'Complacency Is No Longer an Option'

THE UC BERKELEY LIBRARY | University of California, Berkeley | No. 51 Fall 2020 | give.lib.berkeley.edu

Fiat‘COMPLACENCY Lux IS NO LONGER AN OPTION’ A persistent pandemic. Horrific police brutality against Black people. Smoky skies on what should have been bright September ‘DISCREDIT, DISRUPT, days. These difficult realities have weighed on our minds and our hearts this year. While 2020 hasn’t brought much in the way of AND DESTROY’ positive news, it has accelerated important conversations on science, social justice, and more. FBI records acquired by the Library reveal violent surveillance Jeffrey The UC Berkeley Library spent the summer months exploring MacKie-Mason of Black leaders and civil rights organizations University Librarian how we can stand more firmly in opposition to racism, discrimination, STORY BY VIRGIE HOBAN and systemic oppression. In step with many forward-looking organizations across the country, we published a statement to define and commit to the initial actions we will take to fight racism in our workplace, within our spaces, It was the late 1960s, and J. Edgar Hoover smelled and in our support of the communities we serve. trouble. The status quo — hallowed by hate, sanctioned “In many ways, the Library has long strived to be a champion for all — from by Jim Crow — was beginning to crack. pioneering a scanning service that creates accessible versions of books to Behind the scenes, Hoover’s Federal Bureau of Investigation collecting in more than 400 languages to serving as an international leader in the was keeping watch. In 1967, the FBI quietly unleashed a covert fight for free, immediate access to research,” the statement reads. “But in other ways, surveillance operation targeting “subversive” civil rights groups we’ve fallen short.” Raiford and Black leaders, including the Black Panther Party, Martin Crafting this message was about much more than splashing words on the internet, Luther King Jr., Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and many others. for all to see. It pushed our organization to have long-overdue conversations about The objective, according to an FBI memo: to “expose, racism and our role in the fight for change — and to direct a critical eye to where disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” we’ve been and where we should go. the radical fight for Black rights — and Black power. “Implicit bias ripples through our organization,” we state. “And we can do better Details of that sabotage plaster internal FBI records, with to fulfill our promise of inclusivity in how we collect, who we employ, and how we thousands of pages scattered across a medley of databases. Now, interact with one another.” the UC Berkeley Library is working to put those pieces together. To start, we’ve committed to three initial actions: We created a task force on racial In May, just before the movement for Black lives cascaded justice. We asked all Library committees to incorporate a commitment to diversity, over the planet, the Library acquired a digital database equity, and inclusion into their work. And we established mandatory implicit bias of FBI records on the surveillance of African Americans training for all employees. throughout the 20th century, expanding the trove of federal The challenges are immense, and we’re not alone in this fight. records the Library has assembled over the years. Today, “Racism and systemic oppression are centuries-old problems in this country, the materials provide not only a window into the FBI’s past woven into the fabric of our nation from the very beginning,” we state. “We abuse, but also an unplanned guide for the Black activists recognize that the work that lies ahead will not be easy. demanding racial justice again, now 50 years later. “Change is a direction, not a destination.” “These documents … reveal and confirm the kind of root With that in mind, we share with you a Fiat Lux that examines diversity in the investment in anti-Blackness and quelling dissent that has Library, casting light on our work, our collections, and the research we (and you, long been part of our government structure,” says Leigh through your generosity) make possible. We hope that the complex topics explored Raiford, a professor of African American studies at UC in this issue open up a dialogue on some of the most critical issues of our time. Berkeley. “We can only imagine the extent to which the current “Complacency is no longer an option,” our message concludes. “We can, and administration, and the current FBI, is working to discredit, we must, do better.” disrupt, and destroy Black Lives Matter and other movements. “I’m hoping that a new generation of researchers will learn Read the Library’s statement on racial justice at ucberk.li/justice-statement. new lessons for how to outmaneuver these attempts.” F

FIAT LUX, or LET THERE BE LIGHT, is the motto of the COVER IMAGE University of California, Berkeley. San Francisco, 1963 The Fiat Lux newsmagazine of the UC Berkeley Library San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Newspaper Photograph Archive is published by the Library Communications Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley. BANC PIC 1959.010--NEG, Part 3, Box 196, [05-26-63.01]

Your feedback and suggestions are warmly invited. You can reach us at [email protected].

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN WRITERS Jeffrey MacKie-Mason Tor Haugan, Virgie Hoban

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS PHOTO EDITOR Tiffany Grandstaff Jami Smith

GRAPHIC DESIGNER ILLUSTRATOR Alison Wannamaker A. Hamilton ILLUSTRATION BY A. HAMILTON

2 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 3 A persistent pandemic. Horrific police brutality against Black people. Smoky skies on what should have been bright September ‘DISCREDIT, DISRUPT, days. These difficult realities have weighed on our minds and our hearts this year. While 2020 hasn’t brought much in the way of AND DESTROY’ positive news, it has accelerated important conversations on science, social justice, and more. FBI records acquired by the Library reveal violent surveillance Jeffrey The UC Berkeley Library spent the summer months exploring MacKie-Mason of Black leaders and civil rights organizations University Librarian how we can stand more firmly in opposition to racism, discrimination, STORY BY VIRGIE HOBAN and systemic oppression. In step with many forward-looking organizations across the country, we published a statement to define and commit to the initial actions we will take to fight racism in our workplace, within our spaces, It was the late 1960s, and J. Edgar Hoover smelled and in our support of the communities we serve. trouble. The status quo — hallowed by hate, sanctioned “In many ways, the Library has long strived to be a champion for all — from by Jim Crow — was beginning to crack. pioneering a scanning service that creates accessible versions of books to Behind the scenes, Hoover’s Federal Bureau of Investigation collecting in more than 400 languages to serving as an international leader in the was keeping watch. In 1967, the FBI quietly unleashed a covert fight for free, immediate access to research,” the statement reads. “But in other ways, surveillance operation targeting “subversive” civil rights groups we’ve fallen short.” Raiford and Black leaders, including the Black Panther Party, Martin Crafting this message was about much more than splashing words on the internet, Luther King Jr., Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and many others. for all to see. It pushed our organization to have long-overdue conversations about The objective, according to an FBI memo: to “expose, racism and our role in the fight for change — and to direct a critical eye to where disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” we’ve been and where we should go. the radical fight for Black rights — and Black power. “Implicit bias ripples through our organization,” we state. “And we can do better Details of that sabotage plaster internal FBI records, with to fulfill our promise of inclusivity in how we collect, who we employ, and how we thousands of pages scattered across a medley of databases. Now, interact with one another.” the UC Berkeley Library is working to put those pieces together. To start, we’ve committed to three initial actions: We created a task force on racial In May, just before the movement for Black lives cascaded justice. We asked all Library committees to incorporate a commitment to diversity, over the planet, the Library acquired a digital database equity, and inclusion into their work. And we established mandatory implicit bias of FBI records on the surveillance of African Americans training for all employees. throughout the 20th century, expanding the trove of federal The challenges are immense, and we’re not alone in this fight. records the Library has assembled over the years. Today, “Racism and systemic oppression are centuries-old problems in this country, the materials provide not only a window into the FBI’s past woven into the fabric of our nation from the very beginning,” we state. “We abuse, but also an unplanned guide for the Black activists recognize that the work that lies ahead will not be easy. demanding racial justice again, now 50 years later. “Change is a direction, not a destination.” “These documents … reveal and confirm the kind of root With that in mind, we share with you a Fiat Lux that examines diversity in the investment in anti-Blackness and quelling dissent that has Library, casting light on our work, our collections, and the research we (and you, long been part of our government structure,” says Leigh through your generosity) make possible. We hope that the complex topics explored Raiford, a professor of African American studies at UC in this issue open up a dialogue on some of the most critical issues of our time. Berkeley. “We can only imagine the extent to which the current “Complacency is no longer an option,” our message concludes. “We can, and administration, and the current FBI, is working to discredit, we must, do better.” disrupt, and destroy Black Lives Matter and other movements. “I’m hoping that a new generation of researchers will learn Read the Library’s statement on racial justice at ucberk.li/justice-statement. new lessons for how to outmaneuver these attempts.” F

