The Fight for Inclusive Libraries

Purpose & objective

1. Participants will leave with a historical perspective of DEI efforts in education.
2. Participants will receive updated information about lawmaker attempts and successes to legislate DEI efforts in education as well as ban CRT in schools.
3. Participants will receive tools and information for dealing with challenges and censorship attempts.

Educational or infrastructure challenge/situation:

Public education detractors are waging an actual assault on academic freedom. They are creating a moral panic about something they call "critical race theory," and attempting to use state power to muzzle educators and suppress the study of history and racism. Their version of CRT is a made-up bogeyman being used to suppress honest discussion about American history and racism.

The immediate context here is that the George Floyd protests have inspired many schools to reexamine their curricula, which are very often out of date or an outright whitewash of history. In response, many school districts and universities have incorporated new scholarship, to take better account of the manifestly ongoing problem of racist injustice. The wording of the laws to ban CRT or chill tough conversations about history and racism in the classroom is extremely vague because the point is to instill fear in teachers and censor DEI efforts.

Lesson plans or instructional activities/strategies employed:

The American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom has long been a guide to librarians to safeguard access to information and promote intellectual freedom in libraries and library collections. We have numerous resources to share to equip school librarians, schools, and school systems with the tools they need should censorship come knocking.

Evidence of success:

Each of the panelists have faced censorship and CRT challenges and have first have knowledge and experience on how to respond and protect the rights of students and educators.

Outline

Content and activities: What content will be presented and/or in what activities will the audience participate?

Panelist introductions: 5 Minutes

Brief history of where we are and how we got here: 15 minutes

20 minutes Panelist Q&A: Moderator will steer the conversation around panelist experiences and how others should respond in similar circumstances.

20 minutes Audience Q&A: During the panel discussion, participants will use a tech tool to 1. Ask questions the panelists can respond to in real time at the end. 2. Ask questions they need to keep private or need lengthier responses to. 3. Share their own experiences and resources for censorship and CRT challenges.

Supporting research

References
From ALA’s OIF:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rZYUbWTFfLyjOVHdbQx3vv-NP42yZDKU/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OPtbdvkfnRigdPsyR9Uf8Pky8lhNdiNy/view

ALA Statement on Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi wrote a fantastic statement in response to being listed in ALA’s Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2020.
VOYA, Black Lives Matter Special Edition (attached)

Letter to Manitowoc Public Library in support of their staff diversity training using Project Ready. (attached & article)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilanaredstone/2021/07/18/a-straightforward-primer-on-critical-race-theory-and-why-it-matters/?fbclid=IwAR13hVs5aAX1XmxQjRpqZIGBvqeuWxn0wnbgeo0dwS26AaqFugdzQnFaMCE&sh=37e6c1473212

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/opponents-critical-race-theory-are-arguing-themselves/619391/

https://youtu.be/S1bkSc1T6MY

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/how-a-conservative-activist-invented-the-conflict-over-critical-race-theory

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/561549-to-understand-the-history-wars-follow-the-paper-trail?fbclid=IwAR135dPf4XskLbt-lpFrzM5Nh-h6qP0o5LdiNouZlsm0uJk_Xy-Wr1NJilo

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/critical-race-theory-invades-school-boards-help-conservative-groups-n1270794

Citizens Renewing America A to Z Toolkit:
https://citizensrenewingamerica.com/issues/combatting-critical-race-theory-in-your-community/

https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/why-critical-race-theory-matters-in-policy-making-now-more-than-ever/

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1403359312509128713.html

https://twitter.com/zinnedproject/status/1403575306963800064?s=21

https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1403281202338013184?s=21

Sylvia Duckworth IG images from Awaken Librarian Tweet: https://twitter.com/awakenlibrarian/status/1396340338164391938?s=21
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05

https://twitter.com/iamamnanawaz/status/1402671884139958275?s=21
Leading Equity Podcast: LE 194: What You Need to Know About Critical Race Theory with Hedreich Nichols from Dr. Sheldon Eakins

https://twitter.com/sheldoneakins?s=21

https://leadingequity.libsyn.com/le-194-what-you-need-to-know-about-critical-race-theory-with-hedreich-nichols?tdest_id=1676870

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/05/22/how-critical-race-theory-came-to-dominate-education-debates-in-texas/

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/05/28/bill-aiming-to-limit-critical-race-theory-derailed-by-parliamentary-procedure/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=What+s+included+in+GOP-backed+Texas+elections+bill%2C+Mavs+fall+to+Clippers+in+Game+3%2C+hurricane+outlook+for+D-FW%3A+Your+weekend+roundup&utm_campaign=WeekendRoundup_05302021&vgo_ee=kJaIRje7u4NUnxRyjz60PgA3SuMkJhmkGexv49sZvNU%3D

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/four-states-have-placed-legal-limits-on-how-teachers-can-discuss-race-more-may-follow/2021/05?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=tu&M=60069521&U=&UUID=a9ce7d3c1d1073ef82aaaf11b71435a0

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/gops-critical-race-theory-fixation-explained/618828/

https://www.futurehindsight.com/why-does-the-right-hate-critical-race-theory/

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/a-lesson-on-critical-race-theory/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en/article/93yy5d/conservatives-wont-rest-until-everyone-stops-teaching-kids-critical-race-theory

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theweek.com/articles-amp/982474/republicans-dishonest-war-against-critical-race-theory

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nationalreview.com/2021/05/a-welcome-backlash-against-critical-race-theory/amp/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/republican-push-ban-critical-race-theory-reveals-ugly-truth-opinion-1588684%3Famp%3D1

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/618894/

https://www.allsides.com/news/2021-05-04-0957/schools-expand-racial-equity-work-conservatives-see-new-threat-critical-race

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theepochtimes.com/conservative-parent-groups-working-to-reclaim-schools-from-leftists_3793634.html/amp

http://bostonreview.net/race-politics/david-theo-goldberg-war-critical-race-theory

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/critical-race-theory-battles-are-driving-frustrated-exhausted-educators-out-n1273595

All Bills: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/07/02/why-are-states-banning-critical-race-theory/#_edn1

https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/HB3979/2021