I recently
listed to the audiobook, Robert F.
Kennedy: Ripples of Hope: Kerry Kennedy in Conversation with Heads of State,
Business Leaders, Influencers, and Activists about Her Father's Impact on Their
Lives. In this book, Kerry, a human rights activist and RFK’s seventh
child, talks to a number of interesting and notable people who shared their
thoughts on Robert Kennedy’s impact on their life and the world.
I well remember
the night RFK was shot and now, more than 50 years later, this book shows the
impact that he had on many people, regardless of their political affiliation. The
book highlights, among other things, the speech that Robert Kennedy made in
South Africa in 1966 during the very difficult days of Apartheid. In this
speech, he shares words that in today’s fractured political environment we need
to both hear and heed.
"We must recognize the full
human equality of all of our people before God, before the law and in the
councils of government. We must do this, not because it is economically
advantageous, although it is; not because the laws of God command it, although
they do; not because people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the
single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do."
He also
talks about the powerful impact that a single individual can make and how
together we can change the world.
"It is from numberless
diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a
man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes
out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each
other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build
a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and
resistance."
Even though
I grew up in Canada and came of age in the late ’60s and early ’70s, I remember
the Summer of Love in 1967, the death of Martin Luther King in 1968, Woodstock
in 1969, and the shootings at Kent State in 1970. These showed a troubled time
for many youths as they protested against the Vietnam War and for some, the
seeming senselessness of modern life, with its phrase of “tune on, tune in,
drop out.” It was a period of passion, angst, unrest, and ennui. In many ways,
the zeitgeist or ethos of today is the same.
One of the
privileges in working in higher education is getting to work with students,
most who are at a point where they are excited about life and its possibilities
and also when many of them are passionate about making the world a better
place. Their optimism, energy, and passion gives me hope.
One of my
interests is the role that academic libraries can play in creating intellectual
discourse and engagement on campus. While libraries build collections and offer
programming that is broad and aims for diversity, it is important to
acknowledge that our historic collections and practices reflect a Eurocentric,
Christian view of the world, and that we have systematically ignored minority
views and materials that provide perspectives of billions of people whose
experience of the world is different. This has increased the marginalization
that students from underrepresented groups have felt, has limited their
research opportunities, and also has kept the dominant group of students and
faculty from learning about people and cultures unlike ourselves.
One of the
key parts of almost every university’s mission is to prepare students to be
productive citizens in today’s global world. Today, at least here in the United
States, we are suffering from anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, racism, and a
lack of tolerance for anyone’s view but our own. While we cannot quickly and
easily fix all of past wrongs, we can, going forward, be more inclusive and
create a dialog that leads to better understanding. Because Libraries belong to
the entire intellectual and social endeavor of the university, we are uniquely
positioned to play a role that facilitates at least some of the important,
difficult, and challenging questions and conversations on campus.
Librarians
and libraries play a number of roles on campus. We are collectors,
distributors, teachers, planners, stewards, creators, etc. Two roles, that I
like, are not often referenced; namely those of catalyst and provocateur. Dictionary.com
defines “catalyst” as a person whose talk, enthusiasm, or energy causes others
to be more friendly, enthusiastic, or energetic. - https://www.dictionary.com/browse/catalyst
and “provocateur” as a writer, artist, political
activist, etc. whose works, ideas, or activities are regarded as a threat to accepted values or
practices https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/provocateur.
On the
surface, these may seem to be strange roles for libraries/librarians but they
are, I believe, roles we should play in order to use our spaces, collections,
services, and staff to engender intellectual conversation in our libraries and
on campus. Our collections, our programs, our exhibits should push the
boundaries and make us think, reflect, and at times, change our minds.
I think
libraries should celebrate events like Black History Month, Women’s History
Month, and LGBT History Month, especially when the celebration goes beyond a
mere book display. We should be using these opportunities to both make our
libraries safe spaces but also brave spaces where we engage in difficult
conversations that move our cultural understanding forward.
Here are
some examples to consider in engaging the campus in ways that engender dialog.
- Host a Native American spirit dance with a follow-up discussion on NA spirituality
- Ask a political science professor to talk about protests in the modern era
- Invite the student groups that represent Muslim countries to host a conversation on the Muslim faith and what it means to be a Muslim in the western world
- Host a conversation on changing gender roles
- Sponsor a social justice day
- Ask the diversity office to offer a workshop on microaggressions
- Have an education faculty talk on language shaming and the effect this has on students
- Mount an exhibit on any topic that will challenge peoples beliefs
- Create a competitive exhibits program that invites faculty to propose an exhibit and accompany a lecture on an interesting/controversial topic
- Create a faculty lecture series that allows faculty to present their research to their colleagues and students
- Host a voter registration event, complete with information on how students can register in their home state or where they are attending school
- Host at least one event that challenges the status quo either in society, on campus, in higher education, or globally
- Have librarians participate in student learning communities or in camps one book programs
"It is from numberless
diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a
man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes
out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each
other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build
a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and
resistance." - RFK
