Letters from the Road - Day 10
Hello from Oakland.
Today was the last day of our virtual bus tour and we covered a lot of ground, making two stops in two states, and even crossing the Pacific Ocean to visit Hawaii.
Our first stop was at the Oakland Public Library, where we learned how the library is embracing its community and empowering youth by encouraging literary expression.
We were joined by several of Oakland’s Youth Poet Laureate finalists, whose names you will be hearing. They are proof that our youth are not our future, they are our present. They are this moment.
We were inspired by the work of the library’s amazing community-centered programming.
Mahasin Abuwi Aleem, the library’s children's management collection librarian for the system, who is very involved with its racial equity team, talked about the library’s important work toward racial justice. Aleem, who is a former ALA Spectrum Scholar, also spoke about how Spectrum provided the foundation for her career.
She touched on the library’s work in creating a culture where families feel welcome and can really develop a personal relationship with the library.
The Oakland Public Library is a hub of community innovation, as demonstrated by the Family Laundry and the 81st Ave. Library's Father Circle.
Manny Hernandez, library assistant, and Jason Wilkinson, security guard, started the Father Circle after seeing the need for programs supporting fathers. The program offers a non-judgmental family setting where fathers can share their feelings.
The Family Laundry is a partnership with an Oakland laundromat, and the business owner is a former educator. It offers a safe space in the laundromat for programming, including story times and puppet shows.
Miriam Medow, children’s librarian at the Diamond branch, discussed Family PRIDE, a program offered in partnership with a park just a couple of blocks away from the library. The library offered a drag queen story hour at the parks and recreation facility that attracted 300 people.
She made a valuable point by saying that libraries are uniquely positioned to support racial and social justice organizations, pointing out that in Oakland there are several community-led organizations focused on individuals who are most impacted by systems of inequity an oppression. The Oakland Public Library is committed to diversity, community empowerment, and inclusion.
Anthony Propernick, library outreach and community engagement coordinator, and R.B. Burnette, community leader and library aide, told us how the library has a program that fixes bikes, filling a need in areas that are not served by bike shops.
They explained how they are combating gentrification with “reintriification,” supporting youth entrepreneurship by helping them decorate and build awesome bikes. Oakland is the home of scraper bikes and Anthony and RB support kids like “Duct Tape Chris,” who find a home in the scraper bike community.
The library is also involved in a program, in partnership with the Oakland Department of Transportation, to promote getting youth on bicycles.
These are just a few examples of how libraries are reaching beyond the walls of their physical buildings and connecting with the community it serves.
The Oakland Public Library is about words as well as actions, and we received a dramatic illustration of that from Sharon McKellar and Peggy Simmons, who coordinate the youth poet laureate program. Their idea is to form a community of young poets who can be supporting each other.
Laureates receive $5,000 scholarships to the schools of their choice and the program is funded by the Friends of the library.
Throughout our stop, we heard from our young poets, 17-year-old Samuel Getachew, 16-year-old Chiana Griswa, 15-year-old Hunter Jackson, and 16-year-old Greer Nakadegawa.
One was a poem by Hunter, “Lies.”
She wrote, “Behind this smile, I’m struggling to breathe, as the weight of my own mind crushes my lungs with worries I never should have carried and problems that never should have been mine. Beyond these eyes a flimsy dam of pride threatens to break under the pressure of an ocean of unspoken truth. Beneath this brave 15-year-old is an exhausted child all alone, lost in a forest corrupted by poisoned thoughts. Below this strong outward attitude is a ruined doll, a plaything of life broken and discarded. Behind these jokes and poems and stories and art, I'm telling you the truth. I'm screaming out I'm not fine. I’m begging you to look deeper. I am crying out for help. You see those words I told you were a whole bunch of damn lies.”
Listening to these talented young poets made me want to pull out my drum kit and play along with them.
They provided forceful reminders of the power of words in the hands of young people – and how our youth has so much to teach adults.
This afternoon’s visit to Oakland was yet another reminder that it is our common unity, or community, that creates purpose for our work.
This was my 11th stop on an exciting 12-stop virtual tour, Holding Space: A national conversation series with libraries. My goal is to spotlight how libraries of all kinds across the country are addressing the needs of their diverse communities and engaging stakeholders to advocate for libraries.
Support America’s libraries by urging Congress to support the Library Stabilization Fund Act. Take action to keep #LibrariesStrong!
For more information, visit the Holding Space website or follow #ALAHoldingSpace.
