Sunday, February 15, 2015

Memories From a 10 Year Old





The glass comes between our love.

My hand reaches for the father that is gone.

"No touching allowed!" 

Orange jumpsuits?--they have been putting us in those things long before Guantanamo.

A long row of desperate communication to my left and to my right.

I pick up the industrial black transceiver so we can talk.



‪#‎Jail‬ ‪#‎NewJimCrow‬

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

#DiversitiesAndRepresentation

[We welcome this week's guest post from Da` Lyberri-Ann]

By: Da’ Lyberri-ann


Caldecott_medal.jpg
So another Midwinter has passed and like red carpet season, our new literary award winners have been announced with great fanfare. Facebook was filled with selfies and group pictures of committee members proud of a year’s hard work and accomplishments. As a librarian I should feel giddy and excited. New books are winning awards for outstanding literature in many different categories. As a children’s librarian I should be pulling out rolls of golden stickers to note these books of honor and proudly promoting them to my community. But I am not excited or proud. I’m upset. Disappointed. Dare I say “pissed off?”. Why? it is because again I see that although #blacklivesmatter for sound bites in the news, it doesn’t result in actual change.  

At the risk of pointing out the pink elephant in the room I’ll tell you why: The Caldecott committee didn’t have any people of disadvantaged minority status. Or to be blunt: No Blacks, No Hispanics, No Native Americans served on the Caldecott this year. Again.

[There were two people of color on this year's Caldecott Committee: The chair, Junko Yakota and Lucia Acosta]. 
weneeddiversebooks-logo.jpeg

And to be honest I am sick of it! 20 people on the committee: 16 women, 4 men, one of Asian ancestry, and .. thats it. 19 white folks and one token Asian! WTF!!!! A committee that is supposed to find the best picture books in the nation didn’t have a single Hispanic! For crying out F****in’ loud, how hard is it to find a Hispanic children’s librarian in a country with over 30% of its population Hispanic?

Honestly how hard is it to find a Black children’s librarian to serve on  this committee? Now I know the excuses and they are bulls****. Minority ALA members pay dues, they are  active in the organization but are repeatedly blackballed, and denied access to the very committees that will result in a change in ALA structure.  When was the last time a book about a Black or Hispanic child won the Caldecott? ….. I’ll wait. ( you had to google it, admit it) And that proves my point.

Black and Brown.jpg

It is not enough that the CSK (Coretta Scot King) award exists. If #blacklivesreallymatter and #brownlivesmatter we need to acknowledge in mainstream awards that the stories of their lives are significant. It’s like a Black musician being happy their album won the BET awards. It’s all well and good be acknowledged by your own, but true change happens when your music crosses into the mainstream and wins a Grammy.  I know what some of you are thinking: Viva Frida was honored! And a that book about the slave poet in 2011… it was honored too. It is significant that the books are acknowledged right?

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2009 Newberry Honor Book

Not anymore.  I am sick of books about minorities earning second place. I am sick of the message that they are good enough for CSK but not for Caldecott. I am sick of the message that the stories are not worthy of a mainstream audience.  And until I see consistent Black and Brown faces on the committees I will not see this change. So I won’t be  supporting this racist situation by marketing the Caldecott winners to my Black and Brown library users. #Blackbooksmatter.


belpre_medal.jpg  CSK_gold_watermark.jpg

Pura Belpré
2015 Author Award Winner
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I Lived on Butterfly Hill, written by Marjorie Agosín, illustrated by Lee White and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
Pura Belpré
2015 Illustrator Award Winner
viva-frida.jpg
Viva Frida, illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales and published by Roaring Brook Press, a Neal Porter Book
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards
2015 Author Award Winner
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“brown girl dreaming” published by Nancy Paulson Books, published by the Penguin Group, Penguin Group (USA) LLC

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards

2015 Illustrator Award Winner

020115 ALA Midwinter411170_1_0.JPG


“Firebird” written by Copeland and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, published by the Penguin Group, Penguin Group USA

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Lowriders In Space (Book Review)

How do we get kids to read--especially those that appear to not be interested in reading? 


Reading!



 The answer is:  find relevant material that the reader can empathize with and that the reader can understand.  


Back cover of book


An adventure making something out of the best of what you have is something ANY kid can empathize with, but the subject matter is most definitely something young Chicanos can relate to and understand.  Cars, space, excitement and fun make this dynamic story a great read young readers.  

This is not to stereotype young Chicanos, we are far more diverse than lowriders, but many of us grew up in Lowrider Culture and love and understand this culture.  

