LibGuides: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Racism and Resistance in the United States

Classics

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"
by Martin Luther King Jr.

"The Ballot or the Bullet," by Malcolm X
From a speech given in 1964 in Detroit:" We don't see any American dream. We've experienced only the American nightmare. We haven't benefited from America's democracy. We've only suffered from America's hypocrisy."
Frederick Douglass and the Emacipation Monument
Two historians expound on Douglass' suggestions that other statues be added to illustrate the variety of history.
James Baldwin's "Letter from a Region in My Mind"
Originally published in the New Yorker magazine in 1962.
The Souls of Black Folk
by W. E. B. DuBois. First published in 1903.
Toni Morrison on "Making America White [and Male] Again"
An essay by the author of "The Bluest Eye," "Beloved," and other novels.

Resources for Teaching

Antiracist Education: From Theory to Practice by Julie Kailin
Call Number: LC1099.3 .K35 2002, at Watson
ISBN: 9780742518247
Publication Date: 2002
Walking the Color Line: The Art and Practice of Anti-Racist Education by Mark Perry
Call Number: LC192.2 .P47 2000, in the stacks at Leesville and Watson
ISBN: 9780807739648
Publication Date: 2000

Anti-Defamation League
Originally called the ADL of B'nai B'rith, this organization focuses on anti-Semitism but also studies other forms of discriminating communication.
The Anti-Racism Digital Library and Thesaurus
Coleman, A. (2020). Using the Anti-racism Digital Library and Thesaurus to understand information access, authority, value and privilege. Theological Librarianship, 13(1), 1–12.
Anti-Racism Digital Library at Louisville Seminary
Antiracism Pedagogy Project Online
a short list of readings

Social activist and congressman John Lewis, 1940-2020

An Essay by John Lewis
which he wrote to be published on the day of his funeral, which was July 20, 2020.
Former President Obama's Eulogy for John Lewis--video

John Lewis, Important Figure in Anti-Discrimination Work
Lewis died on July 17, 2020. Here is his obituary from the New York Times.

A Few of Many Library Resources

African-American History Resources from the Library of Congress
Primary sources including photographs and documents, plus videos, exhibits, and more.

Louisiana Beyond Black and White: New Interpretations of Twentieth-Century Race and Race Relations by Michael S. Martin (Editor)
Call Number: E185.93 .L6 L675 2011 LACOLL
ISBN: 9781935754046
Publication Date: 2011
In the Cammie G. Henry Research Center at Watson Library. The book includes contributions from NSU faculty Susan E. Dollar and Charles J. Pellegrin
W. E. B. du Bois: American Prophet by Edward J. Blum
Call Number: E185.97 .D73 B58 2007, at Watson
ISBN: 9780812240108
Publication Date: 2007
America in the King Years by Taylor Branch
Call Number: E185.61 .B7914 1989; E185.61 .B7915 1998; E185.615 .B67 2006. Watson and Leesville (except for At Canaan's Edge).
ISBN: 9780671687427
Publication Date: 1989
This three-volume series includes Parting the Waters (1954-63), Pillar of Fire (1963-65), and At Canaan's Edge (1965-68).

It Won't Come Easy--Different Voices

The Legacy of Leonidas Polk, a Civil War General and a Louisiana Bishop.
"As one of The Episcopal Church’s first missionary bishops and later bishop of Louisiana, Polk was the driving force behind the 1857 founding of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He also was a large plantation owner with hundreds of slaves. During the Civil War, he left his diocese to fight to preserve white supremacy over enslaved Black Southerners."
Planned Parenthood Faces Its Founder's Actions and Beliefs
"We will no longer make excuses or apologize for Margaret Sanger’s actions. But we can’t simply call her racist, scrub her from our history, and move on..."
W. E. B. Du Bois, Adam Clayton Powell Sr., Mary McLeod Bethune, and Martin Luther King all supported her work.
Interracial Slurs and Interracial Solidarity
Etan Thomas, a former NBA player, remembers his own experience after hearing a high school sports announcer's racial insult and the response to it.
The Leader of the Proud Boys is Not a White Supremacist
This opinion piece presents a different and more nuanced view of race, along with a libeling of the leader of the Proud Boys group which this Guide does not condone.
On Not Identifying as White
Ethical philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah: "White supremacy [is] the thought that the white race was superior, not just in the sense that its members supposedly had qualities superior to those of other races but also in the sense that they were therefore entitled to better treatment."
President Trump Banned Federal Funding for Diversity Training.
Issued on Sept. 4, 2020, this order was rescinded on january 20, 2021.
"Why Are We Racialising Beethoven?"
"The point is that it’s not the music itself that is exclusionary, but cultural institutions and venues which should be reformed to be made less so."--Ralph Leonard, in "Unherd."
John Brown, Violent Abolitionist
A 19th-century revolutionary, Brown was influenced by Oliver Cromwell and by Toussaint L’Ouverture, the leader of the successful Haitian slave revolt. He learned from history.
U.S. Senator Against Anti-Racism
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) attacks the New York Times' 1619 Project, saying "the enslavement of millions of African people is the necessary evil upon which the union was built.”
Going too far? Ethnomathematics Workbook for Teachers..

