Antiracism 201: Digging Deeper in Antiracist Library Cultures
Take the next step in your antiracism journey and learn even more you can do to transform your library or classroom culture.
Extend your learning and save more by pairing this course with its companion course, How To Build an Antiracist Library Culture—starting Feb. 21. View bundle discounts at registration.
Course Overview
Guest speaker sessions via Zoom:
Wednesdays, May 10, 17, and 24, from 2:00-4:00 pm ET (recordings available)
Workshop:
Asynchronous, facilitator-led workshop over 3 weeks
Antiracism and DEI work - both personal and professional - are not destinations; they are ongoing, lifelong journeys, and librarians and educators are often at very different places in those journeys. This intermediate to advanced course will assume attendees come with foundational antiracism knowledge and are ready to engage in deeper, more transparent discussion and engagement related to DEI theories and practices. You will learn tenets of antiracist theories and methodologies to inform and transform your external operations and your internal library culture. This course will end with a ‘train the trainer’ session so that you can feel prepared to begin leading important conversations about antiracism in your library, regardless of your position.
You’ll complete assignments over 3+ weeks in an interactive online classroom environment with personal coaching from an expert in the field. In addition, you’ll have access to our foundational bonus content—rich supporting materials you can explore at your own pace, including a series of webinars from Library Journal and School Library Journal contributors, readings, activities, and videos.
The transformational speaker program has given thousands of librarians the tools and vision for meaningful change. The live sessions run on Wednesdays, May 10, 17, and 24, from 2:00-4:00 pm ET (recordings available) with an ongoing facilitator-led workshop over 3 weeks. Don’t miss this opportunity!
When you sign up early, you’ll have immediate access to our Early Access On Demand Resources—a series of webinars from Library Journal and School Library Journal contributors along with rich, supporting materials in the form of readings, activities, and videos—to explore at your own pace.
Learning Objectives
When you complete this course, you will gain the skills to:
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Understand tenets of antiracist theories and how they apply to libraries
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Apply antiracist practices to outreach practices
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Reimagine and revise external programs and partnerships through an antiracist lens
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Recruit, hire, retain, and promote staff in an equity-centered way
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Discuss your DEI initiatives and priorities in the hiring process
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Identify and start to resist white supremacits values or qualities in your library’s internal work culture
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Understand and resist respectability politics
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Prioritize relationships, embodiment, and emotional vulnerability
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Respond to staff members or colleagues who are resistant to DEI initiatives
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Make a plan to lead DEI change regardless of your position
Who should take this course
This is an intermediate/advanced course and is appropriate for anyone who already has a foundational understanding of antiracism and/or who has taken How to Build an Antiracist Library Culture. This course is for all levels of educators and librarians, from frontline staff to directors, and is intended for people who wish to go deeper into antiracist theories and methods.
Live sessions are also available on demand for six months
Can’t make a live session? All guest speaker sessions are recorded and available on demand for six months following the initial broadcast.
Certificate of completion provided
15 professional development credits are available
For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co
Accessibility
All guest speaker sessions feature live captioning and are made available on demand after the initial broadcast. Please email libraryjournal@edmaker.co upon registration if you require any special accommodations and we will make our best efforts to facilitate them.
Course Curriculum Advisor
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Christina Fuller-Gregory, Assistant Director of Libraries, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville |
Group Rates
Have a team attend and increase your impact!
Discounted registration fees are available for groups of 3 or more. When you register your team for our online courses, they will be placed in the same small workshop group, where discussions and project-based assignments receive feedback from an experienced librarian.
Send us a request for a quote.
If your group prefers to work separately, just let us know.
By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct.
For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.
Week 1: Leveling up antiracism practices in your library
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET
Understanding Antiracist Theories for Your Library
This session will cover the fundamentals of antiracist theory. You will learn about theories of race, racial identity, and social constructions of power, all from an intersectional lens. You will learn how and why antiracist theories are important in a library context to strengthen your DEI work. This session will establish a foundation for the rest of this course and will provide you with the theoretical understanding to help you deepen your antiracism knowledge.
