Keynotes.

A publication of the Black Law Librarians Special Interest Section (BLL-SIS) of the American Association of Law Libraries

"House Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday aimed at improving diversity at the State Department by establishing a senior post in the agency tasked with increasing the numbers of women minorities and those with disabilities serving in the foreign and civil service."

"A federal judge in California on Thursday appeared poised to block parts of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting diversity training for federal contractors that covers "divisive topics" saying she was concerned that it was too broad and vague."

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged President Trump to withdraw his executive order that extended his administration's ban on race- and sex-based discrimination training to include federal contractors."

"Law schools would have to train students in bias racism and crosscultural competency under a proposal before the American Bar Association's policymaking body this month."

"In September 2020, President Trump issued an executive order excluding from federal contracts any diversity and inclusion training interpreted as containing Divisive Concepts, Race or Sex Stereotyping, and Race or Sex Scapegoating."