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN WRITERS Jeffrey MacKie-Mason Tor Haugan, Virgie Hoban

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS PHOTO EDITOR Tiffany Grandstaff Jami Smith

GRAPHIC DESIGNER ILLUSTRATOR Alison Wannamaker A. Hamilton ILLUSTRATION BY A. HAMILTON

2 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 3 One of the biggest lessons and details of the program contained in the documents were exposed to the public. is abundantly clear: Whatever But its legacy is alive and well. you do, don’t let them think In 2017, amid widespread Black you’re a communist. Lives Matter protests, a leaked For Hoover, an Ahab-type report from the FBI’s counter- character in pursuit of his cursed terrorism unit defined the security whale, the mere whiff of such threat posed by so-called Black leanings could trigger the dirtiest Identity Extremists — a name that, of tricks in the FBI’s arsenal. for many, echoes the inflammatory “No holds were barred,” said labels given to civil rights groups Assistant FBI director William C. during the era of COINTELPRO. Sullivan in his testimony for the In the report, FBI officials warn U.S. Senate’s Church Committee, that “perceptions of police brutality as recorded in documents held by against African Americans” were the Library. “We have used (these likely to spur lethal violence HELEN NESTOR/UC REGENTS techniques) against Soviet agents. BANC PIC 2006.029:139458N.01.01--NEG against law enforcement.

They have used (them) against us.” FBI FILES ON BLACK EXTREMIST ORGANIZATIONS, PART 1: Last year, leaked documents COINTELPRO FILES ON BLACK HATE GROUPS AND INVESTIGATION MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. FBI FILE, PART 1. FOLDER The FBI’s surveillance of OF THE DEACONS FOR DEFENSE AND JUSTICE. FOLDER TITLE: TITLE: [PART 1] MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., MAIN FILE, obtained by the left-wing news COINTELPRO BLACK EXTREMIST 100-448006, SECTION 5 100-106670, SECTION 11 [APRIL 1964-MAY 1964] African Americans and Black [OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1968]. group The Young Turks exposed rights organizations — whom the an FBI operation titled IRON Upon hearing J. Edgar Hoover’s claim of communist influence in the civil rights movement, Martin Luther FBI called “Black Extremists” or A 1968 FBI memo in the Library’s digital database describes a plot to incite violence between the Black Panther FIST, designed to “proactively Party and the US Organization, a Black nationalist group. The memo also refers to plans to cut funding for the King Jr. responded with this statement, held in the Library’s database. “It is very unfortunate that Mr. J. Edgar “Black Nationalist Hate Groups” Black Panther Party by sending a fake letter to the Peace and Freedom Party, which supported the Panthers, Hoover in his claim of alleged communist infiltration in the civil rights movement, has allowed himself to aid address this priority domestic — grew out of the bureau’s larger warning that “when the armed rebellion comes,” white members of the group would be killed. Funding for and abet the fallacious claims of Southern racists and the extreme right-wing elements,” King writes. “It would terrorism target by focusing FBI be encouraging to us if Mr. Hoover and the FBI would be as diligent in apprehending those responsible for espionage operation known as the party was crucial, notes Leigh Raiford, a campus professor of African American studies. The group was operations via enhanced intelligence constantly fundraising to pay legal fees, she says, as “all of the leadership had been arrested or were on trial.” bombing churches and killing little children as they are in seeking out alleged communist infiltration.” COINTELPRO, the now infamous collection efforts” — including program launched in 1956 to snuff the use of undercover agents. out communism in the United States. strategy and federal government minds through the circulation of creating further dissension” the NAACP, and many others. “We know the extent to which (Other radical groups, including information librarian, who of photographs and videos of and to submit regular reports on Additional records, including the government has worked to socialists and anti-war activists, helped acquire the FBI records. nonviolent, peaceful protests. “imaginative and hard-hitting Hoover’s confidential documents destroy (Black rights) organizations were soon added to the agenda.) “Communists are evil. Black “We’re seeing that right now,” counterintelligence measures and FBI files on Martin Luther and is continuing to do that work — In Hoover’s view, it went nationalism is evil. Put them she continues. “So much of the aimed at crippling the BPP.” King Jr. and the Student Nonviolent as we’re seeing with the movement something like this: There were together — it’s the ultimate evil. presidential race conversation is One “imaginative” suggestion? Coordinating Committee, or for Black lives, writing them off communists in the civil rights “They tried to throw in whatever happening over the question: Are Sending a fake letter from US to SNCC, are also available through as terrorist organizations,” movement. Never mind that they could to make it stick,” these protests peaceful or not?” the Black Panthers warning that US the Library via ProQuest, the Raiford says. there were Black people fighting he adds. “Looking at it now, it planned to “ambush leaders of the massive online repository. But the fight looks a little for their lives. doesn’t make any sense.” One of the primary targets for BPP in Los Angeles,” as noted in a Details of the FBI’s harassment different this time around, she “The threat of communism In Raiford’s view, that story COINTELPRO’s fear-mongering 1968 memo in the Library’s database. of the Panthers and other Black says. With detailed records of became a way in which to undermine spinning looks something like was the Black Panther Party, the “It’s difficult when you have some groups are especially shocking the FBI’s abuses on full display, a Black radical movements,” says the political battle now taking revolutionary Black rights group of this vitriol and nastiness,” Silva given the justification for its new generation of Black activists Ula Taylor, a campus professor of place over the Black Lives Matter founded in Oakland in 1966. Just says. “But we want to collect that, illegal acts: to prevent violence. can stay one step ahead. African American studies who used movement — and whether it is two years later, Hoover called the because that’s how society is going As Black rights activist Stokely “One of the things that makes underground newspapers held by the violent or not. Raiford points to a Panthers “the greatest threat to the to grow — by shining a light Carmichael told a packed Greek Black Lives Matter so fascinating Library and FBI surveillance records recent clip from Fox News featuring internal security of the country.” on this and saying, ‘Is this Theatre during a campus visit and so enduring over these last on the Nation of Islam for her book a warning that “if you disagree with The FBI responded in full force, what we want to be, or do we in 1966, “This country is too few years is it is decentralized,” The Promise of Patriarchy: Women and BLM, that BLM will send protesters spreading ominous rumors to incite want something better?’ ” hypocritical — and we cannot Raiford says, pointing to the FBI’s the Nation of Islam. “All of these Black to your home,” as she recalls. the group to violence, and even The new collection, acquired adjust ourselves to its hypocrisy.” past assailment of figures such as organizations understood that the “The FBI understood that, too,” murder. As the Library’s documents from Gale, an educational publisher, King. “You can’t necessarily identify way in which the federal government says Raiford, who used FBI records show, when conflict arose between contains not only the COINTELPRO Fast-forward to 2020, and the a specific leader of Black Lives could take down their organization for her research on social movements the Black Panther Party and the records, but also the surveillance files hypocrisy is still rampant. Matter, so a single person can’t be was by painting them red.” and visual culture. “They understood US Organization, another Black of many important Black figures and COINTELPRO operations identified, targeted, and neutralized. “It was like a double evil,” notes that the civil rights movement Power group, FBI officials directed organizations of the day — including officially ended in the ’70s, when “The movement becomes Jesse Silva, scholarly resources was winning people’s hearts and field offices to “exploit all avenues Thurgood Marshall, Marcus Garvey, an FBI office was burglarized resilient.” P

4 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 5 One of the biggest lessons and details of the program contained in the documents were exposed to the public. is abundantly clear: Whatever But its legacy is alive and well. you do, don’t let them think In 2017, amid widespread Black you’re a communist. Lives Matter protests, a leaked For Hoover, an Ahab-type report from the FBI’s counter- character in pursuit of his cursed terrorism unit defined the security whale, the mere whiff of such threat posed by so-called Black leanings could trigger the dirtiest Identity Extremists — a name that, of tricks in the FBI’s arsenal. for many, echoes the inflammatory “No holds were barred,” said labels given to civil rights groups Assistant FBI director William C. during the era of COINTELPRO. Sullivan in his testimony for the In the report, FBI officials warn U.S. Senate’s Church Committee, that “perceptions of police brutality as recorded in documents held by against African Americans” were the Library. “We have used (these likely to spur lethal violence HELEN NESTOR/UC REGENTS techniques) against Soviet agents. BANC PIC 2006.029:139458N.01.01--NEG against law enforcement.

