During a time when political parties are strategizing to jail librarians with criminal charges, a documentary is making sure to set the record state on the activism of Black librarians: They ain’t quiet. In fact, they are very loud and proud of what they do.
“Are You A Librarian: The Untold Story of Black Librarians” uses archival resources to highlight how Black librarians were – and still are – movement workers fighting for equal access to information and knowledge. The project is being spearheaded by Rodney Freeman Jr., a University of North Carolina at Charlotte archivist who started his librarianship in 2010. To him, the history of Black librarian’s freedom fighting spirit makes sense. For a group of people who were once beaten or killed for learning how to read and write, literacy is gold.
“For Black people, it’s power,” Freeman said. “To some other people, they’re scared. I mean, all of these books I’ve been reading about how literacy was used to suppress Black folks and used as a tool of white supremacy? It’s all about power and freedom from your situation and imagining something more than what you can be.”
Freeman became inspired to do the documentary a couple of years ago during the American Library Association’s annual summer conference. He was enjoying some comradery amongst fellow Black men librarians. A much-needed moment in a profession that is less than seven percent Black, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As Freeman talked to his colleagues about navigating the industry as a Black man, he thought about how telling their stories would ease the sense of isolation.
“I was like, ‘I want somebody who looks like me to capture our stories and preserve this for future generations,’” Freeman said. “Hopefully it inspires younger generations to get into this profession because the reason why we’re only seven percent is because people don’t feel like we belong here. But if you knew the stuff that I…
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