Bringing it all together

Our democracy is hanging in the balance. It’s time to fight back.

Harris will not only be the first Black, and first female, vice president. She's also the first Indian American and the first Asian American elected to the office.

Kamala Harris, who on Saturday became America's first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect, represents a new face of political power after an election all about who wields power and how they use it.

"Dahlia Lithwick, one of the nation's foremost legal commentators, tells the gripping and heroic story of the women lawyers who fought the racism, sexism, and xenophobia of Donald Trump's presidency-and won. After the sudden shock of Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016, many Americans felt lost and uncertain. It was clear he and his administration were going to pursue a series of retrograde, devastating policies. What could be done? Immediately, women lawyers all around the country, independently of each other, sprang into action, and they had a common goal: they weren't going to stand by in the face of injustice, while Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the Republican party did everything in their power to remake the judiciary in their own conservative image. Over the next four years, the women worked tirelessly to hold the line against the most chaotic and malign presidency in living memory. There was Sally Yates, the acting attorney general of the United States, who refused to sign off on the Muslim travel ban. And Becca Heller, the founder of a refugee assistance program who brought the fight over the travel ban to the airports. And Roberta Kaplan, the famed commercial litigator, who sued the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville. And, of course, Stacey Abrams, whose efforts to protect the voting rights of millions of Georgians may well have been what won the Senate for the Democrats in 2020. These are just a handful of the stories Lithwick dramatizes in thrilling detail to tell a brand-new and deeply inspiring account of the Trump years. With unparalleled access to her subjects, she has written a luminous book, not about the villains of the Trump years, but about the heroes. A celebration of the tireless efforts, legal ingenuity, and indefatigable spirit of the women whose work all too often went unrecognized at the time, Lady Justice is destined to be treasured and passed from hand to hand for generations to come, not just among lawyers and law students, but among all optimistic and hopeful Americans"--

"[This book] presents a collection of essays that examines how gender, as a category of identity, must continually be understood in relation to how structures of inequality define and shape its meaning. It asks how notions of 'justice' shape gender identity and whether the legal justice system itself privileges notions of gender or is itself gendered. Shaped by politics and policy, these essays contribute to understanding how theoretical practices of intersectionality relate to structures of inequality and relations formed as a result of their interaction. Given its theme, the collection's essays examine theoretical practices of intersectional identity at the nexus of 'gender and justice' that might also relate to issues of sexuality, race, class, age, and ability"--

PHOENIX -- State senators on Thursday approved a measure directing the Department of Education to create a list of books to be banned in public schools.

As some public and school libraries pulled books from their shelves earlier this year, New York City's Brooklyn Public Library made access to thousands of books easier for teens across the country.

UPDATED POST: A Tip Sheet for Librarians Facing Harassment (via PEN America) This guidance is intended to equip librarians with strategies to navigate online abuse. While this resource acknowledges the ways that online abuse can move offline, it is primarily focused on digital safety. For a discussion of physical safety in libraries, see: “We Need […]

We've compiled the 50 best resources for Black Men who are struggling with addiction and/or mental illness. Get help now!

Many organizations take big actions in the realm of DEI because of something they see another company do—such as publicly declaring themselves champions of people of color or setting an ambitious top-down DEI strategy across the firm. However, these grand stances usually fizzle out, leaving leaders frustrated and saying, “DEI work is too hard. It takes too long to see results.” The fact is, DEI isn’t a short-term project, and a company making big moves before it has the right culture and structures in place is likely to fail, leaving marginalized employees and customers no better off and giving companies a reputation for hollow promises. Academic research and the author’s experience working with firms on DEI strategy suggest that companies tend to follow predictable stages on their DEI journey. In this article, Georgetown professor and organizational psychologist Ella F. Washington describes the five stages: aware, compliant, tactical, integrated, and sustainable. She also includes questions for leadership teams to ask themselves. Understanding what stage your company is in can help you decide where to focus your energies most effectively and keep you from getting stuck.

Allyship Traditionally, the library and information science profession has been predominately white. Even in diverse communities, library professionals do not always reflect the populations they serve. Therefore it is essential that library and information science professionals serve their communities as allies. So, what exactly is an ally? The word ally comes from Middle French and means ‘to bind together.’ An ally is one who recognizes their unearned systemic privilege from societal injustice and works to change these patterns of injustice.

