Lowrider Librarian

    Hispanic/Latinx Free Symposium OCTOBER 15, 2021 In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), the San José State University School of Information held a free symposium to discuss best practices in library services to meet the needs of the Hispanic/Latinx community with greater impact, cultural understanding, and sensitivity. Entitled “Making Vital Connections: Understanding and Serving the Hispanic/Latinx Community,” this inaugural event featured keynote addresses and panel discussions. I  had the honor of sitting on a panel at San Jose Sate University's School Hispanic Heritage Symposium.   I begin about 47 minutes in. #Antiracist   #libraries   #LIS   #Education   #HispanicHeritage   #SJSU

[Email from the Oregon Library Association Awards Chair.  Big congratulations and shout out to Marci Ramiro-Jenkins!]   Hello Oregon Library Community! As chair of the Oregon Library Association's  Awards  Committee, I am delighted to widely announce the recipients of the following  awards which were announced at the  OLA  Conference on Friday, April 23.  Presidents’  Award  (conferred by President Kate Lasky and Past-President Elaine Hirsch):  Marci Ramiro-Jenkins    Oregon Library Employee of the year:   Lauren Calbreath Oregon Library Supporter of the year: Barbara Wright EDI Achievement Award (Inaugural award !): Max Macias Oregon Librarian of the year: Librarians and Staff of the State Library of Oregon Children Services Division's Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award : Tehlor Kay Mejia Public Library Division's Pearl Award : Lanel Jackson Congratulations on this well deserved recognition! OLA Awards Committee: El...

Young indigenous victim of colonial settler terrorism. A whole generation of BIPOC children and college students in the US are being negatively impacted by the climate of fear that is being perpetrated upon them by the unrestrained white-supremacist movement and the government that supports this abomination.  Their mental health, their educations and their lives are all being stunted and slowed down by these racist attacks by settler colonists. According to Zaretta Hammond in her astounding work, "Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain,"  students should be able to feel safe and confident to be able to become a self-sufficient learner.  Becoming a self-sufficient learner means the student becomes involved in their own educational and personal development by reflection and by being warmly challenged by an instructor who has earned their trust.  A dependent learner is always dependent on someone outside themselves to take charge of their education and ...

There is currently a discussion on the librarian Facebook group ALATT concerning cultural appropriation. You should hear some of the rationalizations! Everything from the insulting: "Let me tell you a secret: All Culture is appropriated!" Then people go on to say, "Yes--like agriculture, rock n roll..." and other absurd comparisons. This seemingly funny statement, is passive aggressive to the extreme. These statements belittle people's feelings about their heritage and culture.  This is especially true then aspects of their culture are used in inappropriate manners such as when White people run 'Native American' sweat lodges that allow anyone who pays to come sweat and pray--that is fucking absurd and spits in the face of indigenous tradition! You may be asking yourself, "Why is Max getting all bent out of shape about this?" Please watch this video for a better understanding: I hope more librarians become more empathetic and...

Buy this book for your Library An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873 (The Lamar Series in Western History)by Benjamin Madley is a book that should be in every library in the US.  This book covers an essential history that has heretofore been neglected save for a few works such as Murder State . Series:  The Lamar Series in Western History Hardcover:  712 pages Publisher:  Yale University Press (May 24, 2016) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0300181361 ISBN-13:  978-0300181364 Product Dimensions:  6.1 x 1.8 x 9.2 inches The book covers the history of the genocide of Indigenous peoples in the state of California from 1846-1873.  During this time, the book traces the beginnings of the genocide from scattered massacres to full scale state and federally sponsored militia and military massacre campaigns.  The sheer brutality and callousness against the indigenous people of Califor...

The Other Slavery:  The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement In America by Andrés Reséndez is an important book that you will want to add to your library collection. Hardcover: 448 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 12, 2016) Language: English ISBN-10: 0547640986 ISBN-13: 978-0547640983 Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches It is important in several areas: History Economics Law Political Science It sheds new light on so many areas. It shook my understanding and revitalized my resolve to learn as much as possible about the history of our country and of the genocide that took place and in many ways is still taking place against indigenous people.  For instance, I had no idea that smallpox did not hit the Caribbean until a full 26 years after Columbus' invasion.  This gives new light to the claim that the majority of these Indians died from disease.  These people were murdered or worked to death. The book cov...

Colonialism and Whiteness This is the first post in a series of blog posts that seeks to understand the development of Whiteness in the Americas from colonialism to today.  These blog posts are short necessarily short and are not meant to be exhaustive, but to give the reader an idea of where Whiteness comes from and how it appears in our culture. The need for these posts came out of the backlash against Whiteness History Month at Portland Community College this April, 2016.  Casta Painting A Casta (Spanish:  [ˈkasta] , Portuguese:  [ˈkastɐ, ˈkaʃtɐ] ) was a hierarchical system of race classification created by Spanish elites (españoles) in Hispanic America during the Spanish colonial period . The sistema de castas or the sociedad de castas was used in 17th and 18th centuries in Spanish America and Spanish Philippines to describe as a whole and socially rank the mixed-race people who were born during the post-Conquest period . These...