Lately
I’ve been putting a lot of thought into how libraries and librarians
can challenge racism in higher education. It is a tricky thing to talk
to people about for a couple reasons. For one, a lot of people,
especially White people, think of racism exclusively as something that
is interpersonal, overt, and motivated by hate. It is not. While that
kind of racist behavior is less socially acceptable now than it was in
the past, less overt but equally harmful microaggressions are still
perpetrated against people of color on a daily basis. Look no further
than racist tweets, culturally appropriationist theme parties, or complaints against Affirmative Action.
Beyond
these often unacknowledged slights, the institution of higher education
in many ways still reflects and upholds the historic social and
economic dominance of White people in America. In a thorough and insightful review, Diane Lynn Gusa describes a pervasive White institutional presence
(WIP) at colleges and universities across the country. WIP manifests in
a sense of superiority and entitlement among Whites, which goes
hand-in-hand with monoculturalism of White culture, values, and beliefs.
We see this in the curriculum where White authors and culture are the
assumed normal, while other cultures are only addressed in separate
courses. What do you think it feels like to be an American and a Latina majoring in English these days
when authors of color are routinely excluded from “the canon”? Outside
of the classroom, Whiteness is equally pervasive: the social activities,
performers brought to campus, artwork, names on the buildings, and the
faculty and administration. In one study
by Mitzi Davis, et al. a student remarked: “A lot of time I feel out of
place, because you see all White faces. You know I am the only fly in
the buttermilk.” White members of these institutions often fail to
recognize the pervasive markers of their identity and their privilege,
while non-White members are distanced physically and socially from the
community.
Another
reason this conversation is difficult to have in the library community
is that we see ourselves as being progressive and welcoming communities.
Even if racism is taking place on our campuses, could we really be
perpetuating in our libraries? Yes, I think we are. Though
we may indeed be harboring a bunch of liberal malcontents, we are still
a place that reflects the norms of our communities, both good and bad.
Students can and do experience microaggressions, hostility, and negative
stereotypes relating to their use of the library. A study by Daniel Solorzano and Miguel Ceja quotes a student:
Last time we went to the library ... to study ... obviously, it's finals time ... people are going to study. But when we walked in there looking for somewhere to sit down, it's like ... they've never seen Black people before in their lives, or they've never seen Black people study before!
Another example is the now defunct Asians Sleeping in the Library tumblr (don’t worry, Buzzfeed archived selections of it for posterity).
It
is hard to say the extent of racism our students of color face because
this is an issue that we have not sufficiently researched or addressed.
However, the negative and alienating experiences of students of color on
college campuses has been researched, and I think it is naïve and lazy
to assume that the problems happening on our campuses are not happening
in our libraries. As a community that prides is progressive and
welcoming nature, it is time for us to address this head on.
I think understanding the difference between White Culture and white skin is the best way to begin to confront what needs to change. White Culture to me is, as you state, the attempt to create a global culture where we all agree to certain norms - politically, spiritually, economically, etc. Whitewashing things that are inherently unfair in doing so. Any 'race' can belong to or practice 'White Culture'. White culture I think can be actually termed Imperial Culture. It just so happens that those who are considered part of the White Races control the vast majority of the wealth and resources.
ReplyDeleteWhere the culture and skin difference come to light is the lack of white culture and some white skinned people to validate people of color or different cultures experience as just as legitimate without using any system of capital measurement or moral principle for reference.
I've heard the term "space" being thrown around a lot concerning these issues. Students wanting a Queer space for example where they can share in invite others into and. What some people might not be aware of in the institution is that these spaces don't exist because the normative culture at large is allowed to take up the most space and if you want to share that space you have to adopt the norms/rules of the culture first before you get to use their space.
I think allowing or encouraging these different 'spaces' to organically take shape and grow would be beneficial and that we cannot address the issues of a 'minority' without recognizing their sovereignty and space to be themselves and visiting their space as well to learn from them.
It kind of sounds like I'm encouraging segregation, but it's not if you allow the borders of the 'spaces' to be porous and transformative for those who pass through.
So in closing I would encourage others to seek out spaces, groups, activities that might make them uncomfortable to experience/learn what it may be like. Also, tolerating behavior in the institution that might not seem normal to you which might be very normal in the context of that other persons life. Allowing someone to be themselves is very liberating for both parties.
Thanks for your comments, Micah. I'm really glad that you brought up space, as that is something that we are thinking/talking about in our work. I've been reading about 'counterspaces' that are designed to make non-dominant groups feel comfortable in the university, to give them a safe place to grow and explore, and as you say allow other groups to learn from them.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of times in libraries we can be very controlling of our spaces, our rules, our policies, etc. We often do so without recognizing how those spaces/rules/policies were developed (in the White, patriarchal context of higher education) and how very alienating and unwelcoming they can be to people outside of that dominant culture.