4 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 5 SENSE AND SENSITIVITY ‘We as a library community need to work more collaboratively with Native Librarians, researchers, and Native community members discuss ethical access to Indigenous collections American students on campus and with California Indigenous peoples COMPILED BY VIRGIE HOBAN to share the Library’s rich holdings related to those communities.’

It is a moonshot, a mindset, a rallying cry: The UC Berkeley Library aims to digitize and share all 200 million items in its THERESA SALAZAR, curator of Western Americana, The Bancroft Library special collections. But in its race to the moon, the Library has, in some ways, already flown too close to the sun. In 2016, the Library shared digital copies of ethnographic documents that include information on the cultural lessons, ceremonies, medicines, and sacred sites of Native California tribes — information that many consider to be private, sensitive, and, in the wrong hands, harmful. Following community pain and backlash, the materials were taken down. In the years since, the Library has rebuilt its digitization program on a foundation of transparency, inclusivity, and respect. This past spring, the Library released a draft of policies and practices to guide the digitization and takedown of Indigenous materials, in close collaboration with tribal members. But this is just a start. On these pages, community members reflect on the Library’s ethical duties as a “Our Digital Lifecycle Program’s community steward of Native American collections, and how the university can better serve the communities these materials represent. engagement policy sets forth the ethical foundations governing how and whether we host Indigenous materials online, as well as a clear process for the public to learn more and ask about our decision- “The way the university and the Phoebe “I am by no means speaking for the tribal making. The principles in that policy apply A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology have communities that I have worked with, but any time that digitization could create the handled the ancestral remains of Indigenous what has been communicated to me is that possibility for harm or exploitation. Merely communities is grounded in disrespect of the hardest part for communities that have having transparent ‘ethical principles’ is not tribal traditions. The university needs to do “The Bancroft Library holds one of the had ethnographies written about them is enough, though. Those principles need to much more to recognize and correct these great U.S. archival collections of Indigenous “The Bancroft Library holds a wealth of the issue of ownership and stewardship. be carried out in specific ways to establish wrongs. There are materials in the archives cultural and linguistic heritage materials, information for us California Indians: our To this day, I believe, UC Berkeley and the accountability. That is precisely what we that contain sacred tribal knowledge. The mainly assembled by researchers in stories, ceremonies, culture, medicines, Bancroft feel they own that information, sought out to do in creating the draft of museum holds many human remains. “We as a library community need to work interactions with Indigenous communities and the sacred. I don’t imagine our elders and it’s theirs to do with whatever they our Indigenous collections local practices. As a Native woman, as a librarian, as a more collaboratively with Native American during and in the aftermath of the California who provided the data forecasted how it please. We need to raise a flag to say, hold In preparing these practices, we were person who values history, culture, and students on campus and with California genocide. I use this material almost would be shared. Technology has been a on, this information is culturally sensitive guided by general ethical commitments as preservation, I do feel as though the libraries Indigenous peoples to share the Library’s every day in my work. It is hard to know game changer, allowing random people and could cause a lot of harm. The decision well as the specific recommendations set are starting to do more. My main wish is rich holdings related to those communities. how to strike the right balance between to access delicate information. There is a of what is culturally fragile should be up to forth in the UC Berkeley Native American for the libraries to have a Native American First and foremost, we should reach out to accessibility and cultural sensitivity. At one great deal of culturally sensitive material in the tribe. And we can all agree 40 people collections report. We developed these archives specialist, someone who is familiar Native peoples to consult and collaborate extreme, we can imagine a future in which these spaces that families living today may in a tribal community are not all going practices to recognize the social, cultural, with California Indian tribes and who is with them about how these materials relate everything has been digitized, carefully not want others to see. On the contrary, if to see things the same way. It’s going to and political contexts in which the materials familiar with the Native American Graves to them and how we might improve access described, and made available online. Then the information were restricted, many of take a while to come to an answer — and under our stewardship have been created, Protection and Repatriation Act policies. for them to these rich resources. Moreover, it would be easy for Indigenous community those seeking answers about their heritage they may not come to an answer. The collected, and used — and to begin making This person would be able to interpret the as nontribal stewards of these materials, members (and other researchers) to find would not have access. There is a fine line most important thing is to ask before the decisions about access to these materials archives to users and be that voice for tribal we should seek out the assistance and what they need for cultural restoration between the two, and there is no one good university takes any action. And if the tribal in consultation with cultural communities, concern in the room. This is a necessity, advice of Native peoples to identify sensitive and language learning and teaching. answer for everyone. For starters, there community says no, that means no. The where appropriate. As we work with and this is something there should be materials and to discuss how to ethically Yet some collections include personally should be a contact list where one can Library’s new policies are a step in the right Native American communities and campus funding put toward. To tribal members, it handle these materials. The Bancroft sensitive information or sensitive cultural request permission to publish information direction. It would be nice to see those stakeholders to finalize these practices, we feels like there’s really no urgency around, Library hopes to continue to support knowledge. So at the other extreme, we obtained from sensitive documents. I have collections be met with invitations for young hope that our discussions can serve as a ‘We need to hire this position as a way to community-based research projects with can imagine a future in which nothing is heard countless complaints from Indigenous Native scholars: ‘Come work with these springboard for other institutions, leading to correct historic wrongs, as a small step Indigenous Californians, including through freely available online. Yet this would create people about academics publishing archives.’ They literally hold stories about more responsible access across the board.” to respect the Indigenous heritage of this the language revitalization program Breath real obstacles for those who wish to use inaccurate articles about their families their grandparents. There is a gratitude land.’ Colonialism is real. The university of Life, and to provide opportunities to work material that is probably not culturally without their knowledge or consent. These for having that information preserved, RACHAEL SAMBERG recognizes it — they say they do. But the with Native communities and individuals sensitive, such as grammatical information blunders damage reputations and can even and also a vulnerability. Staff and faculty at The UC Berkeley Library’s scholarly Native community on and off campus have in campus instruction and other forums about Indigenous languages. Clearly the best stump tribal efforts for federal recognition. Berkeley need to recognize the intensity communication officer and been waiting for decades for the university of education and cultural exchange.” solution is one that involves collaborative This is not acceptable. There is a need for of both of those dynamics. For the tribal program director to do something significant. The Library’s stewardship, informed flexibility, and policies, procedures, and protocols to begin community, there’s so much to be learned new workflows are just the beginning. THERESA SALAZAR the ability to modify the accessibility of to remedy this ongoing issue. I shared these and deciphered. The information in those Inviting community members to share their Curator of Western Americana digitized materials. This is easier said thoughts with my relative Deborah Morillo, ethnographies is beautiful. But if you have opinions is a positive first step in building at The Bancroft Library than done for collections as deep and from the yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini Northern even one tribal community saying this is trust back with tribal members. And that’s heterogeneous as those at the Bancroft.” Chumash tribe. She had the following hurting our community, then you can’t where it needs to start. It doesn’t start suggestion: ‘The Bancroft Library should continue to hurt that community.” with digitization. It starts with creating a ANDREW GARRETT create an Indian advisory committee of relationship, and that takes time.” UC Berkeley professor of linguistics cultural leaders and families of collaborators MARK JOHNSON ’18, M.S.W. ’20 and director of the campus’ Survey of to discuss protocol and access issues’ — Author of the senior capstone project MELISSA STONER California and Other Indian Languages an idea I think is worth consideration.” “Decolonizing the Bancroft” Native American studies librarian in the Ethnic Studies Library QUIRINA LUNA GEARY Mutsun and Tamien Ohlone

6 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 7 SENSE AND SENSITIVITY ‘We as a library community need to work more collaboratively with Native Librarians, researchers, and Native community members discuss ethical access to Indigenous collections American students on campus and with California Indigenous peoples COMPILED BY VIRGIE HOBAN to share the Library’s rich holdings related to those communities.’

