"In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate." ― Toni Morrison
"In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist." - Angela Davis
“What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?” ― Angie Thomas
“If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you recognize that your liberation and mine are bound up together, we can walk together.” – Lilla Watson
"Guilt is not a response to anger; it is a response to one’s own actions or lack of action. If it leads to change then it can be useful, since it is then no longer guilt but the beginning of knowledge. Yet all too often, guilt is just another name for impotence, for defensiveness destructive of communication; it becomes a device to protect ignorance and the continuation of things the way they are..." ― Audre Lorde
"My grandmother and my two aunts were an exhibition in resilience and resourcefulness and black womanhood. They rarely talked about the unfairness of the world with the words that I use now with my social justice friends, words like "intersectionality" and "equality", "oppression", and "discrimination." They didn't discuss those things because they were too busy living it, navigating it, surviving it." ― Janet Mock
Racism is a pervasive social and structural problem that impacts everyone in the United States, from schools to salaries to interactions with law enforcement.
It is not enough to passively be against racism, we must actively be anti-racist in our lives, our jobs, our institutions. We can learn to examine our biases as white people at any age, but we cannot wait to teach children because they are young. Learning to see racism and stand against it is something that is a lifelong process and there are age-appropriate ways to introduce it to every audience.
As Brooklyn Public Library, a public institution that serves Brooklyn and beyond, it is our duty to create inclusive and accessible services and spaces that meet the cultural, educational, and informational needs of our community. This guide is for people of all kinds... librarians, library staff, students, educators, parents, activists, and everyone in between to move beyond simply being an ally and move towards being an accomplice in the fight for justice and challenge issues of race, racism, police violence, privilege, social justice, and civil rights. Black Lives Matter!
Racism 101: Read about what racism actually refers to and how it is different from prejudice or bias. There's also a glossary of relevant contemporary and historical terms including Anti-Racism, Cultural Appropriation, Intersectionality, and Racial Capitalism.
Learn More Online: If you're ready to go deeper, read—and research for more—materials on issues of race, racism, civil rights, and social justice. We've included links to some articles plus a wide list of databases, syllabi, curricula, and other projects, including many of BPL's subscription resources that are free to access with your library card. If you're a writer yourself, we also have a sidebar of resources for writing about race.
Get Involved: At some point, it's time to put down the research and engage with the world. We've listed dozens of organizations both New York-based and national in the categories of Civil Rights, Disability Rights, Immigrant & Refugee Rights, Prison Industrial Complex, LGBT2SQIA+ Rights, and Women's Rights.
Books & Reading Lists: While taking actions large and small, we must also keep to an ongoing practice of learning. Here you can find booklists filled with Black, brown, and indigenous authors and voices, for all ages. And have you ever heard of decolonizing your bookshelf? We've included a sidebar that explains how.
Watch & Listen: Find ideas for feature films and documentaries to watch on your own or with a group. We've also curated a selection of online videos and video-based projects—including some aimed at young people—along with a sidebar of great podcasts.
For Librarians & Educators: Are you an educator or library worker? This section compiles professional and community-led projects, organizations, writing style guides, and other resources to help us combat racism through our work—and beyond.
We are gathered on the un-ceded homeland of the Lenape people. Please join us in acknowledging and paying our respects to this community, their members past and present, as well as all future generations of Lenape people. Brooklyn Public Library acknowledges that it was founded on the intentional exclusions, genocide and erasure of the Lenape. We are committed to working to dismantle the ongoing legacies and repercussions of settler colonialism. This acknowledgement is only the beginning of this critical effort.