Oakland Public Library: Supporting The Asian And Asian/Pacific-Islander American Community

Piedmont CA

24 March, 2021

12:49 PM

Description

Press release from the Oakland Public Library: OPLadmin March 23rd, 2021 The Oakland Public Library stands against racism, xenophobia, bigotry and violence against the Asian and Asian/Pacific-Islander American community.    There is a long history of racism against Asians and Asian/Pacific-Islander Americans in the United States, and in the last year alone there were nearly 3,800 reported hate incidents, according to Stop AAPI Hate.    In Oakland, numerous community organizations have mobilized in response to recent violence in Oakland Chinatown, to stand against racial profiling, and to hold space for targeted communities to heal from continued trauma of white supremacy.  The Oakland Public Library serves the community in its anti-racist efforts, and provides free resources to support social and racial justice. In support of the Asian and Asian/Pacific Islander Community, our staff has recently prepared:   Asian American Experiences and History reading list, including titles for Adults, Teens and Children Resources for Asian Americans and their Allies  We also share with you the Asian Pacific American Librarians' Association's 2021 COVID-19 anti-xenophobia and anti-racist information resources. We encourage you to follow our blogs and reach out with your questions.   We can act against threats to a community by combatting ignorance and hate together. The Oakland Public Library continues in our work to be an institution "that builds equity in Oakland," as called for by our Racial Equity Team in its June 2020 Letter to Oakland. We stand with our Asian and Asian/Pacific-Islander American communities, and we ask our library community at large to engage in making each other safe.    In solidarity,  Jamie Turbak, Director  Nina Lindsay, Associate Director  This press release was produced by the Oakland Public Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.