When the Supreme Court handed down its Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, it affected thousands of public school libraries and tens of thousands of school librarians and students. Despite this wide-ranging impact, the library professional community was largely silent about the ruling and remained so for many years.
We hosted a conversation with Dr. Wayne A. Wiegand about his new book, In Silence or Indifference: Racism and Jim Crow Segregated Public School Libraries. The book explores the history of systemic racism embedded within public school libraries between 1954 and 1974. Librarians across the U.S. believe they are at the forefront of defending intellectual freedom, particularly around books addressing race and systemic racism. However, the profession has often ignored its own history of complicity in White supremacy. Wiegand attempts to confront this history and the intersections of race, segregation, and access to information. Despite the profession’s emphasis on freedom of information, Wiegand critiques how libraries and leadership failed to act against racial segregation during Jim Crow, leaving a legacy that continues to affect modern librarianship.
Wiegand’s groundbreaking work uncovers the racist practices inflicted on Black school librarians, the students they served, and the collections they curated during the Jim Crow era. The book sheds light on the overlooked experiences of Black librarians and students. Wiegand’s research urges us to reflect on this critical part of our history as America celebrates the 70th Anniversary of Brown.
Watch the on-demand archive of "Confronting Our Hidden History – Racism and Segregated Public School Libraries in Jim Crow America" on EveryLibrary's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKql-FsmDwg