6 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 7 WAR OF THE END OF THE LINE With help from the Library, open access study reveals impact of redlining three generations later THE WORDS STORY BY VIRGIE HOBAN Library catalog adopts new term for ‘illegal aliens’ STORY BY TOR HAUGAN It was a racist policy enacted over 80 years ago, but its Editor’s note: This article contains a term that, while offensive, is aftermath dribbles on — all included to provide context. the way to the babies born today, new research shows. Gisèle Tanasse’s class visits come with an apology. Using historical maps and “You’re going to see some things that are really othering modern birth data, UC Berkeley PHOTO BY JAMI SMITH and problematic,” says Tanasse, Berkeley’s film and media researchers have found that babies The way the Library’s materials are discovered has changed throughout the services librarian, recalling her message to students as she years — and so have the terms that are used to describe them. born in California neighborhoods introduces them to the UC Berkeley Library and its online historically redlined — denied catalog. “And I’m sorry.” federal investments based on the The “things” Tanasse is referring to aren’t controversial “That’s kind of the beauty of it,” says Susan Edwards, discriminatory lending practices of films or antiquated tomes in the Library’s collections. social welfare librarian and head of the Library’s Social the 1930s — are now more likely to They’re subject headings, woven into the Library’s catalog Sciences Division, who started the effort to adopt have poorer health outcomes. The itself. alternatives to the “Illegal aliens” heading at Berkeley. study was published open access, Subject headings usually exist outside of the realm of “But the problem with it is it’s incredibly vulnerable to freely available to the public, through dinner-table banter. But in recent years, the heading “Illegal the bias of the times.” the UC Berkeley Library, ensuring aliens” and its ilk shot to national attention. that evidence of redlining’s insidious MAPPING INEQUALITY After a hard-fought war of the words started by students What started as a grassroots effort to drop “Illegal effects can be shared as widely A Home Owners’ Loan Corp. map from 1937 shows redlining throughout the East Bay. at Dartmouth College, which would have changed the aliens,” a term widely condemned as offensive, from the as possible — and acted upon. subject headings used by libraries across the country, the Library of Congress’ subject headings wound its way to “People often say, ‘That was a specifically at health disparities in she says. The study was published UC Berkeley Library saw an opportunity to act, adopting the halls of Congress, only to be thwarted by conservative racist policy from the 1930s — 80 Los Angeles, San Francisco, and open access using funding from the alternatives to the controversial heading — a step toward lawmakers. The pushback was unprecedented: Never years have passed, and we don’t do Oakland. Researchers found that Library’s Berkeley Research Impact greater inclusion. before has Congress intervened in the routine, and that anymore,’ ” says Rachel Morello- babies born in neighborhoods Initiative, or BRII, which covers the decidedly mundane, process of updating Library of Frosch, an author of the study and a with worse HOLC grades today article processing fees for Berkeley If the topic of subject headings seems wonky, that’s Congress subject headings. professor in UC Berkeley’s School of experience significantly more cases authors publishing in open journals. because it is. But subject headings are also incredibly For now, the Library of Congress’ subject heading Public Health and the Department of preterm birth, small gestational “This funding help was essential powerful, bundling materials by topic within and across remains unchanged. But in the meantime, libraries of Environmental Science, Policy, size, and infant mortality. in enabling us to get that study libraries, and opening up worlds of information that across the country have taken matters into their own and Management. “Studies like this “The effects of racism are not out there,” Morello-Frosch says. otherwise may have slipped through the cracks, for hands. Like some other libraries, Berkeley didn’t scrub show that these legacies of structural vanquished by simply changing a Ultimately, Morello-Frosch example, in a keyword search. “Illegal aliens” from its catalog altogether: Instead, racism, even though they happened law,” says Anthony Nardone, lead and Nardone hope that evidence But where do subject headings come from? the Library’s IT team layered an alternative subject many, many decades ago, are still author of the PLOS study and a of redlining’s legacy can help Based in Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress is heading, “Undocumented immigrants,” into the exerting their health effects today.” medical student in the UC Berkeley- pave the way for justice. America’s de facto national library. And its subject headings 5,000-plus records with some version of the The research team compared UCSF Joint Medical Program. “It will “I hope our study can serve as a — from “Absentee voting” to “Zydeco music” — serve as “Illegal aliens” heading. publicly available birth outcome take intentional dismantling of power bullet point, or a footnote to a bullet the authoritative standard for catalogers in libraries across “It’s not the ideal solution,” says Randal Brandt, data from 2006 to 2015 with maps structures, regular critical reflection, point, in the case for reparations and the country, including at UC Berkeley. head of cataloging at The Bancroft Library. “We hope drawn by the now-defunct Home and collective action to undo these for future housing equity legislation,” These subject headings establish a “controlled this is temporary.” Owners’ Loan Corp., or HOLC — deeply embedded problems.” Nardone says. “These fights are vocabulary,” with obvious benefits. As terms inevitably For Robert Toyama, cataloging coordinator at the the government-sponsored body For Morello-Frosch, the goal is for ongoing and demand justice.” P change — “Aeroplanes” becomes “Airplanes,” for example Ethnic Studies Library, the move is a “teachable moment.” tasked with assessing lending this study, and others like it, to make — materials across history on the topic will remain united “Many (students) come from communities in which and insurance risks. A dominant its way to city planners, public health under a common heading. And because most libraries they’ve never seen a person of color, for example, or a gay, factor in those assessments was practitioners, and policymakers around the country use the same list of subject headings, lesbian, or transgender individual,” Toyama says. race, with entire communities who can use the literature to To support the Library’s open with some local variations, researchers can swiftly search “I think it’s very important, particularly at a young age, of color swathed in bright red. address structural inequities. access efforts, contact the Library by topic from library to library with relative ease. to familiarize them with the proper terms.” P The new study, published in the That’s why it was so important to Development Office at 510-642-9377 open access journal PLOS One, looks make the study free to the public, or [email protected].

