Diversity Resources for Academic Libraries

Social Media and Social Justice

2013-02-11T20:32:28Z

This handout was created by myself and Melissa Kalpin Prescott (Reference Librarian, St. Cloud State University) for a session we did on how to use social media to promote social justice and maintaining your personal identity. The session was held during the Power in Diversity Leadership Conference hosted by St. Cloud State University.

SocialJusticeHandout012513.pdf

Joint Conference for Librarians of Color

2012-09-19T22:59:42Z

It's the second national Joint Conference for Librarians of Color in Kansas City, MO. Today was pre-conferences and tonight is the opening ceremony at the Kansas City Public Library. Some really wonderful programs are set up and I hope to be posting details and some new ideas after the conference.

2012 Midwest Culturally Inclusive Conference at University of WI, Platteville

2012-04-30T17:15:09Z

http://www2.uwplatt.edu/inclusivemw/

The theme of the 2012 Midwest Culturally Inclusive Conference is "Creating the change we want to see in the world: Sharing our knowledge, truth, tools, and best practices."

The Midwest Culturally Inclusive Conference is a regional conference for business and community leaders, college students and educators - from K-12 teachers and administrators to postsecondary faculty and staff - who want to strengthen diversity throughout the Midwest and work collaboratively towards resolving issues related to equity, diversity, inclusion, representative leadership and advancing professional development opportunities.

The purpose of the conference is to facilitate participants' understanding of the economic and equity implications of diversity in a 21st century global economy, equip participants with skills to uproot discrimination across multiple forms (i.e. gender, class, race, sexual orientation, veterans and disabilities), and foster relationship building between diverse groups to promote inclusive activism.

PREZI: Equity and Diversity Programming in Academic Libraries

2012-04-28T05:31:38Z

Thanks to everyone who attended my presentation at ARLD Day. It was a really great audience and I left feeling energized. I'm attaching my Prezi here:

http://bit.ly/IeXsaU

ARLD Day Presentation on Friday

2012-04-25T22:47:43Z

I will be presenting at the MN ARLD Day on Friday, April 27, 2012. Hope some of you can make it.

Equity and Diversity Programming in an Academic Library Setting
with Jody Gray, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

The University of Minnesota Libraries have partnered with the University of Minnesota's Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence to create programming for both the undergraduate students of color and librarians serving those communities. This session will take a practical look at how to begin developing a program for equity and diversity within an academic library setting. The presenter will demonstrate many of the tools used to create a diversity program, from defining diversity to providing educational opportunities for colleagues and students alike, as well as setting priorities and communicating to upper administration. The objective of this session is to provide a sampling of practical tools and exercises in developing a diversity action plan to bring back to your library.

Talk Story Deadline is February 1, 2012

2011-12-31T19:37:41Z

2012 Grant Information & Application Sponsored by APALA & AILA

Program Overview
Talk Story: Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture is a literacy program that reaches out to Asian Pacific American (APA) and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children and their families. The program celebrates and explores Asian Pacific American (APA) and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) stories through books, oral traditions, and art to provide an interactive, enriching experience. Children and their families can connect to rich cultural activities through Talk Story in their homes, libraries, and communities. This grant is aimed to give financial support to libraries and community organizations who want to introduce a Talk Story program into their library, focusing on APA or AIAN cultures.

Talk Story grant funding is available due to the generous support of Toyota Financial Services.

Eligibility
Libraries and community organizations that serve children and their families are eligible to apply. We encourage libraries and community organizations to work together on a Talk Story program.

Please submit an Application and 500 word essay detailing what your library or community organization would do with the award and what types of programs highlighting APA or AIAN cultures you are interested in planning for your community. You may apply for either an APALA grant OR an AILA grant.

Deadline
Applications must be received by Feburary 1, 2012
Award will be announced by March 15, 2012

For more information and for the application visit us at www.talkstorytogether.org

Strategic Planning for Diversity

2011-12-14T18:29:22Z

One of the projects I worked on with the American Library Associations Office for Diversity this summer is now up on their site.

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/diversity/diversityplanning.cfm

Thanks so much to Miguel for working so hard on this with me.

Overcoming Racism

2011-12-09T19:50:10Z

I attended the Third Annual Overcoming Racism Conference on November 8-19, 2011. This conference took place at Metropolitan State University. This conference is organized by a group called Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative (FREC). FREC is made of diverse organizations with different capacities and individuals active in anti racism work.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Joe R. Feagin. Feagin is a sociologist, scholar and author, currently serving as the Ella C. McFadden Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A & M University. He produces and maintains RacismReview online. He recently authored the book The White Racial Frame: Centuries of Racial Framing and Counter Framing. His keynote was titled The White Racial Frame and Overcoming Racism.

In the keynote, Feagin spoke of some research he and some of his colleagues conducted through interviews and diaries. The research questions were:

Do whites of various ages still do much everyday racism?
Has the level of white-racist framing commentary, action declined as much as opinion surveys and "post-racial' pundits suggests?
Or has significant white-racist framed commentary and action become concentrated in the "social backstage," with less performed in the "social frontstage" because of social pressures to fake being "colorblind."

Feagin shared several excerpts from diaries that showed blatant racism being played out by individual when surrounded by peer groups. The lessons learned is that we are far from a post racial society.

