[Michlib-l] Fw: Combatting Hate Via Your Library

[katola13]

Cathy,

Thank you so much for sharing these resources on behalf of YALSA! It is
always good to know what we have at our fingertips, whether we choose to
use the materials professionally or not. Unfortunately in our world today
it is evident that racism, sexism and prejudice still exist. I'm glad to
know YALSA is working to help us combat this in whatever small way we can
in our communities.

As a white woman who grew up in a very homogenous community, I would have
loved to have more diverse experiences prior to college. My life is so much
richer because I went to a diverse college and had conversations with
people from many different cultures and backgrounds. How wonderful that we
might be able to make some of this more possible for the children and teens
we work with every day.  I agree with Sheryl's interpretation, these
resources present a wonderful opportunity to allow youth to connect with
and learn about those who are different from themselves.

Best,

Katie Lawrence

On Mon, Aug 21, 2017 at 10:51 AM, Knox,Sheryl Cormicle <knoxs at cadl.org>
wrote:

> May I just offer a different interpretation of the phrase "especially
> those in predominantly white communities who need to build global
> citizenship skills"?
>
> I didn't interpret that as blame or a guilt trip for homogenous white
> communities, but rather an intriguing opportunity to learn a skill that is
> hard to learn in a homogenous community--how to connect with and form
> friendships with people not like yourself.
>
> It's one thing to read about diverse cultural experiences and quite
> another to experience them. Experiencing diversity, building deep
> friendships, and having meaningful conversations with people whose life
> journeys differ from mine did not happen for me until I left my hometown, a
> homogenous community just east of Flint, MI. It accelerated for me when I
> joined an intentionally diverse faith community later in life. I did not
> realize it at the time, but growing up in that cocoon, while supportive in
> most ways, was limiting in others.
>
> What a wonderful gift for young people to nurture skills that help them
> reach beyond the familiar.
>
> --Sheryl Cormicle Knox
> Just representing myself, not my employer
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org [mailto:michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org] On
> Behalf Of Karyn Ruley
> Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2017 2:16 PM
> To: michlib-l at mcls.org
> Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] Fw: Combatting Hate Via Your Library
>
> "As a reminder, YALSA has resources to help you support youth, especially
> those who may be feeling the brunt of current events.  In addition, YALSA
> has resources to help you promote empathy and understanding among teens,
> especially those in predominantly white communities who need to build
> global citizenship skills to be successful adults in the 21st century."
>
>   I find it incredibly offensive that it is assumed that those in
> "predominantly white communities" would "especially" need more help in
> building "global citizenship skills". While there are, and always will be,
> problems with prejudice in this world, many problems these days are made
> up, overblown, or attributed only to those with light colored skin.
> Racism and prejudice are ugly but go BOTH ways, or ALL ways. And it is
> JUST as ugly to assume someone has these prejudices. The blame needs to
> stop, the guilt needs to stop, and we need to stop dividing ourselves by
> making things more of an issue than they are. We will never achieve
> colorblindness when we keep bringing up color.
>
>   If this is an ACTUAL issue in your particular community, then by all
> means, have a discussion. But that is an individual community issue, not
> something all libraries need to be involved in, if libraries need to be
> involved in them at all. I do not need organizations like YALSA to teach me
> how to think. I am becoming increasingly frustrated with this and other
> library organizations like the ALA and their obvious left leaning political
> agendas.
>
>
> Karyn Ruley
>
> Crawford County Library
> 201 Plum St.
> Grayling, MI
> 49738
> Phone: 989-348-9214
> Fax: 989-348-9294
>
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