The language and characters are fantastic, but rooted in Chicanismo.  


Cathy Camper and Raul The Third have developed friendly, characters who speak much of the vernacular I grew up with as a 3rd generation Chicano in CA.  

The artwork is done in a beautiful blue, red and black ink that is reminiscent of ballpoint drawings.  


Panel from book

2nd and 3rd generation Chicanos (Mexican-Americans) sometimes have a hard time finding reading material that meets the above criteria.   

We can readily find books addressing immigration on one hand, and on the other books on gangs.  

Chicanos are far more diverse than these categories and I love that Cathy Camper and Raul The Third have picked up on this and given us: Lowriders in Space!

Panel from book

Lowriders in Space is fantasy, but it is also culturally relevant and fun for young readers.  

I would recommend it for 4th grade and up.  

One of the interesting things about this book is that it has a glossary that breaks down chicano Spanish.  This is not only handy, but is also fun.

Panel from book

For an adventure that both boys and girls can relate to and enjoy check out Lowriders in Space.  

This book would make a great addition to a personal, an elementary, middle school, high school, and college libraries as well as any good public library.  


Book Cover



Hurry and read this volume--another is on the way.



Age Range: 8 - 12 years

Grade Level: 3 - 7

Series: Lowriders

Paperback: 112 pages


Publisher: Chronicle Books (November 4, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1452128693

ISBN-13: 978-1452128696


Price:  $9.99











Saturday, January 31, 2015

Lowrider Literacies and Fluencies* 10 Point Program 2015



Lowrider Literacies and Fluencies* 10 Point Program 2015



1. Technology: We demand free access to technology and technology instruction, training and applications that meets our community needs.


2. Mechanics: We demand free access to mechanical technology and instruction. By this we mean we want motor vehicle, heavy equipment and other mechanical training and access that meet our community needs.


3. Reading: We demand free access to books that meet our needs. By needs, we mean: Cultural, Political, HIstorical, Language, Social, Psychological, and Health needs. We also demand books in a variety of formats.


4. Writing: We demand free access to writing and publishing technologies as well as the instruction to become fluent with them, and the ability to apply them to our needs.





5. Critical Political Analysis: We demand free access to critical political science analysis instruction, training and applications of this critical thinking to our needs.


6. Social Community Literacy: We demand free access to instruction, training and the application of social and community service and self-development based on our needs.


7. Human Development Health: We demand free access to instruction, training and the application of sound human development principled based on our needs and applied to our communities. 





8. Logic: We demand free access to instruction, training and the application of logical analysis and fluency for community members in both informal and formal logic.


9. Self-Defense: We demand free access to instruction, training and the application of self-defense principles, techniques, weapon training, tactical training and the history of self-defense based on our needs.





10. Ends: Educational sell-determination that leads to political self-determination is the goal of all the preceding literacy points.




*Any marginalized individual or group that seeks to mitigate oppressive forces on their community can apply Lowrider Literacy and Fluencies. One need not own a lowrider, nor be Latino.


Thursday, January 15, 2015

ALA Task Force Seeks Your Input on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion






The ALA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion was created in the spring of 2014 by then ALA President, Barbara Stripling.  The Task Force is currently in the information-gathering phase.  To aid with information gathering, it has launched a series of short surveys to be conducted at times to coincide with the ALA Midwinter Meetings and Annual Conferences through 2016.  These surveys are designed to help understand the culture of the association, the profession, and our communities with respect to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The first survey presents the Task Force created definitions of equity, diversity, and inclusion and asks individuals to consider ALA’s current alignment to those definitions.  The survey can be accessed athttps://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TFEDI1EMAIL and responses will be collected through February 16, 2015.  ALA members and nonmembers are encouraged to participate.  The final, analyzed results of the survey will be reported on by April 2015 via the Task Force's ALA Connect community and distributed through various ALA channels.
Please take a few minutes to answer the survey, which should take no more than 7 minutes to complete. “Embracing and celebrating diversity, and creating a more inclusive profession have been long-standing goals of the American Library Association.  With your help, we hope to ensure these values are upheld,” said Task Force co-chairs Trevor A. Dawes and Martin L. Garnar.
The ALA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion’s charge is to develop a plan and strategic actions to build more equity, diversity, and inclusion among our members, the field of librarianship, and our communities.  The most important Task Force outcome is the public and honest conversation generated by its plan and recommended actions.  The final Task Force report will include recommendations for ensuring that a continuing focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion is embedded throughout the ALA organization.
Questions about the survey can be sent to the Task Force at diversity@ala.org.  Should technical issues arise, please contact the ALA Office for Diversity at diversity@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5048.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Ethnic Leaders Must Create Change


The reason there has been no real advancement in Education for ethnically diverse people is because leaders do NOT create change within a system that is White-Supremacist, oppressive and hostile to non-European Americans.

