As I leave ALA Council
There is no sexy story behind it, just an every day juggling of growing responsibilities, tasks, and re-prioritization honest decisions. As far as decisions go, deciding to let my service term with ALA Council expire is the right decision for me.
When I first ran for American Library Association Councilor-At-Large, I knew there would be a high level of commitment that would range from time to financial to emotional. Attendance, in all honesty, is a requirement and a necessity if you are to be an active participant. I looked forward to the challenge, and I knew it would be difficult entering into a governing body that believes itself to be more embracing and engaging than it actually is. This essay is not a reflection of every member who serves on council and governance, yet it is my perspective and my observation that as a body, ALA Council needs more work to do if it really wishes to consider itself an evolving, growing, equitable team.
I’m sure some councilors may see this as a personal attack. Yet, this essay is not that at all. This is my observation, my lived experience and perspective with this governing body. Some might think, “How could I, who have been on Council for so long, ever be considered part of the obstacle? The challenge? The problem?” That is a discussion I am not here to hold, for it must first be an internal assessment of the self in relation to the group.
Nonetheless, this (soon to be) three-year experience provided even more insight into the complexities of change, the challenges and opportunities, and the chance to move from dialog to action and accountability. It was a good experience overall, and I would not change the path I ventured on to arrive here. I’ve learned, and I know I’ve taught…and that is part of honest, life-long learning.
Is resistance (to change) futile?
When I ran for a position as Councilor-At-Large, I understood too well that I was walking into a governing body that was reluctant to change. For years, it was a goal of council to find a new governance structure, which was regularly tabled with more studies and more committees. I wanted to participate in helping to change and streamline the governance group and process. I served, and I contributed to getting that going. After years of stagnation, ALA finally moved forward with recommendations and steps to actually change the governance structure, 2022 was a great year for those changes. Resistance to change, however, is a universal theme in practically all professional fields. That reluctance quickly spilled into back channel conversations and derailment.
The clean version of the criticism lobbed at those of us working on the future governance went like this:
They don’t know what they are doing.
Who do they think they are?
They are taking away my rights.
Everyone I talk with opposes this.
For the record, anytime I asked who the “everyone” is, there was no answer other than “everyone”.
What causes this resistance? For individuals and groups it can be one thing or a combination of things, which are typically rooted in fear of the unknown. I’ve found that lack of trust is often a significant contributor. When people do not trust leadership, when they trust in their own experiences as the only way to do things, resistance is strong, and it is typically a reaction to leadership and the leadership process more than the change itself. Another significant contributor is poor communication. People want to know what is happening, and to have a channel to provide feedback. However, because people are genuinely vested and want to contribute, there must be a clear understanding that a feedback channel may not guarantee every suggestion will be implemented. Feedback channels, and regular communication, are sound practices for honest dialog and participatory leadership and agency. Because we are human, it is absolutely understandable that emotional response is a factor, which I argue is one of the most important contributors in resistance to change.
If you look, you will find resources to assist with minimizing and easing resistance to change. Those that I’ve found most useful are sound practices that can be utilized with team members, individuals, and working groups. Why? Because we are human. It is imperative to have a space for naming the emotions, allowing for space and community that is open to listening and acknowledging that we are human and we come into shared spaces with feelings, emotions, and experiences that may be positive or negative. Creating a space is only part of the solution. The spaces we create must allow active and engaging listening, and listening as a superhighway. Listening is more than taking in what our colleagues resisting change are and are not saying, it is also about creating space where they have the opportunity to hear what all stakeholders are saying about proposed changes. It is a space where as many can listen to each other as a collective instead of adversarial teams. Then it is possible for all stakeholders to begin understanding, and hopefully appreciating, the value of change. Please notice I did not write absolute value, but value, for just as in mathematics value alone may be positive or negative. Still, the goal in value of change is to identify the strengths and challenges, and methodically move towards creating positive value.
Change happens all around us. Is resistance to change futile? I believe change is a constant. It is within our capacity to create the spaces where we can collectively build towards constructive and positive change.
