Dismantling the Myths: Evidence-Based Antiracist School Librarianship

Abstract

The long-entrenched belief that “white” equates to inherent racial superiority is intrinsically linked to “racism and pseudo-science used to justify slavery, imperialism, colonialism, and genocide” (Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, n.d.). This widely propagated belief plagues American society maintaining disparities in wealth, health, education, housing, and employment, and disproportionately marginalizing African and Hispanic Americans. The resultant inequities and systemic racial disparities in school practices, policies, and institutional structures sabotage efforts to mediate the inaccuracies of America’s history. School libraries and librarians can provide the materials, resources, and expertise to counter erroneous notions of White superiority while affirming all students’ positive racial identities.

Citation

Newsum, J.M. (2023), "Dismantling the Myths: Evidence-Based Antiracist School Librarianship", Black, K. and Mehra, B. (Ed.) Antiracist Library and Information Science: Racial Justice and Community (Advances in Librarianship, Vol. 52), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 59-65. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-283020230000052007