Nebraska Library Association Statement Condemning Racism and Violence against Black People and People of Color

Includes links to additional resources, Antiracism: A Starter Booklist, Disrupting Whiteness in Libraries and Librarianship: A Reading List (2019), Scene on Radio Seeing White podcast (2017), and Black Lives Matter Meditations. First two paragraphs: The Nebraska Library Association (NLA) condemns racist and violent acts against Black people and all People of Color (POC). Racist oppression has been with us since before this nation was founded and has been highlighted again by the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and James Scurlock -- and these are only the most recent, high-profile cases. On behalf of the NLA Diversity Committee and of the NLA as a whole, we cannot be silent at this time. It is not enough for us as individuals and as a profession to be passively non-racist: we must be actively anti-racist, as librarians, as members of our communities, and as human beings. Libraries often promote neutrality as a professional value, and there is good intention in this: we seek balanced and open access to knowledge and information for anyone who uses our services