A year ago, I unveiled my Presidential theme, Strength in Solidarity. I never imagined how much the world would change during the last few months, or how much we would need to stand in solidarity with each other as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected Black and brown folks, low-income folks, the incarcerated (including those detained by ICE in migrant prison camps) and immigrants. Xenophobia and hate crimes have shook Asian/Asian Pacific Americans communities and Native American/Indigenous communities grapple with lack of access to health care and resources. Systemic racism in the healthcare system has been laid bare, exposing historical inequities and disparities in treatment and service. And against the backdrop of the pandemic, we saw the countless murders of Black people finally being acknowledged by the masses, as well as a movement against police brutality and state violence.
As I stated last fall,
“Strength in Solidarity builds on the core APALA values of community, advocacy …social justice…and leadership. We hold that “the power of many” creates social change. As an organization with a strong commitment to social justice and intersectionality, we must continue to build solidarity with other communities of color–Latinx, Black, Indigenous–and deepen our understanding of the systems that pit us against each other to maintain white supremacy.”
This is more true today than ever before. We are committed to cross-racial solidarity, to fighting for all marginalized communities and are strengthening our relationships with the five other National Associations of Librarians of Color, including the American Indian Library Association (AILA), Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC), and The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA). To that end, our programming held an intersectional focus. We held an online workshop on Disrupting White Supremacy Through BIPOC Solidarity, a panel on Confronting Xenophobia and Supporting Asian and Asian/Pacific American Communities during COVID-19 and have an upcoming collaboration with REFORMA and the Social Responsibilities Roundtable (SRRT) at the ALA Virtual Conference titled: Behind the Wires: American Concentration Camps Then and Now, highlighting the perspectives of today’s migrant concentration camps experienced by refugees today and the Japanese American Concentration Camps experienced by people of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
Our organization also spoke up. Last fall we co-wrote a joint statement spearheaded by BCALA and with the National Associations of Librarians of Color condemning the uptick in racially fueled violence bigotry and violence in U.S. communities and offering support and funding to the libraries and communities that are on the front lines of defending equity, diversity, and inclusion. We stand with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association in condemning increased violence and racism towards Black Americans and people of color, while committing to fighting anti-Black racism in our own communities. APALA also continued to fight anti-Asian racism, sending out a statement against xenophobia and hate crime and also by calling it out in a professional library publication through a joint statement with the Chinese American Librarians Association.
We also continued our popular initiatives and programs. Our Mentoring Program paired new mentees with experienced mentors, we selected our Travel Grant winner, Jeneanne Ka-makana-lani Len Tai Loc, supported our Emerging Leader Jamie Kurumaji, interviewed Asian Pacific Islander authors for our website, sent out our quarterly newsletter, and selected winners for our respected Literature Awards. And our Constitution and Bylaws, Membership, Nominating, and Finance and Fundraising Committees continued to work diligently behind the scenes, ensuring that our organization has a strong structure and base.
APALA is each and every one of you and I am so proud to be part of an organization that advocates for social justice both within and beyond our association. I admire the way we care for and nurture each other and push each other to learn and grow. As we close this year, I’d like to ask you to support our social justice work with a donation to commemorate our 40th anniversary as an organization. We are looking for 40 members to give $40 to support our initiatives and programs, including our Mentoring Program, Emerging Leader, Workshops and Webinars, Literature Awards and Talk Story. With your generosity APALA will remain fiscally strong for years to come and will continue to support members through our Scholarships and Awards.
In closing, while this is not how I imagined my term as President of APALA to end, I am so honored to have served as your President for the 2019-2020 year. I had the opportunity to work with an amazing Executive Board, and thank each and every one of them for their service over the past year, which went above and beyond the usual responsibilities. In addition, none of the work done the past year would have been possible without the countless Committee volunteers and their dedicated Chairs. I am so incredibly grateful. I also want to thank all the APALA members I met who inspired me with their stories and experiences, especially those members of APALA who hold LGBTQ+ identities. You made me feel seen and heard. During these uncertain and challenging times, I leave APALA in the capable hands of my friend and colleague Candice Mack, who will become President for APALA for 2020-2021 and to the continuing and newly elected Board members. Thank you so much for the privilege of working for you this year.
In solidarity,
Alanna Aiko Moore
APALA President 2019-2020