Black Lives Matter. We in the City Tech Library stand with our Black students and faculty and staff colleagues against the racist violence and police brutality in our country. We stand with you in mourning the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black communities and other people of color at City Tech and in our city. We stand with and support the brave acts of protest and calls for action in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, and many others at the hands of law enforcement.
We demand accountability for the lives who have been effectively dismantled due to a dual-natured justice system that has unfairly penalized members of the Black community who were full of promise, especially our students here at City Tech.
We will not be silent, and will work mindfully and intentionally to dismantle systemic racism and inequality through the use of our physical and virtual spaces, and our library resources. We will actively do this work in collaboration with faculty, staff, and students across the campus community.
We commit to the following actions in our library work. Our antiracist and antioppression work in the library is and must be ongoing, thus this list is necessarily incomplete, and serves as a starting point.
- We commit to antiracism in our work together as library faculty and staff, including creating community agreements and practicing calling each other in.
- We commit to ensuring that you will never be forced into the position of having to defend your humanity and your dignity as Black students, faculty, and staff.
- We recognize that everyone in the City Tech community has a right to privacy, and we will act to minimize surveillance to mitigate oppression.
- We will work to build print and digital collections in our library and archives that are antiracist and antioppressive, and we will acknowledge and reevaluate the nuance involved in maintaining our collections.
- We will work to counter white supremacy and hegemony in the library by creating space for alternative forms of expression and ways of knowing.
- We will actively work to create forums for our students to share their experiences when they interact with someone who falls short of these declarations.
Inspiration and Resources:
- Statement Condemning Increased Violence and Racism Towards Black Americans and People of Color, Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA)
- Letter of Support and Solidarity, Library Association of CUNY (LACUNY)
- Statement of Solidarity and Support, CUNY Council of Chief Librarians and Office of Library Services
- #LibRev Support for Black Lives Matter
- It’s not enough to say Black Lives Matter — libraries must divest from the police, Library Freedom Project
- 10 Things Librarian Allies Can Do, Hack Library School
