In John Kerry’s recent book “Every
Day is Extra” he talks about having looked death in the eye and survived,
and therefore he was given the gift of another day. For Kerry, his experience
in Vietnam and subsequently his surgery for cancer reinforced his life decision
of trying to make a difference. “Finally, every day is extra” means living with
the liberating truth of knowing there are worse things than losing an argument
or even an election -- the worse thing of all would be to waste the gift of an
extra day by sitting on the sidelines indifferent to a problem.” – Foreword –
John Kerry, Every Day is Extra.
While Kerry certainly grew up in a privileged world, at many
points of his life he stepped outside of his privilege to make a difference. While
most of us did not grow up with this type of privilege, (foreign travel, prep
school, prestigious college, etc.) the level of privilege does not equate with
a meaningful life, nor one that makes an impact of making the world just and
humane. At one point he talks about using “all of our gifts” to make a
difference. This struck me as one way to think about diversity and inclusion. Everyone
comes to life with gifts; talents and graces with the potential to make the
world better. Systemic racism and prejudice, not only denies people of color,
LGBTQ people, and other marginalized groups the ability to use their gifts to
the fullest; in many cases denies that these people have any gifts at all.
Over the past half-century, we have seen barriers to access fall,
allowing people of color and others to enroll in colleges and universities. While
the original fight was just getting the universities to open their doors, the
battle of survival was not, and unfortunately still is not easy for many. Diversity
and inclusion programs, while well-intentioned, do not necessarily change
hearts and minds, and usually, do not break through and change the historic and
systemic racism that are part of our organizations.
I currently live in Southern California, one of the most
wondrously diverse areas of the country. While I certainly enjoy the diversity
of people and languages and food, I am not so naïve as to think that there are
parts of greater Los Angeles, where African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, or
LGBTQ people would feel unwelcome. Translating this experience to higher
education, a radically diverse campus, can at times be as intolerant and
unwelcoming as one that is 95 % Caucasian. Being diverse does not necessarily
translate to being inclusive.
As I look across the higher education space, I do think there are
some encouraging signs, despite the increase in hate crimes and other acts of
discrimination that have flared up since the 2016 Presidential election. More
and more I see student services organization within the university recognize
the need for providing “identity spaces” where students of color can gather,
while at the same time building “brave spaces” where difficult issues of
racism, prejudice, and hatred can be discussed and tackled. More faculty and
staff of color are being hired; not with just the intent of increasing the
“numbers” but of giving students an opportunity to interact with faculty and
staff who have their lived experience. Both of these movements, even when they
are not as robust as they should be, are examples where we are allowing those
unlike us to use “all of their gifts” with the realization they have a valuable
contribution to make both to the university and the world at large.
A third area that gives me
hope is the increasing focus on helping our students be global citizens. The
majority of the world is not white and speaks languages other than English.
They are people of a myriad of faith or none at all. Given the current
xenophobia in the United States, it is critical that our students realize that all
of those people out there are not to be feared. Being a global citizen is a
gift.
Later this week, my daughter Rachel and I will be heading to Washington,
DC for the American Library Association Annual Conference. While it will be
great to catch up with friends and colleagues from across the country and
around the world, I am really excited about the wide variety of speakers and
programs that will challenge us not only to be better at our core profession,
but more importantly will challenge us around issues of social justice,
systemic racism, and prejudice.
It is easy to come to a culturally rich conference like this and
be blind to the ways that racism and prejudice affect librarians of color and
other marginalized groups in subtle and not so subtle ways. The gifts of
humility and respect for others will go a long way in making the conference a
positive experience for all.
“All of our gifts” really has a myriad of meanings. It certainly
does mean the gifts that each and every one of us brings to the table. For me,
it also means the gifts that people very different from me bring to the world.
It means the gift of leadership that those in ALA and the library profession
who are committed to making the profession a welcoming and inclusive space;
people like Loida Garcia-Febo, Carla Hayden, Trevor Grigoriev Dawes to name but a few. These
people are not only a gift to the profession, they are people who are using
their gifts to change the world. “All of our gifts” also means those very
public individuals who stand up and make a difference; people like George
Takei, Sonia Sotomayor, and Jason Reynolds.
Every day is extra- What gifts will you use this year to change
the world?