Feagin provided some options for reframing; call out racist acts, teach ourselves and others how to respond to racist actions, create national multiracial organizations that call out racism and teach how to challenge racist actions.

This was a very refreshing conference. I felt that I walked away with some new ideas on how to approach the diversity work that I do.

November is Native American Heritage Month

2011-11-07T21:38:58Z

Native American Heritage Month

Here are a few interesting news articles and resources to help inspire you:

1. "Incentives And Cultural Bias Fuel Foster System : NPR", n.d., http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system. - 3 part investigative report from National Public Radio on American Indians in foster care.

2. Menkart, Deborah. "Deepening the meaning of heritage months." Educational Leadership 56, no. 7 (April 1999): 19-21.

Abstract: Heritage month programs may actually reinforce stereotypes. When planning heritage events, schools should develop learning objectives; address values, history, and current power relationships shaping cultures; employ food and dance in context; include all Americas; portray present-day Native Americans; and examine overall school curriculum and policies.

3. Library of Congress collections for American Indian history and culture. http://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/collections/index.html

4. "Celebrating American Indian Heritage | People & Places | Smithsonian Magazine", n.d., http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/american-indian-heritage.html.

Abstract: In honor of this year's National American Indian Heritage Month, Smithsonian.com explores the tragic history of the Cherokees' struggles with Andrew Jackson, takes a look at modern Native artists and investigates how to cook Native foods.

I would love to know what your organization does to celebrate American Indian Heritage Month.

We're a culture, not a costume!

2011-10-27T17:39:00Z

Students from Ohio University's Students Teaching About Racism in Society have stirred up controversy on the web by creating a campaign called "We're a culture, not a costume!"

CNN 'We're a culture, not a costume' this Halloween

Personally, I am impressed with the small group of students thoughtful campaign. The reactions to the posters is, sadly, a reminder that there is still work to be done to overcome racism.

Here are a few suggested readings to help start the conversation. If you know of a good resource please let me know.

Seto, Thelma. 1995. "Multiculturalism is not halloween." Horn Book Magazine 71, no. 2: 169-175. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 27, 2011).

Mueller, Jennifer, Danielle Dirks, and Leslie Picca. 2007. "Unmasking Racism: Halloween Costuming and Engagement of the Racial Other." Qualitative Sociology 30, no. 3: 315-335. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 27, 2011).

McIntosh, Peggy. 1990. "White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack." Independent School 49, no. 2: 31. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 27, 2011).

International Education Week

2011-10-20T11:35:34Z

http://iew.state.gov

A joint initiative of the U.S. Departments of State and Education, International Education Week (IEW) was first held in 2000 and today, is celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide.
IEW is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This annual initiative aims to promote international understanding and build support for international educational exchange by encouraging the development of programs that prepare Americans to live and work in a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study in the United States.
Exchanges are critical to developing mutual understanding and respect, building leadership abroad, fostering an appreciation for the U.S., and investing in the future relationship between Americans and people around the world.
According to Open Doors, 260,327 U.S. students studied abroad in 2008/09.
International education prepares U.S. citizens to live, work, and compete in the global economy.
International education is also a vital service industry, bringing more than $20 billion into the U.S. economy in 2009/10.
According to Open Doors, 690,923 international students studied in the U.S. in 2009/10.
The more than 40,000 students, scholars and other exchange participants that the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs supports are in the vanguard of the hundreds of thousands of students and scholars who come to the United States and study abroad each year.
International cooperation on education contributes to education reform and education solutions for the U.S. and for our partner nations.

Difference

2011-10-19T01:05:54Z

The other day, as I was perusing my many blog feeds, I noticed a familiar name, Sasha Houston Brown. I've worked on different project in the Twin Cities with Sasha so I was surprised to see her name on Racioulicous. Of course, I had to stop and read the post.

Sasha wrote a letter to the CEO of Urban Outfitters, calling them out for their inappropriate line of "Navajo" merchandise. You can see the letter here.

Over the next couple of days I was amazed at how viral this letter had become. it was crossing Facebook pages from friends who live in other parts of the world. I was on Yahoo! checking email and noticed that "Urban Outfitters" was trending. I clicked on it, and sure enough, it was more discussion about Sasha's letter. Tonight, I saw a small video on ABC news.

This was a great reminder to me about the impact that one person can have by speaking out and standing up for their beliefs. For those of us who have careers that revolve around social justice issues, it can easily be discouraging and tiring some days. Sometimes, I find myself feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. That was one of the reasons I began working on this blog. I started in the summer, but haven't launched it until now because I wasn't sure how I wanted to proceed. I have to say that seeing Sasha's letter reminded me that it is important to speak out. To share experiences and resources. So, I finally took the tape off the package and put this blog out there.

Being that we are talking about libraries here, I thought I would provide a few resources that may shed more light on the Urban Outfitters/Navajo issue.

Website: Who Owns Native Culture?

Brown, Michael F. 2003. Who owns native culture? Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51722860

Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990

Welcome!

2011-10-18T01:08:37Z

Welcome to the Diversity Resources for Academic Libraries Blog. I created this to share tools, resources, and insights that I have learned as the Diversity Outreach Librarian at the University of Minnesota since 2005. I also hope that you might want to share your insights, as well. If so, please email me at grayjl@umn.edu.

I hope you find the information useful and that you continue to check back for relevant posts. Thank you for your time.

Jody Gray