--by Eleni Glykis, Library Director
The Red Bank Public Library stands firm with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the American Library Association in condemning violence and racism towards Black people and all People of Color. We stand "with library workers, with library users, and with members of the communities we serve and support who are susceptible to acts of prejudice, threats of violence, and even death based solely on their race or ethnicity. The pervasive racism present in our nation denies its residents equal rights and equal access and as such is a barrier to the goals of this association and to the wider profession."
In 2015, the Red Bank Public Library started its award-winning Let’s Talk About Race program to provide a forum for dialogue and understanding among people of different races and ethnic backgrounds. We have been committed to addressing the racial inequalities that exist within our own community and providing forum and space to make Red Bank a stronger, more informed, and kinder community. To achieve that goal we will continue to provide programming, resources, and materials that represent and celebrate Red Bank’s diversity.
Martin Luther King Jr once said “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” The Red Bank Public Library has not been silent, and will NOT be silent. We stand with our friends, families, colleagues, and community members who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and to our values of celebrating our community’s diversity and creating understanding.
In addition to our Let’s Talk About Race Resource Page, we encourage the public to utilize the following list of digital materials and programs in our community which provokes further discussion, inspire critical thinking, and demonstrate our recognition of social inequity and structural racism in this country.
Upcoming Events:
June 4th @ 6:00pm Red Bank Hosts Community Forum: "Safety in Collaboration" with Police Chief Darren McConnel To register click here.
June 4th @7:30pm The PBC Community Conversation Series Presents: “Systemic Racism in Our Society; Where Do We Go From Here?” Connect at www.pilgrim-baptist.org or Facebook Live @ Pilgrim Baptist Church of Red Bank
Digital Materials
How to Be An Anti Racist - Dr. Ibram Kendi .
Stamped – Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
The New Jim Crow – Michelle Alexander
Lies My Teacher Told Me – James W. Loewen
Between the World and Me - Ta’Nehisi Coates
Racism without Racists – Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
American Experience: Freedom Riders – PBS
Citizen – Claudia Rankine
How I Resist - Maureen Johson
Betty Before X - Ilyasah Shabazz, Renee Watson
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
I Am Not Your Negro - Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished Remember This House
White Privilege – M.T. Blakemore
Rise Up! The Art of Protest – Jo Rippon, Mari Copeny