8 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 9 WAR OF THE END OF THE LINE With help from the Library, open access study reveals impact of redlining three generations later THE WORDS STORY BY VIRGIE HOBAN Library catalog adopts new term for ‘illegal aliens’ STORY BY TOR HAUGAN It was a racist policy enacted over 80 years ago, but its Editor’s note: This article contains a term that, while offensive, is aftermath dribbles on — all included to provide context. the way to the babies born today, new research shows. Gisèle Tanasse’s class visits come with an apology. Using historical maps and “You’re going to see some things that are really othering modern birth data, UC Berkeley PHOTO BY JAMI SMITH and problematic,” says Tanasse, Berkeley’s film and media researchers have found that babies The way the Library’s materials are discovered has changed throughout the services librarian, recalling her message to students as she years — and so have the terms that are used to describe them. born in California neighborhoods introduces them to the UC Berkeley Library and its online historically redlined — denied catalog. “And I’m sorry.” federal investments based on the The “things” Tanasse is referring to aren’t controversial “That’s kind of the beauty of it,” says Susan Edwards, discriminatory lending practices of films or antiquated tomes in the Library’s collections. social welfare librarian and head of the Library’s Social the 1930s — are now more likely to They’re subject headings, woven into the Library’s catalog Sciences Division, who started the effort to adopt have poorer health outcomes. The itself. alternatives to the “Illegal aliens” heading at Berkeley. study was published open access, Subject headings usually exist outside of the realm of “But the problem with it is it’s incredibly vulnerable to freely available to the public, through dinner-table banter. But in recent years, the heading “Illegal the bias of the times.” the UC Berkeley Library, ensuring aliens” and its ilk shot to national attention. that evidence of redlining’s insidious MAPPING INEQUALITY After a hard-fought war of the words started by students What started as a grassroots effort to drop “Illegal effects can be shared as widely A Home Owners’ Loan Corp. map from 1937 shows redlining throughout the East Bay. at Dartmouth College, which would have changed the aliens,” a term widely condemned as offensive, from the as possible — and acted upon. subject headings used by libraries across the country, the Library of Congress’ subject headings wound its way to “People often say, ‘That was a specifically at health disparities in she says. The study was published UC Berkeley Library saw an opportunity to act, adopting the halls of Congress, only to be thwarted by conservative racist policy from the 1930s — 80 Los Angeles, San Francisco, and open access using funding from the alternatives to the controversial heading — a step toward lawmakers. The pushback was unprecedented: Never years have passed, and we don’t do Oakland. Researchers found that Library’s Berkeley Research Impact greater inclusion. before has Congress intervened in the routine, and that anymore,’ ” says Rachel Morello- babies born in neighborhoods Initiative, or BRII, which covers the decidedly mundane, process of updating Library of Frosch, an author of the study and a with worse HOLC grades today article processing fees for Berkeley If the topic of subject headings seems wonky, that’s Congress subject headings. professor in UC Berkeley’s School of experience significantly more cases authors publishing in open journals. because it is. But subject headings are also incredibly For now, the Library of Congress’ subject heading Public Health and the Department of preterm birth, small gestational “This funding help was essential powerful, bundling materials by topic within and across remains unchanged. But in the meantime, libraries of Environmental Science, Policy, size, and infant mortality. in enabling us to get that study libraries, and opening up worlds of information that across the country have taken matters into their own and Management. “Studies like this “The effects of racism are not out there,” Morello-Frosch says. otherwise may have slipped through the cracks, for hands. Like some other libraries, Berkeley didn’t scrub show that these legacies of structural vanquished by simply changing a Ultimately, Morello-Frosch example, in a keyword search. “Illegal aliens” from its catalog altogether: Instead, racism, even though they happened law,” says Anthony Nardone, lead and Nardone hope that evidence But where do subject headings come from? the Library’s IT team layered an alternative subject many, many decades ago, are still author of the PLOS study and a of redlining’s legacy can help Based in Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress is heading, “Undocumented immigrants,” into the exerting their health effects today.” medical student in the UC Berkeley- pave the way for justice. America’s de facto national library. And its subject headings 5,000-plus records with some version of the The research team compared UCSF Joint Medical Program. “It will “I hope our study can serve as a — from “Absentee voting” to “Zydeco music” — serve as “Illegal aliens” heading. publicly available birth outcome take intentional dismantling of power bullet point, or a footnote to a bullet the authoritative standard for catalogers in libraries across “It’s not the ideal solution,” says Randal Brandt, data from 2006 to 2015 with maps structures, regular critical reflection, point, in the case for reparations and the country, including at UC Berkeley. head of cataloging at The Bancroft Library. “We hope drawn by the now-defunct Home and collective action to undo these for future housing equity legislation,” These subject headings establish a “controlled this is temporary.” Owners’ Loan Corp., or HOLC — deeply embedded problems.” Nardone says. “These fights are vocabulary,” with obvious benefits. As terms inevitably For Robert Toyama, cataloging coordinator at the the government-sponsored body For Morello-Frosch, the goal is for ongoing and demand justice.” P change — “Aeroplanes” becomes “Airplanes,” for example Ethnic Studies Library, the move is a “teachable moment.” tasked with assessing lending this study, and others like it, to make — materials across history on the topic will remain united “Many (students) come from communities in which and insurance risks. A dominant its way to city planners, public health under a common heading. And because most libraries they’ve never seen a person of color, for example, or a gay, factor in those assessments was practitioners, and policymakers around the country use the same list of subject headings, lesbian, or transgender individual,” Toyama says. race, with entire communities who can use the literature to To support the Library’s open with some local variations, researchers can swiftly search “I think it’s very important, particularly at a young age, of color swathed in bright red. address structural inequities. access efforts, contact the Library by topic from library to library with relative ease. to familiarize them with the proper terms.” P The new study, published in the That’s why it was so important to Development Office at 510-642-9377 open access journal PLOS One, looks make the study free to the public, or [email protected].

8 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 9 consideration for the Library Prize. RACISM IN THE Wong’s work is but one example of the deep dives the Library Prize honors each year. INTERNET AGE “While I am happy the Library UC Berkeley undergrad urges us to think before we share Prize recognizes student work, I am most happy to know it motivates, STORY BY TOR HAUGAN sparks, and ignites student interest in exploring the university’s extensive You've probably seen it before. The project not only earned Wong research resources,” says Charlene In fact, if you spend any time a Library Prize honorable mention Conrad Liebau ’60, a Rosston Society on social media, it can seem in 2019, it has also garnered a big member of the Library Board, whose impossible to avoid, tucked between audience, popping up in venues endowment makes the Library Prize inspirational quotes on your timeline across the internet, from academic possible. “For undergraduates, the or infinitely looping in a stream of papers to Yahoo News. With any University Library provides one of reaction tweets to the trending topic luck, Wong hopes her project will those great research opportunities.” du jour. raise awareness about the practice, Most troubling of all, you may not which so often goes unnoticed — and As with all Library Prize honorees, have noticed it. will inspire people to think before Wong’s finished paper was deposited Erinn Wong ’21 they share. into eScholarship, the University of had seen it before, California’s open access repository. too. But it wasn’t Wong is quick to point out that As of press time, Wong’s paper has until 2017, while she didn’t come up with the term racked up nearly 8,000 hits and watching a “digital blackface,” nor was she the around 2,500 downloads. New York Times first person to identify it. In fact, And all the attention has left Wong Wong Snapchat video, the term was popularized by Lauren feeling conflicted. “I feel like this that she discovered it had a name: Michele Jackson, gaining wide could go to someone else,” she says. “digital blackface.” prominence with the publication Yes, Wong did write an award- In recent years, digital blackface of a seminal (and viral) Teen Vogue winning paper on digital blackface. has become a far-reaching article in 2017. “Digital blackface,” But she’s clear: It’s not her place phenomenon. It comes in many Jackson writes, “uses the relative to say what digital blackface is and forms, from turns of phrase in anonymity of online identity to isn’t. But she hopes that a heightened Snapchat Bitmojis to bite-sized embody blackness.” awareness will inspire people to pay TikToks to memes and GIFs. Carmen Acevedo Butcher, a full- closer attention to their own online Tons of memes and GIFs. You time lecturer in Berkeley’s College behavior and other facets of life that know the ones: Michael Jordan, Writing Programs, remembers Wong ILLUSTRATION BY A. HAMILTON might go unexamined. cheeks stained with tears. Oprah approaching her one day after her Which could mean taking that Winfrey, arms outstretched in College Writing R4B class. a workshop for her class. Lee teaches lean on expressions and portrayals remixed, in massive volumes. Like extra step to stop and think before excitement. Nick Young, shooting “She said, ‘What would you think students the fundamentals of library of Black people to communicate advertising or propaganda, Wong reaching for that GIF that seems the camera a quizzical look, about a research project on digital research, opening a door to a and convey their emotions on the states, digital blackface normalizes just right for your tweet, but actually question marks framing his face. blackface?’ ” Acevedo Butcher recalls. wealth of information — all in internet co-opt elements of Black these caricatured depictions might be part of a harmful trend. “It just stuck with me,” Wong “And something in me went click. I “a magical hour,” Acevedo Butcher culture while, intentionally or not, through its sheer ubiquity. “There are so many other GIFs says in a recent interview, said, ‘Erinn, that could be amazing.’ ” says. (Lee also tailor-made a Library perpetuating harmful stereotypes. The paper Wong handed and memes and ways of speaking recalling her first brush with During her research, Wong turned research guide for the class.) Wong’s project places digital in, Acevedo Butcher says, was you can use to communicate and the concept. “It was … something to course texts, news articles, a Digging into the nitty-gritty of blackface in historical context as “groundbreaking” work. But show love and show your emotions,” I couldn’t unsee.” meme database, and social media. the research project through both a repackaged form of minstrel Wong wasn’t finished yet. Wong says. P And Wong didn’t avert her She also consulted the Library of Lee’s workshop and discussions blackface, a practice dating back A few months later, Wong eyes. Instead, she immersed Congress and the National Black in Acevedo Butcher’s class proved to the early 1800s in which white came back and said she wanted herself in the subject, penning Archives, and searched for peer- tremendously helpful, says Wong, actors would use makeup to play to expand upon her project. a paper as a freshman called reviewed journal articles on the UC who is majoring in business and Black characters in stereotypical “She really, really ran with To learn more about how you can “Digital Blackface: How 21st Berkeley Library’s website. media studies at Berkeley. fashion. But unlike its historical it,” says Acevedo Butcher, who support undergraduate research, contact the Library Development Century Internet Language Every semester, Acevedo Butcher In her paper, Wong contends antecedent, digital blackface is easily wrote a glowing statement to Office at 510-642-9377 or Reinforces Racism.” invites librarian Corliss Lee to lead that people who aren’t Black but shared and re-shared, mixed and support the reworked project’s [email protected].

