It’s Not Us, It’s Them: Characteristics of Anti-Racist Supervisors and Managers in the Library Profession
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Linda Jolivet
Linda Jolivet has worked in university, public and community college libraries. Ms. Jolivet served in various positions for the Oakland Public Library system before retiring in the Fall of 2014. She has served as a presenter at several BCALA conferences over the past 20 years. In 2018 she was a presenter at the JCLC in Albuquerque, NM. She has authored several articles and written book reviews for a number of library and literary publications. Over the past five years, she has participated as a judge/reviewer for the IBPA Awards (Independent Book Publishers Association). Currently, Ms. Jolivet works as a part-time Reference Librarian for Peralta Community Colleges.
Recent literature on the topic of Anti-Racism and white privilege has lead me to contemplate on some characteristics of an anti-racist library manager.
Allows staff of Color to express themselves in their own cultural and linguistic manner .
Does not demand staff to assimilate to be accepted.
Examines their supervisory style as it pertains to their own sense of privilege.
Examines their background and understanding of communities of Color.
Encourages expressions of cultural identity, i.e. hairstyles, dress, program ideas, communication with community members of their culture and race, etc.
Mentors and coaches staff of color in growing in their job as well as in the profession.
Participates in formal anti-racist training.
Acknowledges their privilege.
Is proactive in encouraging open honest dialogue without feeling threatened.
Treats all staff with respect.
Develops sensitivity in comments and statements, for example, avoids telling staff they are “so articulate”, “they are very bright” or being fixated on their hairstyles.
Does not impose “friendship” as a condition of good standing in the workplace.
As a practitioner and observer of the library profession for the past 30 years, I have come to some hard sought-after realizations regarding diversity, equality, and white privilege in this White female-dominated profession. Workshops, conversations, training, studies, conferences seeking to examine the lack of diversity in the profession have failed to move the bar in any substantial manner to effect real overall change in the library profession. So often, librarians of Color complain about the lack of hiring of qualified candidates by predominantly white managers. Many great librarians leave the profession greatly disillusioned and disappointed. Many work hard yet never get promoted, and are often underrated in their annual evaluations. Conversations often become cynical, with library staff of color concluding that frequently, managers want a “diverse pool of applicants'' for “show.” Too often the candidate selected looks like those in place as managers and supervisors. White managers’ emotional and cultural comfort level so often takes priority over the search for diverse qualified staff.
I worked for a library system with a population of students of color (mostly Latino and African American) in the majority in the city’s public schools, but somehow the system at one time had zero African American children’s librarians, and only one Latino children’s librarian. It always occurred to me that at the Children’s Services meetings, the librarians could look around and say, “something is wrong with this picture”. The librarians were mostly white, and did not reflect the ethnicity, the culture, or the lived experience of the children in the schools they were serving. Most did not live in the city they worked in, and most were not even from the area they worked in. A startling lack of diversity in the administration in that system has been an issue for many decades.
So often White female managers want reassurance and expect librarians of color to spend “buddy” time. An example of this is “Some of us are going for sushi after work, want to join us?” This may make a librarian of color feel pressured to spend after work time sharing information about their personal lives. Perhaps they never in life ate sushi and don’t want to try it. Maybe they might want to go to another part of town for soul food or Korean food, or tacos. It’s the power dynamic that could be uncomfortable, especially if they are the only person of color or one of two professionals of color. A more thoughtful democratic method might be to ask via email, take suggestions for dinner spots, make a list of places in advance for quarterly gatherings and make it clear that there is no obligation. If a few librarians have been working together for many years, and have developed a friendship, they could allow the new person of color to get to know them on the job first. Also, having lunch together is more in line with the work day and gives the person permission to stay in “work” mode and discuss work-related topics.
“Real change in the library profession will occur when librarians of the majority begin to examine their own ‘white privilege.’ ”
Real change in the library profession will occur when librarians of the majority begin to examine their own “white privilege.” Either they are serving their communities or they are serving themselves. Often these managers become defensive, and as one said to me, “ You don’t think a white librarian can serve students of color?” The privilege in that statement was not something that the manager contemplated. What I heard was, “ the lived experience, shared culture, identity, ease of communication with other people of color--does not add value, your life experience is not more important than my privilege to minimize it.” This diminishes the value of cultural competency.
Librarians of European descent need to examine their sincerity in hiring staff for the communities they serve and whether or not they possess cultural competence. They should stop demanding that librarians of color be “ white women with a tan”. Librarians and staff of Color often think: “If I just work harder, create more programs, meet all the deadlines, don’t upset anyone--be almost perfect--someone will notice how much I have accomplished.” Too often that is not what happens. Too often their ideas are ignored, or re-packaged and someone else gets the credit. Sometimes passion for one’s community and connections and ease of communication with those community members of a shared culture or ethnicity is viewed with suspicion or jealousy. Microaggressions too often are displayed in managing library workers of color.
The conversations, workshops, concerns, and lack of professional mobility and diversity will continue to exist until those of the dominant culture in the library profession sincerely work towards becoming anti-racist on a daily basis.
The articles/resources below are recommended reading for ALL members of the profession but especially supervisors and managers who strive to be anti-racist.
RESOURCE LIST
BOOKS
Kendi, Ibram X. How to Be Anti-Racist: A Simple and Practical Guide to Learn How To Treat Each Race With Dignity, Eliminate Racial Prejudice, and Stop Discrimination. New York, Random House Publishing Group, 8-13-2019 ISBN 13-9780525509288
Saad, Layla. Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism,Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor. Naperville, IL: Publisher:Sourcebooks, 1-26-2920 ISBN 9781728209807
Oluo, Ijeoma. So You Want to Talk about Race. New York, NY: Basic Books, 9-24-2019 ISBN 9718580058827
DiAngelo, Robin. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Boston, MA Beacon Press, 11-17-2020 ISBN: 97807047408
ARTICLES
Carroll, Grace. “Mundane Extreme Environmental Stress and African American Families: A Case for Recognizing Different Realities.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies, vol. 29, no. 2, Summer 1998, pp. 271–284. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/jcfs.29.2.271.
Experience and Consequences of Perceived Racial Discrimination: A Study of African Americans
Broman, Clifford L., et al. “The Experience and Consequences of Perceived Racial Discrimination: A Study of African Americans.” Journal of Black Psychology, vol. 26, no. 2, May 2000, pp. 165–180, 10.1177/0095798400026002003. Accessed 20 Sept. 2020. In-text citation: (Broman et al.)
Rethinking the Eurocentric Library Workplace: A Multi-faceted Process.
Jolivet, Linda C.; Knowles, Em Claire. Reference Librarian, n54 p103-14 1996
Highlights include a selected bibliography and a survey instrument that analyzes the dominant culture of a workplace. (Author/LRW)Descriptors: Bibliographies, Cultural Differences, Cultural Pluralism, Libraries, Library Administration, Minority Groups, Promotion (Occupational), Surveys, Work Environment. ERIC Number: EJ529660. Record Type: Journal. Publication Date: 1996. ISBN: N/A ISSN: ISSN-0276-3877
WEBSITES
Multnomah County Oregon incorporates cultural competencies in its job descriptions. https://multco.us/assessment-taxation/core-competency-behavioral-descriptions
Sankofa Consultants Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group. https://sankofaconsultantsgroup.ca/en/home