Call to Action: October 16, 2021

Please consider taking action on this message from our friend Anya Tanyavutti.
Trigger warning: dehumanizing exposure of children and adults to racism at the Evanston Public Library.

If you have the bandwidth, humor me a story and a call to action:

My children love to read and generally love to go to the library, they have considered it a safe space. On their last library trip, per usual, they each excitedly brought a stack of books home. As we turned in for bed, Aden eagerly handed me a book to read to them “PopularMMOs: a hole new world.”

As I began to read it the tone and vocabulary were sending me red flags- the femme lead described as clumsy, and the cat “Savage” but the character description of the sole black character as “not very bright” yet the “biggest fan” of the white femme protagonist was a blaring alarm only further echoed when the villain was revealed to be a hateful and destructive doppleganger to the white femme protagonist, who was described in soft flattering terms, the only difference being her exaggerated big lips.

I was disappointed to have to turn a moment of warmth and relaxation into a lesson about white supremacy for my children, but to protect the hearts and minds of my children I had to. I explained that the book seemed to have some elements of anti blackness and that we’d have to be aware of that as we read.

The portrayal of the characters was tinged throughout by classic white supremacists stereotypes and relational tropes, it was mostly subtle and implicit until the end when the villain’s origin story was revealed, essentially concluding that women with big lips (read black women) are ugly, jealous, and dangerous- it took what started as death by a thousand papercuts of implicit racism and drove it home with a bludgeoning of explicit racism (you’ll have to read it for yourself in the attached images). I could barely read it aloud to the kids, I was so hurt, infuriated, triggered. We read it and discussed it however, my children were shocked, hurt, embarrassed to have selected the book (which is NOT their burden to bear). It became a teachable moment all around- my oldest having already read it independent of our read aloud admitted she had not caught the implicit harm but instead had internalized it as true ” I thought the Carter (the black character) was bad?”. I have a master’s degree in socio cultural studies and educational thought do was able to facilitate an age appropriate teachable moment about racism in media with them, but what if I was not. What is they had only read the book without me, as many children before then likely did? They would be left harmed by this, either confused and hurt by the racist messaging from a place they thought was safe or worst harmed by the internalization of those messages as true.

This should NOT be the resulting experience from a trip to a local library. Having to have this level of vigilance when engaging the library is stressful and painful. My children love the library we shouldn’t have to choose the library or our emotional health. Institutions can become anti racist and safe for all, if they try.

In a city where we pay mad taxes for city resources. In a city that is racially, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse. In a city that claims to be progressive…children and families of diverse backgrounds should be physically and emotionally safe to enjoy the library that they are paying to exist. We should be able to trust the resources and staff to be safe.

To drive the message home that Black folx- black children are NOT safe with Evanston Public Library, however, this week a librarian that we employ thought it would be an acceptable choice to prominently feature a WHITE NATIONALIST SYMBOL (thin blue line flag. TW image attached) on a book display. What culture and climate of work allows for a decision such as this to go from belief, concept to live racist action without question or intervention? None of this person’s peers saw it fit to suggest that it was inhumane and violent to the Black patrons to display such imagery. Not only does the library not employ a diverse and demographically representative staff, but they have created a culture and climate that allows racist children’s literature to enter into and remain comfortably in circulation and a violent racist imagery to be put on display. An apology has been issued​*​, but where’s the accountability how can we ensure our safety or that of our children’s impressionable hearts and minds? I’m not buying it.

Evanston Public Library: what are you going to do to ensure the safety of Black patrons, we too, fund you and you should also serve us. Does our existence and safety matter to you? We don’t want to be placated with an empty apology, we deserve protection and commitment to substantiative change. How will you make amends for the harm that you’ve done? How many children read that racist graphic novel and internalized those messages as true “Black people are not very bright, Black people are envious of white people, Black features, such as big lips, are ugly”. Besides being patently untrue, these racist ideas are the foundation of dehumanizing beliefs, these ideas harm children (see this recent scientific study: https://lsa.umich.edu/…/adolescence-and-anti-black…)- EPL how are you actively undermining racist beliefs and behaviors to ensure the physical and emotional safety of every single patron especially the Black patrons of color targeted by the incidences above?!?!

CALL TO ACTION- For our children and all of us, in accountability- with love and with hopes and dreams for antiracist institutions that we can be proud of, that are safe and loving to all:

If you are committed to funding a library system that does not use its resources to dehumanize Black people and tender us unseen and unsafe, I implore you to hold the library board accountable to create policy and oversight that will properly train and prepare and hold to account its employees at all levels to create a high quality, antiracist, inclusive and loving institution for our community, by doing the following:

1. Attend their next board meeting (October 20, 6:30 pm). Find the calendar here: https://www.epl.org/…/board-of-trustees/agendas-minutes/

2. Email the board of trustees now: at-library-trustees@cityofevanston.org

3. And sign up to give a public comment to their Board via phone or video at: https://forms.gle/ENo3s6XsH1X1pRdu5​