10 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 11 consideration for the Library Prize. RACISM IN THE Wong’s work is but one example of the deep dives the Library Prize honors each year. INTERNET AGE “While I am happy the Library UC Berkeley undergrad urges us to think before we share Prize recognizes student work, I am most happy to know it motivates, STORY BY TOR HAUGAN sparks, and ignites student interest in exploring the university’s extensive You've probably seen it before. The project not only earned Wong research resources,” says Charlene In fact, if you spend any time a Library Prize honorable mention Conrad Liebau ’60, a Rosston Society on social media, it can seem in 2019, it has also garnered a big member of the Library Board, whose impossible to avoid, tucked between audience, popping up in venues endowment makes the Library Prize inspirational quotes on your timeline across the internet, from academic possible. “For undergraduates, the or infinitely looping in a stream of papers to Yahoo News. With any University Library provides one of reaction tweets to the trending topic luck, Wong hopes her project will those great research opportunities.” du jour. raise awareness about the practice, Most troubling of all, you may not which so often goes unnoticed — and As with all Library Prize honorees, have noticed it. will inspire people to think before Wong’s finished paper was deposited Erinn Wong ’21 they share. into eScholarship, the University of had seen it before, California’s open access repository. too. But it wasn’t Wong is quick to point out that As of press time, Wong’s paper has until 2017, while she didn’t come up with the term racked up nearly 8,000 hits and watching a “digital blackface,” nor was she the around 2,500 downloads. New York Times first person to identify it. In fact, And all the attention has left Wong Wong Snapchat video, the term was popularized by Lauren feeling conflicted. “I feel like this that she discovered it had a name: Michele Jackson, gaining wide could go to someone else,” she says. “digital blackface.” prominence with the publication Yes, Wong did write an award- In recent years, digital blackface of a seminal (and viral) Teen Vogue winning paper on digital blackface. has become a far-reaching article in 2017. “Digital blackface,” But she’s clear: It’s not her place phenomenon. It comes in many Jackson writes, “uses the relative to say what digital blackface is and forms, from turns of phrase in anonymity of online identity to isn’t. But she hopes that a heightened Snapchat Bitmojis to bite-sized embody blackness.” awareness will inspire people to pay TikToks to memes and GIFs. Carmen Acevedo Butcher, a full- closer attention to their own online Tons of memes and GIFs. You time lecturer in Berkeley’s College behavior and other facets of life that know the ones: Michael Jordan, Writing Programs, remembers Wong ILLUSTRATION BY A. HAMILTON might go unexamined. cheeks stained with tears. Oprah approaching her one day after her Which could mean taking that Winfrey, arms outstretched in College Writing R4B class. a workshop for her class. Lee teaches lean on expressions and portrayals remixed, in massive volumes. Like extra step to stop and think before excitement. Nick Young, shooting “She said, ‘What would you think students the fundamentals of library of Black people to communicate advertising or propaganda, Wong reaching for that GIF that seems the camera a quizzical look, about a research project on digital research, opening a door to a and convey their emotions on the states, digital blackface normalizes just right for your tweet, but actually question marks framing his face. blackface?’ ” Acevedo Butcher recalls. wealth of information — all in internet co-opt elements of Black these caricatured depictions might be part of a harmful trend. “It just stuck with me,” Wong “And something in me went click. I “a magical hour,” Acevedo Butcher culture while, intentionally or not, through its sheer ubiquity. “There are so many other GIFs says in a recent interview, said, ‘Erinn, that could be amazing.’ ” says. (Lee also tailor-made a Library perpetuating harmful stereotypes. The paper Wong handed and memes and ways of speaking recalling her first brush with During her research, Wong turned research guide for the class.) Wong’s project places digital in, Acevedo Butcher says, was you can use to communicate and the concept. “It was … something to course texts, news articles, a Digging into the nitty-gritty of blackface in historical context as “groundbreaking” work. But show love and show your emotions,” I couldn’t unsee.” meme database, and social media. the research project through both a repackaged form of minstrel Wong wasn’t finished yet. Wong says. P And Wong didn’t avert her She also consulted the Library of Lee’s workshop and discussions blackface, a practice dating back A few months later, Wong eyes. Instead, she immersed Congress and the National Black in Acevedo Butcher’s class proved to the early 1800s in which white came back and said she wanted herself in the subject, penning Archives, and searched for peer- tremendously helpful, says Wong, actors would use makeup to play to expand upon her project. a paper as a freshman called reviewed journal articles on the UC who is majoring in business and Black characters in stereotypical “She really, really ran with To learn more about how you can “Digital Blackface: How 21st Berkeley Library’s website. media studies at Berkeley. fashion. But unlike its historical it,” says Acevedo Butcher, who support undergraduate research, contact the Library Development Century Internet Language Every semester, Acevedo Butcher In her paper, Wong contends antecedent, digital blackface is easily wrote a glowing statement to Office at 510-642-9377 or Reinforces Racism.” invites librarian Corliss Lee to lead that people who aren’t Black but shared and re-shared, mixed and support the reworked project’s [email protected].

10 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 11 2020 CHARLENE CONRAD LIEBAU LIBRARY PRIZE FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN TIMES OF HARDSHIP, RESEARCH FORGES AHEAD Students flex ingenuity, resourcefulness in winning projects

On trips to museums, You’re on a Jennifer Yang would mountaintop, soaking look at Chinese in the beauty of the paintings, struck by valley and bubbling the effortless flow creeks below. Awe- between poems inspiring, right? Yes and images. Yang — but there might be Samyukta Aarti Jennifer Enna more to that feeling

endeavored to explore UPPER DIVISION PRIZEWINNER LOWER DIVISION PRIZEWINNER LOWER LOWER DIVISION PRIZEWINNERS LOWER Shrivatsa Visswanathan Yang this connection — the Chen than you think. For her project, “Cultural Variations in PHOTO BY JERRY TELFER. BANC PIC 1985.079:059--AX For their project, “Exploring a Decision- dance between words and visuals in the the Appraisals of Awe,” Enna Chen Trigger for Maintenance of a Remotely Chinese artistic tradition — but it was Jazz icon Duke Ellington is swamped by students during a examined responses from more than Monitored Arsenic-Remediation System only when she narrowed down her topic visit to a Berkeley elementary school in 1969. 2,000 people, spanning 26 countries, Planned for Low-Income Community that her project began to crystallize. In reflecting on their most intense in Central Valley, CA” Samyukta her paper, “Word and Image in Chinese experiences of awe. Chen’s paper, Shrivatsa and Aarti Visswanathan Literati Tradition: Analysis of The Way, drawing upon those recollections, plus conducted an experiment, buttressed a spiritual path,” Yang focuses on Kim heaps of research from other scholars, by Library research, to take on the Hoa Tram’s 2005 work, exploring how points to a range of differences real-life problem of inequitable access the text and imagery intertwine to in how awe is experienced across to safe drinking water in California’s express the concept of “oneness” of cultures. For example, those from Central Valley. The project shows humans and nature. Relying on a range individualistic cultures, like you see in promise of a solution: a system that of Western and Chinese sources, Yang’s the Western world, were more likely uses a disposable iron cartridge — to project grounds her creative thinking to attribute the awe they experienced be monitored remotely via a phone and analysis in a rigorous study of to themselves and not to outside app so users know when to replace Buddhist and Taoist philosophy and factors — including the supposed it — for the process of removing Chinese arts. awe-inspiring situation itself. arsenic from groundwater.