What our leadership programs do, is to show students how to 'succeed' in the present White-Supremacist educational system.  By success, they really mean that students can take a place within this oppressive system and provide continuity in a system of violence, intimidation and murder.  

So, the cream of the crop, our best of the best are MOST OFTEN turned into overseers, who continue on and legitimize the present system.  These students legitimize it by taking their place in the system and telling other students that they too can 'succeed,' but they must act 'professional,' not be radical and keep telling others that, "change takes time!"  

How much time is it going to take?:

For them to stop killing our kids, no matter what type of degree we or they have?

For them to treat us like human beings and allow us to grow?

For us to realize that the present system is based on UNREPENTANT Genocide, Land-theft and Slavery AND that this system is NOT sustainable.

We need change and we need it now--not in some distant time.

If we continue on merely taking our place within a system that creates oppression, depression, that allows for the murder of our children, that allows for our children to be locked up in prison and disenfranchised,  that MAINTAINS the current system, then our grandchildren will be asking the same questions that are asked today.

How could this happen?

Why haven't things changed?

What are we going to do?


There is something we can do right now--we can NOT become like the oppressor, not take our place (as instructed to do so)in the grand killing machine that is the US, and to train students to create change themselves.

Change won't happen by conducting research that will please the dominant culture, but by creating real change via direct action and REAL discussion.  How much research do you need to know you live in a system that is horribly sick with issues it has not confronted and solved?


We don't need weak leaders. 

There are so very few of us in higher education, we can't let our 'successes' continue on in this manner.


We need real change and we need it now!



Sunday, September 28, 2014

The Information Transfer Process in Hip-Hop: A New Academic Field Emerges

Breakdance oldschool.jpg
"Breakdance oldschool". Licensed under FAL via Wikimedia Commons.

[I wrote this in 2008-09]




Introduction




The current emphasis of Information Science is on knowledgespecifically knowledge processingthat is to say, the production and use of knowledge.  Whereas before the emphasis was on providing information, now Information Science seeks to help users understand and make use of this information thereby creating new knowledge and utilizations.  An interdisciplinary perspective and the primacy of the user are distinguished as necessary prerequisites for the successful implantation of information systems today (Oluic-Vukovic, 2001 p. 55)

Hip-Hop is a relatively new cultural phenomenon.  This paper is not concerned with the history of Hip-Hop, or even a definition so I will only touch on some fundamental aspects of Hip-Hop.  It really began in the 1970s and has roots in African American culture.  There are at least three distinct aspects of Hip-Hop culture:  Music, Dance, and Art.  The music developed out of a mashup of Caribbean dj music and African American soul and funk.  The lyrics of the musiccalled rap can be traced to Toasting, and other African American lyrical legacies.  It is important to remember that this new musical innovation did not come from a record company, or the music industry. These musical innovations came from people, who for the most part, lived in poverty, and had little to no tools.
In the past twenty years or so academics have taken to writing about Hip-Hop and creating new knowledge out of the intellectual information generated by various dissemination venues ranging from the creation of new Hip-Hop beats and songs to popular magazine articles to MTV to radio interviews, to essays and articles by sociologists, philosophers, cultural critics, etc
This paper seeks to analyze the creation of new knowledge in the area of Hip-Hop studies through various disciplines and public knowledge.  Public knowledge is very
important in Hip-Hop as it is where, for the most part, innovation and creation come from.  I say for the most part because many Hip-Hop artists and critics are well rounded and draw influences in their work from various areas including literature and history as well as cultural studies.
The model used for analysis is that defined by Achleitner as the information transfer process (Achleitner,  p. 143).  The information transfer process is composed of four different aspects: creation which involves research, dissemination, which involves distribution, diffusion, which involves teaching and learning, and utilization which involves application and service.  I will also include preservation in this paper as it is required.   The information transfer process exists in a milieu which includes culture, technology, economics, and policy (Achleitner,  p. 143).  All of these aspects have an impact on the Information transfer process.