No second term needed
August 22, 2022 was the day I decided not to run for a second term. That was the day that the following release occurred:
The Joint ALA/ARL Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework Task Force’s final draft of the Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity: A Framework was approved by the boards of directors of the four partner organizations, the American Library Association (ALA), Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and Public Library Association (PLA), during summer 2022.
A beautiful step towards a more inclusive environment, an acknowledgement of the foundational exclusionary practices of library sciences, an EDI-centered framework (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) that could bring more discussion and accountability.
Also, it exemplified the disconnect between the words eloquently written and the collective behavior of some ALA council members.
Again, I emphasize that not all ALA council members behaved in the manner I am about to describe, but enough did and even more did not object to the behaviors I noticed.
During my term on council, what many still refer to as microaggresions were too common and often not addressed. They festered, unattended wounds that could have been treated at the root of the problem, exclusionary behavior. Microaggressions, which Tiffany Jana defines as subtle acts of exclusion (SAE), and Ibrahim Kendi defines as abuse because “A persistent daily low hum of racist abuse is not minor,” are so weaved into daily behavior that it was not surprising such behaviors went unnoticed and unchallenged by fellow council members.
A significant amount of professionalism and cordiality was regularly extended to white councilors, even in moments of heated disagreement, which was not extended to councilors and leaders who represent historically marginalized communities, be they elected or employees of ALA, as regularly. I do not like using the term BIPOC, and until I can utilize and find a better term, I will reluctantly utilize this. Historically marginalized people were often questioned on their knowledge of a given subject, interrupted regularly during discussion, and spoken over during opportunities to answer questions.
But what about allies?
Well, much like any other corner of society, some ALA councilors truly understood and practiced being an ally; others attempted to be an ally and I believe that someday they will be prepared to carry that honor. But that leaves everyone else, and I cannot speak about their perceptions and experiences. I can only discuss my perspective, shaped by lenses of privilege and exclusion that I witnessed. Those experiences do, did, and will forge my perspective. My perspective is mine alone, and only privileged persons wielding weapons of abuse would come to deny my experience and the shared exclusionary experiences some of us observed and lived.
Even with many resources available in print and online focusing on how to be an ally, it takes serious commitment and practice to successfully be an ally. Some of my colleagues were amazing and navigated being an ally tremendously. Those who did so, actively participated by intentionally looking at the interactions through a different lens.
Being an ally is difficult and rewarding work, for it expects that an ally acknowledge and recognize the resources, power, and opportunities received that marginalized people are denied. Acknowledgement, nonetheless, is one step of many in a life-long process or learning and unlearning. As a person navigates from acknowledging privilege to learning and unlearning, they often seek feedback from marginalized groups, but must do so with care. Too often, the best of intentions are still selfish because they are done with the goal of absolving guilt. I — talking about me and my wants here — do not want a guilty ally; I want an ally who knows to stand with me because they know of, understand, and see how exclusionary practices and ~isms negatively harm, kill, and destroy lives…for generations. I want an ally who knows they must return to their community and do the necessary work of creating a just society. #NoWhiteSaviorsNeeded. An ally will be a voice for diversity and inclusion when there is none at the decision-making spaces. An ally will challenge biases as naturally as we inhale.
Truth moment
I think that eventually ALA will be doing some really good work, and truly advocating for EDI that is actionable and has some teeth. But I will not be in council to witness it. That is okay. I have hope and faith that we have enough people who are advocating for more change towards social justice and I will be in a different corner of library sciences to cheer for them. ALA has an executive director who understands how to make progress, and has a vision for that progress. Those who are intentionally and/or unintentionally opposing progress will eventually move on, maybe not even elected to office.
I have plenty of work to keep me going right now. So even as I intentionally step away from serving as a councilor-at-large, there are other challenges looming that I am sure will soon be clear.
I am still in a doctoral program for leadership in higher education, where I am focusing on academic libraries; I am still involved in academic libraries through different venues; I am still involved in social justice programs that utilize music. The work that we do, the work that I do will continue. I can’t escape it because I enjoy advocating and working towards changes that actually lead towards social justice, growth, and inclusion. There will be bumps on the road, but at least we are on the road towards a more just and equitable world. And the more we travel this road, clearing paths and removing obstacles, the more that those who follow in our footsteps will be able to push forward past where we leave off.
