The Social Responsibilities Round Table endorses the BCALA statement below and condemns the systematic social injustices of Black people and people of color.
The BCALA roundly condemns the death of George Floyd
May 27, 2020
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association has a history of not only opposing racist acts against black people, but condemning such acts. The BCALA roundly condemns the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers within the Minneapolis Police Department.
Since George Floyd is the latest in a long line of recent and historical violence against black people in the United States, the BCALA takes this moment to encourage proactive and preventive measures in the fight against racism for its membership as well. In the spirit of that resolve BCALA encourages its members to take action as moved by their conscience beyond this statement with the methods employed by our predecessors and those unique to the 21st century.
● Calls to politicians in the Minnesota area.
● Active, but peaceful protest on the streets
● Vlogs, Blogs and other social media platforms
● Letter writing campaigns
● Podcasts
● Voting (both locally and nationwide)
● Attend policy making meetings in your area to make your opinions known
● Run for office to be a voice for historically disenfranchised groups and librarians.
The BCALA stands firm in its condemnation of the systematic social injustices of Black people and people of color. It is necessary for the membership to be proactive not only when someone in our community is harmed, but preventive in anticipating historically sanctioned violence by participating in your local efforts to counter racism and violence against black men and women. The systemic machinery of racism does not sleep and neither should we in our efforts to counter it.
Respectfully submitted,
The Officers and Members of The Black Caucus of the American Library Association
Officers:
Richard E. Ashby, Jr., (F.O.R. Sto-Rox Public Library, McKees Rocks Pennsylvania), President
Shauntee Burns-Simpson, (The New York Public Library, New York, New York), Vice President
Brenda Johnson-Perkins, (Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Maryland), Secretary
Brandy McNeil, (The New York Public Library, New York, New York), Treasurer
Denyvetta Davis, (Retired, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Immediate Past President
EDI Ad Hoc Committee
Conrad Pegeus, ( University of Tennessee at Martin), Chair
View the full post at https://www.facebook.com/blackcaucusala/posts/2657006834624754.
Read more about SRRT's Commitment to the Struggle Against Racism