Creation

New knowledge creation is dependent on research.  Research in new Hip-Hop information is conducted on many levels.  One aspect of research that can not be underestimated is the lone experimenter in their bedroom or basement creating new beats and lyrical styles.  I won’t focus on this aspect because this paper is too short to go into this in detailsuffice it to say this is important for, in the end, these new open-source creations impact knowledge at the university level.
Books are written on Hip-Hop from a serious academic viewpoint as illustrated by such books as the Hip Hop Reader, Black Noise, Holler if You Hear Me, among many others.  These books take Hip-Hop seriously and use academic analysis and vigorous investigations into the social and historical legacies of the artists, innovations, and tragedies of Hip-Hop music.
Academics use different forms of analysis to create knowledge about Hip-Hop. Several of these are:  Feminist interpretation, Capitalist--value based analysis (Machlup,
1979, p. 449), to critical forms from sources of Public Knowledge like Bill Cosbys critical writings on Hip-Hop culture (Cosby).

Dissemination

In this essay I am using Hip-Hop to articulate Information Transfer aspects to people using preferred language, information that is timely, that users can adapt to their own needs of trying to understand the new paradigm.  These are all qualities that, according to Owens in their report on dissemination, states are facilitators to effective dissemination strategies (Owens, 2001, pg. 2).
Books written on Hip-Hop culture, History, Dance, Art, and more are increasingly important in contributing to academic as well as public knowledge. Some important authors on Hip-Hop Culture are Michael Eric Dyson, Tricia Rose, Jeff Chang, and many more.  Histories of Hip-Hop are being writtenone of the most important written by the latter author on the list above.  There are several readers out among them are The Hip- Hop Reader, and That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader.  There is also at least
one book on the best articles in Hip-Hop Journalism called:  And It Don't Stop

The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years Edited by Raquel Cepeda.

Papers are presented at conferences introducing new ideas to large audiences around the country.  The audiences are often comprised of people from many different disciplines and contribute largely to dissemination of information to academia and the public.
VideosYoutube is a great source of new information on Hip-Hop.  You can see lectures, and interviews with intellectuals and academics discussing new knowledge on Hip-Hop.  Films critiquing Hip-Hop culture such as Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes disseminate new knowledge about Hip-Hop to students and the general public.  Apart from Youtube there is a plethora of videos Hip-Hop culture ranging from Dance to Freestyle.
Radio interviews Michael Eric Dyson does a plethora of interviews on the radio explaining the cultural importance of Hip-Hop, and imparts this knowledge as new information to his listeners.  These interviews help communicate new knowledge to the general public.
Television segments and  interviews play an important role in disseminating knowledge.  Since Television has such a huge audience, it is an efficient method of dissemination.   Michael Eric Dyson, againis a tireless advocate of Hip-Hop culture. He often does television interviews in which he explains the importance of Hip-Hop and its impact on American culture.



Magazines articles and interviews are important as they spread new knowledge to the general public as well as throughout academic disciplines.  Magazines such as  Vibe, XXL, etc… There are tons of blogs and web sites disseminating new Hip-Hop knowledge among other things every minute of the day.  Social Network communities also serve as agents of dissemination.  Sites like Digg, Delicious, and Hip-Hop specific social communities spread information and new knowledge quickly and effectively.  Scholarly journal articles serve as effective dissemination tools to other academics.  These articles appear in many different disciplines from dance, to psychology.

Organization
Classification schemes perform a direct and critical functionthey provide the basis for the physical arrangement of library materials (Rubin, 2004, p. 221).  Not only is this true, but it they also provide a means of accessing information on the web as well. Information Science is no longer just concerned with the physical space of the library, but also with the virtual space.
Libraries usually classify knowledge by the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress Classification System.   782.421649 is the call number for Hip-Hop culture in according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system.  ML3531 is the call number for Hip-Hop culture in the Library of Congress classification system.  Both these classification systems have Hip-Hop culture peppered throughout the other disciplines as Hip-Hop culture is fundamentally interdisciplinary.  This brings about the need for new methods of classification that arise out the ability for users to tag their information.
It is readily apparent that these classification schemes need to be updated.  Hip- Hop needs much broader categories of classificationI would also argue that the music sections in general should be updated frequently.  Tagging on the Internet and in Library catalogs is a rapidly developing phenomenon.  Perhaps a fusion of both metadata tags from users and one of the classification systems above would do better.
Diffusion