This reading list has been developed to assist faculty, staff, and students in gaining understanding and appreciation of DEI issues in our society.

Presenting the fierce and vital writing of organizers, lawyers, scholars, poets, and policy makers, this book radically repositions the antiviolence movement by putting women of color at its center. The contributors shift the focus from domestic violence and sexual assault and map innovative strategies of movement building and resistance used by women of color around the world. The volume's thirty pieces - which include poems, short essays, position papers, letters, and personal reflections - cover violence against women of color in its myriad forms, manifestations, and settings, while identifying the links between gender, militarism, reproductive and economic violence, prisons and policing, colonialism, and war. -- Provided by publisher.

From a Joint Announcement (via Harvard Library): The HBCU Library Alliance and Harvard Library this week announced a project to sustain and deepen capacity for the digitization, discovery, and preservation of African American history collections held in HBCU libraries and archives. Harvard’s support for the HBCU Library Alliance’s ongoing work is a step in addressing […]

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday signed a bill that will restore the voting rights of thousands of convicted felons in the state this summer once they leave prison, instead of after they complete parole.

Victory! Court Rules MN Sheriff’s Blockade of Line 3 Water Protector Camp Was Illegal and Bars Ongoing Efforts to Obstruct Access

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! To mark National Indigenous Peoples Day we are pleased to announce that the CFLA-FCAB’s Indigenous Matters Committee’s – Red Team-Joint Working Group on Classifi…

CRKN has completed the first step in decolonizing Canadiana collection metadata by replacing the subject heading “Indians of North America” with “Indigenous peoples.”

We’re a national network and organizing platform of funders increasing resources to BIPOC grassroots organizations working at the intersections of racial justice, gender justice,

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are fundamental values of the association and its members, and diversity is listed as one of ALA's Key Action Areas. The Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services uses a social justice framework to ensure the inclusion of diverse perspectives within our profession and association to best position ALA as a trusted, leading advocate for equitable access to library services for all.

When You’re Done: Educate Yourself. This Doesn’t Go Away Once The Topic Isn’t, “Trending.”

WITNESS partnered with El Grito de Sunset Park to find new ways to use eyewitness video and open source data to expose systemic police violence.

Some white people have been showing up for the ongoing protests against the George Floyd killing with thoughtfulness and in solidarity, including by putting their bodies in between cops and black protestors.

For six days the city was plunged into a state of exception, giving law enforcement carte blanche to attack New Yorkers and interrogate demonstrators.

Max Macias writes: “It is with great excitement and honor that the Oregon Library Association’s Committee on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Antiracism present the OLA EDI Antiracism Toolkit! You can download a copy at the Oregon Library Association Web Site, or the State Library of Oregon website. A paper copy of this toolkit will be distributed to every library in Oregon. They will also receive a digital copy to print and share with staff.”

TOOLKIT OVERVIEW Throughout this project we documented the tools we used, the processes that worked best for us and the things that made our light bulbs go off. We compiled those learnings into this Toolkit for others to use, share and help grow. The Toolkit can be used as a step-by-step guide, or you can jump right in to the section you’re most interested in!

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The information provided in this Toolkit is designed to help you recognize some of the biases that we all have, including, specifically, the implicit biases of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders.

By Valentina Iturbe-LaGrave, Ph.D., Director for Inclusive Teaching Practices In the last few days, many of us have seen or read about the gruesome and violent videos of young Black men being forcibly restrained, hunted down, and killed in broad daylight and read the stories of a black woman being killed in her own home. Violence against Black and Brown bodies has been a horrific and longstanding trope of the American experience. While it has always impacted us, the recent demonstrations and riots eclipsing COVID19 news and media coverage challenge our courage at a time of immeasurable community and individual trauma. To help you navigate these complex and challenging times, we offer a brief summary of trauma-informed critical pedagogy as a way to consider how trauma may be impacting you and your students. We also invite you to check-in with students, and teach in a way that does not re-traumatize students but instead supports healing the mental and emotional effects of the trauma. Below are some critical trauma-informed pedagogy considerations, suggested readings, and resources to help you on this journey. As always, contact the Director for Inclusive Teaching Practices for one-on-one consultations on Zoom, email, or over the phone.