Aaisha Haykal deftly intertwines gaps and biases of historical record-keeping and preservation and the work that should (and continues to be) done to correct such gaps and oversights. She links these ideas to a summary of sessions presented at the 2018 Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting and injects established research into how archivists can perform their work and critique through the lens of social justice. With regard to the 2017 low morale study, Hakyal asserts,
Kendrick’s work underlines using a social justice lens is an ongoing process that cannot be used just for collecting areas. It also has to be used when describing collections, engaging with our researchers and the public, and implementing fair and equitable labor practices. Acknowledging this can be hard work and raise tough questions about the future and sustainability of institutions themselves. Developing a social justice lens means recognizing where there are flaws in the organizational and institutional structure and taking actions to remedy them.
Read the full article (begins on page 5).