Saturday, March 1, 2014

Enacting Equity and Social Justice in Our Libraries

Keith, E.K.

IL

 Martin, R., McCann, H., Morales, M., & Williams, S. (2013). White Screen/White Noise: Racism and the Internet. Urban Library Journal, 19(1), 1-12. Retrieved from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/ehost/detail?vid=7&sid=4b873570-1fef-4067-881d-aaa130e04897%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=llf&AN=93739851

Summary:
This article examines the power of the Internet to spread information and issues of racism and censorship. Several significant examples illustrate the problem of the perpetuation of racist attitudes, speech, and imagery on the internet. The article also explores the librarian’s role to counteract racist messages and how critical race consciousness can improve library services in person and online. 

One significant example that was most compelling explained a problem that I personally had while trying to research teen interest magazines for Latina and African American girls to purchase for my library. The problem I had was that on school computers, any time I entered either of the above-mentioned terms for a search with “girl” or “teen,” the filter blocked access. The article references the same process as an experiment conducted by a teacher with her students to demonstrate how the Internet perpetuates the hypersexualization of Latina and African American girls across media formats. 

Another example was the posting of photographs by a white supremacist group intended to malign Trayvon Martin’s character and reputation after his murder. The photographs were then re-posted by major news outlets. The failure to check facts or question sources demonstrates the casual reinforcement of racial stereotypes that is a click away.

Lack of moderation of posted comments is another significant example of hate speech that is perpetuated on the Internet. Several more examples are given to show the use of the Internet as a tool of oppression to clearly explain this problem from the perspective of the user.

For librarians, there are contributing problems. The article notes a lack of open discourse about racism in LIS programs with a preference for use of less controversial terms, multiculturalism and diversity. In addition, many programs lack courses that directly address issues of racism, oppression, and privilege. 

This article explores in detail the courses of action that librarians can take to preserve the free access to information and to protect and educate young people who are vulnerable to overt and subtle racist messages on the Internet. The authors focus on solutions, recognizing the power of the Internet and Web 2.0 tools for learning. They also reiterate that learning in any environment cannot be separated from cultural norms, so it is the responsibility of the librarian to directly challenge those norms that are oppressive. Here is a list of their suggestions for librarians.


  • ·         Acquire and teach digital literacy, along with the new skills that separate it from traditional information literacy

  • ·         Use critical race consciousness as another tool to evaluate online resources

  • ·         Become more aware of exclusive language and subtle racist messages on the Internet through anti-racist training


  • ·         Make collection decisions around needs of users

  • ·         Teach users (especially young people) to critically evaluate web resources past superficial checklist levels

§  A domain that ends in .org does not necessarily mean it is reliable
§  Recognize bias and how it influences the understanding of information, both positively and negatively
§  Search engine rankings indicate nothing about the reliability of a website or its relevance to a search

I highly recommend reading this article for librarians who serve young people of color and have a deep concern for enacting equity and social justice in their libraries.

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