Articles

"It was seen as an elderly white lady thing to do"--Vincent Williams Jr.
This Guardian article profiles several young men who have enthusiastically adopted the traditional craft of knitting.
An Interactive Article about Visual Art
"In 2015, [Jenna Wortham and Kimberly Drew] set out to create our own analog archive of contemporary Black life by Black people and for Black people. This project eventually became the book 'Black Futures'.”
Art and Fashion Represent Diversity with Style
29-year-old British designer Grace Wales Bonner's work recalls style from the 1960s of American racial protest.
"America's Enduring Caste System"--narrative non-fiction
by Isabel Wilkerson
"Appeals for Calm..."
A news survey of the complex reactions and protests against the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
"Black Lives Matter" Not Only a Slogan but a Plan
" What was universally celebrated a few weeks ago is now faintly embarrassing: too radical, too combative"
"How Do We Change America?"
Long-term change to the system is needed, argues Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor in the New Yorker magazine.
"I'm Finally an Angry Black Man"
by Isaac Bailey
"Is This the Beginning of the End of American Racism?"
An essay by Ibram X. Kendi, from the Sept 2020 Atlantic.
"Law and Order" Now and in 1968
"As we try to understand the forces at work in this country, we should do so with profound humility about the limits of what we can know and what we can foresee." New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie
"Reading Orwell for Independence Day"
"people who cannot speak freely will not be able to think clearly" (and vice versa)--Bret Stephens, NYTimes opinion writer
"The Invention of the Police"
An historical and linguistic overview, by Jill Lepore
"You Can't Defeat Racism with Reading Lists"
but you can't defeat it without reading (or listening), either.
Asian-American Experiences during COVID-19
"I am both the Other to white America (and thus a threat to its health), and part of the White establishment and a threat to other Americans. At least, that has been my experience since February when the “Chinese” virus arose and my experience after the killing—no, murder—of George Floyd."
Can White People Be Allies in Anti-Black Racism?
A personal essay by Kelsey Smoot in The Guardian
Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents
A review of historian Isabel Wilkerson's newest book.comparing racist hierarchies in India and the United States.
Civil Rights History, "Law Enforcement," and the "Politics of Punishment"
"even as liberal local and national leaders [in the 1960s] decried the root causes of crime, they also relied on the expanding powers of law enforcement to quell the protests that erupted in response to the lack of meaningful opportunities in cities."
Coddling, Demogoguery, and the Battle over Free Speech
by Andrew Marantz, in the New Yorker magazine.
Is Racism a Public Health Emergency?
Several U. S. cities have declared it so, including Boston, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Indianapolis.
Photos of a Peaceful Louisiana Response to Violence
in front of St. Louis Cathedral. Photos from nola.com and the Advocate
Police Are a Symptom, Not the Entire Problem
Opinion by Charles M. Blow
Poverty and the Pandemic in the U.S. South
Protests during the Pandemic
How things are different now, again.
Toward a True American Democracy
an article by Dr. Bernice A. King and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, who argue that " We must attend to both the systems of injustice and the monuments that have justified them if we are to realize “liberty and justice for all.”
The Turning Point for Change
by former president and community organizer Barack Obama.

Peaceful Protests in Natchitoches

Libraries Respond: Black Lives Matter

A Progress Flag
Combining Resistance to Racism and Gender Discrimination, by Daniel Quasar (2018)

Act locally. Act up. Act now.

"White people, do something" --a list by Corinne Shutack. Pick one and get started.

Unpacking the Knapsack
If you aren't a racist, read this article by Peggy McIntosh.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Racism and Resistance in the United States

Classics

Resources for Teaching

Social activist and congressman John Lewis, 1940-2020

A Few of Many Library Resources

It Won't Come Easy--Different Voices

Articles

Act locally. Act up. Act now.

White House Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping