YALSA releases statement on racial injustice

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has released its statement on racial injustice.

YALSA's mission focuses on ways to alleviate the challenges that teens face. The YALSA Board strongly condemns police brutality and racism in all its forms. It stands with the work of organizations throughout the country and world such as Black Lives Matter and the NAACP that spotlight the injustices faced by Black communities. YALSA seeks to partner with these groups in ways that keep with our mission. YALSA calls on elected officials to provide better funding for community programs and institutions that support Black teens.

The many peaceful youth-led protests for change and justice, in cities throughout the United States, shows that teens have agency and can make a difference in their communities. The Board has taken action to embed elements of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in all of the work that YALSA does.

In 2018, YALSA's EDI Statement was issued, and the Board began the implementation of the EDI Plan. As part of the EDI plan, School's Out Washington provided training on structural racism to the Board at ALA Midwinter 2020. Currently, YALSA is working on creating and implementing professional development on this and other vital issues for our members. As it stands, YALSA has not yet done enough. Still, going forward, YALSA will continue to strive to work toward a more equitable association, profession, and library services for young adults.

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org