One thing I've been wondering: is it even possible for libraries to function as counterspaces? If so, are libraries a good place to do this, or should we really just be advocating for groups to have their own physical spaces elsewhere on campus? Further, if libraries can create space (both literally and figuratively) for other social/cultural groups, how do we do this?
I also like what you said about learning from behavior that might not seem normal/appropriate to you. recognizing that my concept of appropriate library behavior was pretty narrow and culturally unsensitive was why I started thinking about some of these issues in the first place.
I think it's our duty to do both and counterspaces are a great idea. The strongest action I think would be in advocating for places on campus for these groups to own (autonomously) where we could meet them and begin to build a better and more direct relationship with the student body increasing our understanding of their research interest and needs beyond the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAs you know from our chats to, at, and from ACRL, I feel really pushed (in a good way) by the thinking you're doing around this topic and I think it's pretty vital to the continuing evolution of the library as an institution/space/community/etc. Can I ask, then, for what you see as profitable next steps? Is this a situation where we first need some high quality research into these issues in connection with libraries? Or would devoting energy to that be a way of delaying responses we know we can make already? Are there low-cost avenues that will be easier for librarians to sell to our bosses and their bosses? In the end, to focus directly on academic libraries, can the library transform itself independently of the university (as a sort of guide for the rest of the community) or does the kind of change you're talking about really require that all the university's moving parts align themselves to move in the right direction?
ReplyDeleteThe way I'm seeing it right now, and I imagine this is a gross oversimplification (but it's me attempting to grasp the point you're making in the post), there are two layers of problems you're exploring -- one is a very surface-level problem with microaggressions and (for lack of a better term) casual social racism, something that librarians can address really directly and successfully because it involves becoming aware of our own privilege and the assumptions we haven't questioned, and the necessary action involves us simply dealing with ourselves. I'm making that sound easier than it is, but it has the merit of being a problem that shouldn't require too much capital investment or too many stakeholders getting on board before we can make a difference. And then the other layer is much, much more deeply rooted -- issues surrounding the white/eurocentrism of the university curriculum, the ways in which existing structures and institutions perpetuate white cultural assumptions, down to things like the way our "important" buildings are designed architecturally and the ways in which we expect people to use space. That sounds to me like a really long-term and challenging problem because it requires a lot more people than just librarians to get on board, and to really address much of it would require expensive/intensive work. I'm not suggesting that this should dissuade us at all! But it is daunting. Now, what does my summary here miss? Am I misunderstanding the kinds of problems that anti-racist librarians would tackle? Or exaggerating the amount of work it would take to make progress on these issues? I'm positive I'm only seeing part of the elephant, and I'd love to hear more about what I'm not seeing. Thanks for posting this! I hope it starts some conversations.
James,
DeleteI guess what we're talking about here is cultural change, and that is incredibly daunting. Over the weekend, I was talking to a friend of mine (who is not in the field of librarianship) about this work, and he immediately asked, 'So what is the solution?' This is simultaneously an admirable and scary attitude to take about all of this.
I think it is our responsibility to work on change both within the library and in the university as a whole. I don't think it is something that can be fixed quickly. Like the very hard work of community building and organizing, it is something that we need to work on continually, even when we don't see immediate results.
This post doesn't really go into any of our ideas about what we can do to fix the situation, and these are things that we are talking about. But honestly it seems like enough of a hurdle just to get this conversation started. Many people are understandably uncomfortable when you frame our profession in this manner, and it is clearly going to take more than a blog post to spark the kind of awareness that needs to come before real and lasting change.
You raise a lot of excellent questions, which is exactly what I wanted to come out of this post, so thank you! I don't have all the answers, but I'm really glad that some people are interested in talking about and engaging with these challenging issues.
Micah, Freeda, and James, thank you for your wonderful comments, they have been very thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteMicah, I'm especially heartened by your comments about space. As Freeda said, this is something we've been talking and thinking about a lot, and it's my special area of research. I will take your comments on board as I move forward with my reading and thinking.
James, I have a loooong blog post just about finished that addresses some of Freeda's righteous indignation with a description of the work that we've started to do at our library around cultural competency. So, stay tuned for that.
In the mean time, Freeda, Dave, and I just had a conversation on this very topic, and we came to many of the conclusions that Freeda outlines in her response to you. That being said, I think you're right that the personal, and cultural shift that you describe is the one that we can all benefit from working on immediately. And the first step in that process is to engage in some radical listening: go to events on campus that are put on by students of color, make sure you're asking good questions of your patrons and colleagues and actually listening to their responses (something that I know you're already really good at), and read texts written by authors of color that will elucidate some of the things that might be going on around you. I think this is the most important preparation for any other change that will come in the future, and should be the driving force and foundation for that change.