Insights from a Librarian at a Black Knowledge Institution
“There are not a lot of places where we can go and feel like our history is acknowledged, highlighted, and celebrated. Having dedicated spaces that educate people on black history is just rare and we really need that because we aren’t getting that history taught in a whole lot of places outside of what we call black knowledge institutions.” – Jameka Lewis
Meet Jameka Lewis, Senior Librarian for the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library. It is a part of the Denver Public Library System in Colorado. The library was built from the dreams of Denver’s first black mayor, Wellington Webb, and his wife, Wilma Webb, in the early 2000s. Their vision was to create a dedicated space to preserve black history and culture of Colorado and the greater West. Jameka oversees certain staff and programming, leads outreaches, and represents the library in the community. She also provides equity, diversity, and inclusion consulting. Her journey to librarianship began at age eight when her dad took her to get her first library card. Although amazed by the amount of available books in one space, she never felt that libraries were for her until she met her first black librarian at the Melvin B. Tolson Black Heritage Center at Langston University as an undergraduate student. The representation of a black woman as a librarian made a tremendous impact on her and she has since trailblazed her own successful career in libraries.
In the podcast episode, Jameka discusses the importance of having cultural institutions, building trust with black communities, and ensuring libraries’ efforts live up to their potential of being democratic spaces for all. Jameka shares valuable insight as a librarian at a black knowledge institution:
Black knowledge institutions offer important resources for patrons and educators to learn more about black heritage as told and written by folks who have lived its history.
Black knowledge institutions foster and instill a sense of pride and belonging where the black community feels that their culture is acknowledged and celebrated.
Relatability is huge, and so, libraries must have qualified black folks represented in their staff to build trust with the black community.
Libraries must recruit qualified black folks on websites and at locations where they feel comfortable, whether that’s through ethnic caucuses, alumni groups, or/and initiatives.
Retaining black employees is just as important. Black employees leave a profession often because of unaddressed issues. As library professionals we must use our tools to research the reasons why certain issues exist in our institutions and then learn how to address or not contribute to them.
Upper management must ask what black employees need and then follow through with action to best support employees in their roles.
Libraries mustn’t lose valuable frontline employees who are doing the hard work daily at the expense of being overly public or customer focused. It is just as imperative to turn the lens inward and focus on internal support and improvement.
Every library should conduct an audit to evaluate their programming and collections and determine policies and practices that need improvement or to be changed.
Those in leadership roles need to stop being afraid of having tough conversations on race, equity, and justice.
For trusted resources on black literature, follow African American Literature Book Club, Association of African American Life and History, Lit for Black Kids, For Colored Girls Book Club, Free Black Women’s Library, and Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.
More details were discussed in the recording, so come listen to the full episode to broaden your understanding of black knowledge institutions and the future of libraries. If you have any follow up questions or would like to connect with Jameka Lewis, you can contact her at jlewis@denverlibrary.org.