Neutrality is racist, say woke librarians

Woke is alive and well in America's school libraries, writes Erika Sanzi of Defending Education on The Hill. 

Critical race theory scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw was the keynote speaker for the American Library Association’s annual Conference and Exhibition, she writes. Sessions reflected "a mishmash of critical theory argle-bargle," including “Charting Queer Visibility,” “Read Trans Books,” “Queer Kidlit Joy,” “Decolonizing the Stacks,” and “Cultivating Radical Empathy.”

The ALA has enormous influence over K-12 libraries through its school library division, which sets standards, guidance, and so-called “best practices,” Sanzi writes. It "shapes what books are purchased, displayed, and promoted," and fights "efforts to place age-appropriate limits on sexually explicit or heavily ideological materials."

The ALA explicitly rejected viewpoint neutrality in 2021, she writes. A resolution claims libraries have contributed to white supremacy and fascism through a “misplaced emphasis on neutrality.”

Libraries are no longer positioned as open forums for ideas where texts from different viewpoints are celebrated. Instead, they are tightly curated spaces, dedicated to advancing a particular set of revolutionary values.

“Decolonizing the stacks” goes far beyond racial or gender diversity, Sanzi writes. "It means reassessing books through an explicitly ideological lens, often framing Western literature and values as an oppressive force upholding white supremacy." Some books are on display. Others are removed.

Librarians are expected to celebrate “queer visibility” and “trans books,” promoting "a specific (and not especially widely held) perspective on gender and sexuality."

Libraries should include diverse voices on complex and contentious issues, Sanzi concludes. They should support the free exchange of ideas, not "ideology and propaganda."