Thank you for attending (and/or for your interest in) the BIPOC Mental Health Summit, which was held on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The BIPOC Mental Health Summit — conceptualized by Kaetrena Davis Kendrick and Twanna Hodge and implemented with the further expertise and presence of Amanda M. Leftwich and Rayna Smaller — offers Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who are working in libraries a safe space to participate in a real-time conversation about how the COVID-19 pandemic may be (further) impacting their mental health, especially within the Library and Information Science workscape and culture. Particularly, our discussion centers: what our experiences may look like during this time; whose voices/ what communities are being left out; what we can do to thrive during this time; and what support is available.
Here is a listing of resources mentioned during the Panel Discussion. The resources are organized in speaker order.
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, MSLS (Twitter: @Kaetrena, @RenewersL; Instagram: @renewerslis)
Hathcock, A. (2015). White librarianship in Blackface: Diversity initiatives in LIS. In the Library with the Lead Pipe, October 7, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity.
Kendrick, K.D. (2017). The low morale experience of academic librarians: A phenomenological study. Journal of Library Administration, 57(2): 846-78. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01930826.2017.1368325
Kendrick, K.D. & Damasco, I.T. (2019). Low morale in ethnic and racial minority academic librarians: An experiential study. Library Trends, 68(2): 174-212. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/746745
Kaetrena’s Call to Action:
- Participate in the COVID-19 Low Morale Survey.
- Reflect on the following questions: In 2015, April Hathcock asserted, “Being a nonwhite librarian playing at whiteness is an isolating and lonely practice…” Considering the Impact Factors of Stereotype Threat and Deauthentication, how has ‘playing at Whiteness’ showed up in your low-morale experience? How can you combat this ‘play’?
Twanna Hodge, MLIS (Twitter: @tkhodge19)
Places/services you can consider/use at your institution:
- Employee Assistance Program (Magellan or ComPsych)
- Counseling Center
- Disability Resource Center and/or ADA Compliance Office
- Women’s Resource Center
- LGBTQIA+ Resource Center
- Equal Opportunity Office/Officer or Title 7 Officer
- Emergency Funds
Blackwell, K. (2018, Aug. 9). Why people of color need spaces without white people. [Blog post]. The Arrow. Retrieved from https://arrow-journal.org/why-people-of-color-need-spaces-without-white-people/
Twanna’s Call to Action:
- Establish or maintain emotional support systems
- Personally and professionally (virtually)
- Do daily or weekly check-ins
- Join groups such as We Here or Ethnic Affiliates
- AILA, APALA, BCALA, CALA, REFORMA, & National Associations of Librarians of Color (NALCo)
- Identify allies and accomplices
- Who do you identify as an ally or accomplice? Why? How have they aiding you?
- Contribute and engage with others
- Grounding activities such as volunteering, pursuing new activities such as yoga, art, poetry or open-mike nights, and etc.
Amanda Leftwich, MSLS (Twitter: @thelibmaven, @mindfulinlis; Instagram: @mindfulinlis)
Leftwich, A. (2018). Lightning Round B: Redefining the Wellness Wheel for librarians of color. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/pocinlis/2018/schedule/15/
Amanda’s Call to Action:
- Create a daily self-care activity; something just for you.
- Reflect on the following questions: Audre Lorde once said,“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” What does this mean to you? How can you care for yourself authentically?
Rayna Smaller, MSW (Twitter and Instagram: @BrowngirlSPACE)
Rayna’s Call to Action:
Create your own coping skills toolkit
- Share your own healthy Coping Skill via Instagram or Twitter.