Speaker:
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Dr. Sara Kaplan, Associate Professor and Executive Director of Antiracist Research and Policy Center, American University |
Workshop Q&A | 2:45-3:00 pm ET
An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course
Session 2 | 3:00-4:00 pm ET
Antiracist Partnerships and Outreach Practices: Applying Antiracism to External Services
This session will rely on the foundations from the previous session to illuminate the theories and strategies that will kick start your journey to being an anti-racist/multicultural organization. In order to fully embed antiracism practices to external programs, organizations must first be committed and devoted to actualizing it in their internal structures.This session will identify both internal and external areas that must be examined and provide a framework for implementing change in those facets.
Speaker:
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Elizabeth Joseph, Assistant Director at New Rochelle Public Library |
Week 2: Transforming your internal library culture
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET
Digging Deeper into Antiracist Hiring and Recruitment Practices
Recruitment, hiring, training, and retention are directly related to antiracism work and all impact the culture of a library. This session will build upon the foundations of antiracist/antibias hiring and recruitment practices to teach you new approaches to implementing antiracist practices. You will learn how to talk about your library’s DEI initiatives and priorities in the hiring process, as well as strategies for increasing diverse staff retention and promotion possibilities.
Speaker:
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Tarida Anantachai (she, her) Director, Inclusion & Talent Management, North Carolina State University Libraries |
Workshop Q&A | 2:45-3:00 pm ET
An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course
Session 2 | 3:00-4:00 pm ET
Unlearning White Supremacy Work Culture in Your Library
What are some insidious ways that white supremacy might be impacting your organizational culture? This session will teach practical tools to unlearn work processes and behaviors that contribute to white supremacy work cultures, including preconceived notions of ‘professionalism’. You will learn how to eschew respectability politics as well as strategies for engaging with others at work in ways that center embodiment, emotional vulnerability, relationality, and other cultural ways of knowing.
Speaker:
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Christina Fuller-Gregory, Assistant Director of Libraries, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville |
Week 3: Leading the DEI change in your library
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET
Changing Your Library’s Culture: Strategies for Meeting Resistance
What is ‘nice racism’ and how might it be impacting your organizational culture? How do you respond to the staff member or colleague who says they are ‘colorblind’? And how do you change the mindset of people who don’t think their minds need to be changed? This session will tackle these questions in an attempt to engage in a discussion about how to do effective DEI work when met with resistance.
Speaker:
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Stephen Jackson, (he, him) Director of Equity and Antiracism, Oak Park Public Library |
Workshop Q&A | 2:45-3:00 pm ET
An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course
Session 2 | 3:00-4:00 pm ET
Leading Change from Where You Are: How to Guide Your Colleagues
Whether or not you're a library leader, you can still drive change for your organization. This session will teach you how to create and run caucuses to get your colleagues talking about antiracism in your library. You will also learn the tools for creating deeper conversations about change that needs to happen in your organization. This session will be modeled after a “train the trainer” session in order to give you tools to begin antiracism conversations and training in your library.
Speaker:
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Dr. Shindale Seale, (she, her) CEO, SEADE Coaching & Consulting |
For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.
Online Course Preview
A preview of how we build your library skills and bring inspiration to your projects with our online learning experience.
Course Format
One-Week Timeline (Course Runs 3+ Weeks)
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DAYS 1-2 On Demand |
DAY 3 2.5 hours |
DAYS 4-7 1-2 hours (optional) |
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PRE-LIVE SESSION - Resources - Discussions - Bonus Content |
LIVE SESSIONS - Guest speakers via webcast - Q&A via chat - Recordings available on demand |
ASYNCHRONOUS WORKSHOP - Project-based homework, applied to your job - Personalized feedback from a facilitator - Group discussion in an asynchronous workshop setting via discussion forum |
3-WEEK WORKSHOP - Facilitator-led feedback WEEK 1 Establish goals and priorities WEEK 2 Prepare for your collection assessment WEEK 3 Begin audit or select materials for a collection |
Inspiring Live Guest Speakers + Facilitated Group Workshop for Project-Based Learning
Live session with Andrea Blackman and Tasneem Ansariyah Grace |
Live Guest Speakers Each Week
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Online Course Features
Recordings of guest speakers |
Recordings Available After The Live Session
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Facilitator-led workshop |
Online Classroom Organizes All Materials
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Early Access On Demand Resources |
Early Access and Ongoing Resources To Support Learning
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