Generations of What story does The look of scholars have the art in the Oval Portsmouth Square, pointed to the Peace Office tell? For her in San Francisco’s PHOTO BY JERRY TELFER. BANC PIC 1985.079:079--AX of Westphalia as paper, “The Cowboy Chinatown, has been a turning point in in the West Wing: On in a near-constant Left, Ernest Mitchell holds a sign at an anti-violence picket history. As the thinking Western Artworks in state of change. For in San Francisco’s Hunters Point neighborhood in 1969. goes, not only did the Oval Office,” Sarah her project, “Identity Above, kids wear costumes for Halloween in 1968. Nicholas the peace settlement Sarah Kersting assembled Divya Politics and Cultural PHOTO BY GREG PETERSON. BANC PIC 1985.079:074--AX UPPER DIVISION PRIZEWINNER UPPER DIVISION PRIZEWINNER UPPER DIVISION PRIZEWINNER Pingitore — actually a pair of Kersting what might be the Jain Placemaking: The treaties, signed in 1648 — end the first inventory of artworks displayed in Americanization of Portsmouth Thirty Years’ War, restoring order in the Oval Office under each presidential Square,” Divya Jain pored over Europe, but it also ushered in modern administration. During the course of her brochures, travel guides, numerous international relations, built upon the research, Kersting corresponded with archival images, and other materials, idea of secular state sovereignty. In his presidential library historians, studied including many from the Ethnic Studies news photos, and scoured the Library’s Library, to track the evolution of the SIGN OF THE TIMES paper, “Inventing Westphalia,” Nicholas Pingitore traces the roots of this myth digital resources. The Western frontier, square’s design with the changing — long held as truth — which stretch Kersting found, is a visual throughline historical tides. During the Gold Rush The photographs span about a decade, but the stories are timeless. The images, made almost entirely by news and twist across history. Relying upon that starts with John F. Kennedy’s — and amid the backlash against photographers, capture moments from the everyday to the extraordinary. People work, celebrate, and mourn. Kids information gleaned from a range of Oval Office and wends its way through immigration from China — the square’s places, including the digital repository most presidents’ artistic choices since. European-inspired design echoed don costumes for Halloween. Protesters call for change. Worshippers rejoice. Familiar faces surface: jazz legend Duke HathiTrust and The Bancroft Library, While favoring frozen-in-time imagery sentiments of exclusion. More recently, Ellington, politician Willie Brown, Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale. Together, these images make up the Pingitore maps the evolution of an idea, that signals a rugged self-reliance and the look of the square has mirrored a photographic collection of African Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1963-1974, collected by James de Tar Abajian. casting light on the historical forces and bravery, she writes, presidents have turn toward inclusivity, with homages figures at play. glossed over the West’s complicated to Chinese culture — albeit filtered A bibliographer and historian with a lifelong interest in the African American community, Abajian served as the chief history and environmental challenges. through an American lens. librarian of the California Historical Society from 1949 to 1968 and the director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Special Collection at the San Francisco Public Library from 1969 to 1971. The photographs are but one facet of The Bancroft Library’s HONORABLE MENTIONS pictorial collection on African American communities in the Bay Area — an area that Bancroft is actively working to Michele Makhlouf Cavero Louise Curtis “Accept. Accept! Accept!? “Leserinnen and Enlightenment: expand, curators say. Other significant collections include David Johnson’s photographs of Black life in San Francisco, The Problems, Solutions, and Johanna Unzer’s Philosophy particularly the Fillmore district; Black Panther photographs by Stephen Shames; images of Bay Area storefront gospel Implications of Digital Privacy” for Women” churches and blues clubs by Michelle Vignes; and Barry Shapiro’s images of Hunters Point in the ’70s and ’80s. P

12 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 13 2020 CHARLENE CONRAD LIEBAU LIBRARY PRIZE FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN TIMES OF HARDSHIP, RESEARCH FORGES AHEAD Students flex ingenuity, resourcefulness in winning projects

12 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 13 LIBRARY BOARD 2020-21

PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN CORNER Marily A. Howekamp ’66 Library’s latest chapter includes lifeline for students, treasures for all MEMBERS Josefina Baltodano Brad Barber ’68, J.D. ’71 Janice Bea It was a grand display: On a Saturday in late February, Paul Churchill ’82, J.D. ’86 Carol Kavanagh Clarke ’60 Nobel laureates, Olympic athletes, and campus stalwarts Thomas Dandelet, Chair, Academic Senate poured into Memorial Stadium, bathed in the soft glow of Library Committee Jason DiNapoli ’90 blue and gold light. The occasion? The launch of Light the Francesca M. Eastman Way: The Campaign for Berkeley, the university’s historic Nancy Foster Jeffrey G. Homrig ’95, J.D. ’01 endeavor to raise $6 billion by the end of 2023. At the Leeron Kalay ’01 event, Chancellor Carol Christ illuminated a bold vision Raymond Lin M.B.A. ’93, M.A. ’93 John Maccabee for the future. A key part of that future, intertwined with Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, University Librarian and the goal of enriching the undergraduate experience, is the Chief Digital Scholarship Officer PHOTO BY JAMI SMITH Meredith Meade ’93 Center for Connected Learning. Taking over the entirety Alan C. Mendelson ’69 A patron takes in the view outside of the C. V. Starr East Asian Library, with Doe Library in the background. George Miller M.B.A ’61 of Moffitt Library, the Center for Connected Learning Jason Morimoto ’02 will redefine how a library can serve students in the 21st Susan Morris ’63 Peter Muñoz ’68, M.A. ’70, J.D. ’75 century, putting them at the center of the learning process EVIDENCE OF THE PAST, Garry I. Parton ’86 as they connect with information, technology, and — Michael Robarts ’87 once the fog of the pandemic has lifted — one another. A WINDOW INTO THE FUTURE Cynthia So Schroeder ’91 Rishi N. Sharma ’02, J.D. ’05 On the path toward racial justice, Library materials line the way Camilla M. Smith Allen C. Soong M.B.A. ’96 AN ANCHOR IN THE STORM Robert G. Sproul III ’69, Chair, Friends of The Bancroft Library Council PHOTO BY JAMI SMITH “One spring morning in 2017, I spent a few hours digging through boxes of century-old materials. Before the pandemic, Olivia Sandoval ’21 would study Miriam D. Starc ’83, J.D. ’86 Library student employee Olivia Sandoval ’21 locates books in Main Stacks that Returning home that evening, I wrote in my diary, ‘EUREKA at the Bancroft!’ The Bancroft Susan R. Stutzman ’84 at the UC Berkeley Library, favoring the quietude of have been requested through the Library’s contactless pickup service. Library houses more than 140 volumes, or around 260 linear feet, of materials related to the 1915 Elaine C. Tennant, Director, The Bancroft Library Main Stacks. “I always loved the Library, but during Panama-Pacific International Exhibition. I hoped to find materials relating to three of the primary figures in my most recent book, The White Devil’s Daughters. My chances of finding mentions of Megan V. Thygeson ’78 quarantine I started missing it more and more,” she says. like the pandemic. Well over 100,000 of the Library’s Carol Upshaw ’58 them in this collection were as slender as a bamboo reed. But the letters were there — and they David B. Walrod ’87 But for Sandoval, the Library is not only a repository one-of-a-kind gems are on its Digital Collections website provided crucial evidence of how these figures opposed racism and fought for social justice. I’m Laura Wen-yu Young ’84, J.D. ’87 of information and (in better times) an ideal place to (digital.lib.berkeley.edu), which launched this year. And deeply grateful to Berkeley’s world-class library for helping me unearth this inspiring history.” Theo S. Zaninovich ’64 study — it’s also her workplace. Even in the thrall of the with fall instruction continuing online, the Library has JULIA FLYNN SILER, author and Council of the Friends of The Bancroft Library member JACK ROSSTON SOCIETY MEMBERS pandemic, the Library remains one of the leading student worked tirelessly to provide students with free electronic Annie Barrows ’84, Author Trustee Paul D. Chapman employers on campus, through its Work+Learn program. versions of course readings and videos, digitizing print “When I visited the Bay Area during my junior year of college, I was amazed at the world I saw. I felt like I had been transported to the future: a more ethnically diverse, tolerant place, where Mollie P. Collins ’65, Past President Sandoval worked at the information desks in Doe, Moffitt, materials and — in what might be a first for a program John F. Cummins the playing field felt less tilted toward any one group. This future became my reality when I Charles B. Faulhaber, Director Emeritus, and Main Stacks. This semester, Sandoval’s work includes of its kind — sharing them nationally. The result is a enrolled as a grad student at Cal. As California’s flagship public university and an epicenter of The Bancroft Library staffing Oski Xpress, the Library’s new contactless much-needed dose of financial relief at a time when student activism, UC Berkeley has played an outsized role in the movement toward greater racial Carl Franklin ’71 equality. The Library’s collections document the debates and controversies on campus and in John B. Gage ’75 pickup service. “This is our second year of supporting students are facing steep challenges. “As the pandemic society around ethnic studies, civil rights, and affirmative action. What happens in California Victoria L. George ’78, ’82 the Work+Learn program,” says Susan Stutzman ’84, a forced the Library to shut down its physical operations, and at UC Berkeley foreshadows what America will see in the coming years. The Library’s books, Richard Greene ’60, J.D. ’63 J. R. K. Kantor ’57, ’60, member of the Library Board who, along with her husband, … the Library’s digital initiatives ensured that our users documents, films, and other materials provide a window into the future of this country.” Emeritus University Archivist Mark, is offering a $100,000 matching grant to encourage could still continue to access and consume the millions RAY LIN M.B.A. ’93, M.A. ’93, Library Board member Carole Krumland ’67 Thomas C. Leonard Ph.D. ’73, others to give gifts of $5,000 and above to support the of items that we’ve digitized and made available online,” University Librarian Emeritus Work+Learn program. “We love it because it gives us says Salwa Ismail, associate university librarian for digital “The UC Berkeley Library plays an integral part in shaping our understanding of racial justice. Charlene Liebau ’60 A crucial first step to being a racial justice advocate is learning about the history of racism in Raymond Lifchez M.C.P. ’72 the opportunity to support the two things we love most initiatives and information technology, who oversees the United States. This is accomplished through research on systemic racism and oppression Donald McQuade about Cal — the students and the world-class Library!” the Library’s digitization program. “This is a positive of marginalized groups and by, for example, reading factual accounts of slavery and reviewing Rita Moreno, Artist Trustee Harvey L. Myman ’70, M.J. ’92 sign of the investments made by the Library, which statistics on racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The intellectual and emotional texture Robert G. O’Donnell ’65, ’66 of our discourse around racism and anti-racism is better informed and better shaped by the COMMUNITY CHEST will benefit our users for generations to come.” P W. Timothy Ryan ’59, M.B.A. ’62 overwhelming data on systemic racism and the lived experiences of people of color. As notions of Roger Samuelsen ’58, J.D. ’64 inclusion and diversity become more widespread in higher education, it is our duty to ensure that Stephen M. Silberstein ’64, ’77 For years, the Library has committed to digitizing its tangible, meaningful, effective actions follow institutional mission statements. The Library plays a Janet Stanford ’59 key role in our efforts to correct injustices against minority communities and identify how those Katharine Thompson ’48 bounty of treasures, turning books on shelves into digital Judy C. Webb ’60 To learn more about how you can support these initiatives, go injustices affect us all.” renditions that can be accessed anywhere. But nothing Sheryl Wong ’67, ’68, Past President to give.lib.berkeley.edu or contact the Library Development SAMANTHA RUSHING ’20, program administrator and executive assistant for the Lesley G. Yeary ’85 has quite underscored the importance of these efforts Office at 510-642-9377 or [email protected]. Executive Leadership Academy, UC Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education

14 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 15 LIBRARY BOARD 2020-21

14 | FIAT LUX | Fall 2020 Fall 2020 | FIAT LUX | 15 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID OAKLAND, CA UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY PERMIT NO. 8045 131 DOE LIBRARY BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94720-6000

BEHIND THE SCENES Documentaries shine a light on the Black experience, from everyday racism to the power of stories BY A. HAMILTON

It was during my freshman year of college, May of 1992, when the Los Angeles riots erupted. Fires blazed, and stores were looted as police tried to regain order. News stations televised vivid images of the city unraveling following the public beating of Rodney King, an unarmed Black man. The scene was like watching a modern-day lynching, pushed out through the media for millions to see. AMERICAN DENIAL FILM PRESS PHOTO. UNTITLED, HARLEM, NEW MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE FILM PRESS PHOTO. I grew up in one of two African YORK, 1947. PHOTOGRAPH BY GORDON PARKS. MAGNUM/COURTESY OF AMERICAN MASTERS. American families in our neighborhood. American Denial: The Truth Is Deeper Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (2016) When the riots broke out, it seemed like Than Black and White (2014) my own frustrations were amplified a A relatable story about love, heartache, hundredfold. The ongoing conflict between As a Black person, it’s difficult to explain empowerment, and faith, Maya Angelou: Black residents and law enforcement to someone the racism you experience in And Still I Rise honors the life and work of was living proof that the feeling of life. American Denial: The Truth Is Deeper an African American icon. Offering a rare oppression still lingered in the everyday Than Black and White accomplishes window into Angelou’s life, the filmmakers lives of poor and rich Black Americans. this by making a connection between explore the purpose and style behind The savage, inhumane treatment under sociologist Gunnar Myrdal’s observations her writing, which embodies the Black slavery has affected so many lives, its and contemporary theories on bias. This experience in the tradition of the slave impact rippling across generations. To is an American story that makes sense. narrative. The film balances recollections of mark four centuries since American slavery Recounting Myrdal’s experiences while Angelou’s youth and friendships to explain began, the UC Berkeley Library highlighted investigating Jim Crow racism for his how she became the woman reflected in documentaries (available through the 1944 study, An American Dilemma, the her work. As a tribute, the film celebrates Library) that help illuminate the Black documentary confronts how America Angelou’s eloquence and creativity, along experience, filling in the gaps of history with continues to fail Black Americans. This with her achievements in breaking down perspectives that are often overlooked. documentary is a timely follow-up to barriers as an author and a Black woman. Learn about more films that lift and center Myrdal’s investigation, providing evidence If you aren’t familiar with her work, this film Black voices at ucberk.li/400. that anti-Blackness is still very much a part may motivate you to change that. of our society.

SUPPORT THE UC BERKELEY LIBRARY GIVE.LIB.BERKELEY.EDU