Antiracist Library or Racist Library--There is no Middle Ground
Antiracist libraries acknowledge the fallacy of being neutral in the face of racism. Libraries are racist or antiracist. Just like individuals—libraries cannot just say they are ‘not racist.’ Being an antiracist library means that they are actively working to dismantle racism and white supremacy in their libraries and communities. Being antiracist also means they are working to dismantle the oppression of marginalized people. Allowing bigots to perpetuate fear in the community is antithetical to the antiracist library. The antiracist library is an enemy to bigotry. The antiracist library is constantly reflecting on ‘neutral’ stances when it comes to ALL library policies. Collection development, meeting room policies, website design, user satisfaction analysis, usage metrics and all other library policies need to be antiracist, or they are racist. There is no in between. So, when the library community says, “Libraries are for all!...