Diffusion ifs the process by which innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among members of a social system.  It is a special type of communication, in that the messages are concerned with new ideas (Rogers, 2003, p. 3)
Increasingly classes are taught on aspects of Hip-Hop culture.  According to an News Release from UC Berkeley News the number of Hip-Hop scholars is growing, but the amount of classes taught across the disciplines is still far behind the need (Anwar,
2007).  There are lesson plans based around Hip-Hop knowledge, and using Hip-Hop to teach other concepts.  One example is the Flocabulary web site: http://www.flocabulary.com/teacher/research.html.
Seminarsthere is a seminar at our school that is being hosted at the Womens Resource Center.  It will be based around a film called Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.  This film critiques Hip-Hop Culture through the lens of misogyny and critical media theory.  After the film there will be a facilitated discussion.  This discussion will lead  to diffusion by creating understanding among many of the participants.  There are many seminars similar to this creating diffusion of new Hip-Hop knowledge.
Eric Michael Dysons newest book on Hip-Hop, Know What I Mean? Is a great example of an academic who, through research has come to understand and create new knowledge on Hip-Hop.  His book of interviews takes Hip-Hop concepts like Sampling, Remixing, the intro and outro seriously and incorporates them into his work.  He thereby creates a new sub-genre of interview books (Dyson, 2007).
Authors and researchers write essays and articles for journals and magazines and create new knowledge on Hip-Hop at an increasing rate.  I am currently writing an article on the similarities between Concepts in Hip-Hop and concepts of the new Information Paradigm that can be illustrated by many new so-called web 2.0 applications.  These articles analyze, and explicate the relationships of Hip-Hop concepts to general developments in society.  This new direction of rigorous analysis and questioning may lead to fields in several academic disciplines.
Utilization

New knowledge in the areas of Hip-Hop Cultural studies and Hip-Hop studies in general is used in various contexts and new creations.  This new knowledge can be used to interest children in music.  It can be linked to such wide-ranging topics as information science and web design.  The knowledge that Information Science and Hip-Hop have conceptual as well as nominal similarities can be pointed out by elucidating the concept of remixing and sampling in the context of the web 2.0 environment.  The fact that remixing concepts in utilizations such as mashups and open source developments based on sampling others previous work and building on that are fine examples, analogies and sometimes metaphors for helping people from the fields of Hip-Hop and Information Science understand one another.
This new knowledge also creates new genres of American, as well as world Musical, Dance and Art history.  New fields are arising in several disciplines surrounding the study of Hip-Hop culture.  Another example that of utilization is that of the above mentioned web site flocabularyits lesson plans which use Hip-Hop to teach are an example of the utilization of Hip-Hop knowledge.




Preservation

The preservation of Hip-Hop knowledge is a concern primarily of academic libraries.  The digitization of documents also makes it likely there will be copies of important documents stored around the world.  There is also now an official Hip-Hop Archive:   http://www.hiphoparchive.org/about/.  With these organizations involved important Hip-Hop documents will survive.
Conclusion

There is a proliferation of Hip-Hop knowledge today.  It will continue to grow as this cultural influence is recognized and analyzed.



References



Anwar, Yasmin, Hip-hop scholars push for recognition, UC Berkeley News Press Release, 09 January 2007 Retrieved 11/4/07 from: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/01/09_hiphop.shtml

Chang, Jeff, Can't stop, won't stop: a history of the hip-hop generation Publisher

New York: Picador, 2006 Edition 1st Picador ed




Dyson, Michael Eric, Know what I mean? : reflections on hip-hop, Imprint New

York: Basic Civitas; London: Perseus Running [distributor], 2007.



Hurt, Byron Hip-hop: beyond beats and rhymes  produced, Imprint Northampton, MA : Media Education Foundation, [2006]

Machlup, Fritz, Uses, Value, and Benefits of Knowledge, , Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization, 1979 Vol. 14 No. 4 June 1993 448-46

Neal, Mark Anthony & Murray Forman eds., That's the joint! : the hip-hop studies reader  New York : Routledge, 2004

Oluic-Vukovic, V. (2001). From information to knowledge. Journal of the

American Society for Information Science and Technology, 52(1) 54-61.



Owens, Thomas. (2001). Dissemination: a key element of the ATE program. Retrieved November 1, 2007, from:



Rogers, Everett. (2003). Elements of Diffusion. In Diffusion of Innovation (pp.1-
37). New York: Free Press

Rubin, Richard, Foundations of library and information science  Publisher New

York : Neal-Schuman Publishers, c2004 Edition 2nd ed



Walker, Carol Hip-Hop Culture Crosses Social Barriers,  Us Department of state: Retrieved 11/1/07http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/Archive/2006/May/12-522164.html