Posted on 03/25/2017 12:29:18 PM PDT by rightistight
April Hathcock, an attorney and NYU librarian, argues that "whiteness... has permeated every aspect of librarianship" and must be "dismantled."
Her article, titled "White Librarianship in Blackface: Diversity Initiatives in LIS," offers ways to "correct for whiteness" in the field of librarians.
"It is no secret that librarianship has traditionally been and continues to be a profession dominated by whiteness," Ms. Hathcock begins her piece.
"In this article, I use whiteness to refer not only to the socio-cultural differential of power and privilege that results from categories of race and ethnicity;" she writes. "It also stands as a marker for the privilege and power that acts to reinforce itself through hegemonic cultural practice that excludes all who are different."
Citing scholars who have tackled the "problem" of "whiteness" in libraries, Hathcock continues, "As Branche (2012) notes, "Whiteness and white normativity are embedded in U.S. library culture.""
Because of this, Hathcock argues, despite "diversity initiatives" to rid the librarian field of whiteness, they are not working.
In fact, asking prospective librarians for a "completed application" and "resume" are hardships because they are "situated in positions of white, middle-class, cisgender normativity that allow for the temporal, financial, and educational privilege."
She continues, "These applications are created particularly to recruit for whiteness and require the ability to play at whiteness in order to succeed."
Libraries accross the country must wash away "the blackface of white librarianship."
Ms. Hathcock concludes, "The first step is to help diverse applicants navigate the whiteness of the profession and make a concerted effort to dismantle whiteness from within." She adds, "In doing so, we can recreate the profession into one that truly embraces inclusivity. We can wash away our white librarianship in blackface."
I have been on search committees to hire two college librarians. The minimum requirements are a MLS (Master of Library Science) or an MLIS (Master of Library Information Systems). And of course a desire to help all students who ask for assistance in research, checking out books, and so forth. Whiteness? What the heck is she talking about?
As an aside, almost all of the candidates have BA degrees in history, English, philosophy, studies (put any adjective in front of that word). In 8 different searches I have not seen a candidate with a BA or BS degree in finance, accounting, marketing, engineering (any kind) or mathematics.
Delusion runs deep
Requires a masters in library science
The aspects of behavior that Ms. Hathcock calls “whiteness”, the rest of society calls civilization.
We (members of civilized society) are not acting or being “white”. White is not our identity.
We are simply civilized people who work to learn and earn. We take care of our responsibilities. We obey legitimate and moral laws. We treat legitimate authorities with due respect.
When there is a problem in our communities, we take initiative to fix it.
We pull our pants up in public. We don’t go out of our way to make other people feel threatened or intimidated. We don’t sing about killing people, doing drugs, and whoring around.
Again, we are not white people. We are civilized members of society, which Hathcock thinks are all just whites acting white.
You and other blacks who have not yet joined us are welcome to do so, but you must leave your subculture and counterculture agitating out of it if you truly want to be accepted and fit in.
The reality is that people like Hathcock can never be pleased. If whites do not shape themselves to fit into her culture, it is “microaggression” and she feels marginalized. If whites embrace parts of her culture, it is “cultural appropriation” and she is also offended.
Bottom line, Ms. Hathcock. We aren’t at all interested in what you’re selling. But I’m sure the socialists in the Democrat party will make you feel quite at home because the one thing that their members all have in common is being perpetually aggrieved.
Well said!
She appears to be eating well in the racist, heterosexual patriarchy.
Ye gods and Aunt Jemima!
Give the racist clown a loincloth and spear and then send her out to the African savanna to see if she can make a living chasing zebras and water buffaloes without the white man’s help.
Hey April.
Pull any ten books at random off the shelves at your library.
What color is the ink??
I rest my case.
How dare that libraries want a resume or expect job applicants to fill out an application. I would have thought that was satire but it isn’t.
Is she saying she didn’t have to submit a resume or fill out a job application?
They’ve already started that.
Schoolchildren use them as free aftercare (their parents send them there until they are home from work). They are somewhat supervised by an adult, and somewhat safe...
This idiot’s rant is just a plea for workfare jobs; she’d be fine with an illiterate librarian as long as he/she is black.
Blacks have become aware that there are white people making money in the hood - and they want to change that. They conveniently ignore the fact that few of those jobs are funded by black taxpayers, or that few blacks are qualified to do them.
Yikes!....
11-12.8%
Depending who’s counting
Going down
Illegals
Started what? To create a nation of ill-educated illiterates who live in a fantasy world of their own creation, until a person of diversity shouts, “Allah U Akbar” (translation: my god is greater than your god). Which is ironic and needless thing to say, since the ill-educated illiterates have no god other than themselves.
Well I learned a new word today. Normativity. One thing that confuses me is temporal privilege. Anyone know what it is? All I can come up with is timing is everything.
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