Social Justice and Cultural Competency by Marcia A. Mardis

Social Justice and Cultural Competency by Marcia A. Mardis

Author:Marcia A. Mardis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2019-07-15T00:00:00+00:00


Discussion

The most prominent and revealing finding of this study was the apparent lack of cultural awareness and competence reflected by the responses. In this section, we offer possible explanations for the relatively few culture-related responses by the participants. Each of the explanations, while not generalizable, warrants further exploration and raises issues for the LIS professional community to consider.

One possible explanation for the findings is the “implicit pervasiveness of cultural ethnocentrism,” which is defined as the nonconscious tendency to view one’s ethnic or cultural group as centrally important, and to measure all other groups in relation to one’s own (Juliá, 2000, p. 286). The majority of our study participants, like the majority of librarians, were White. Unless these librarians had engaged in meaningful and reflective study of the historical and contemporary impact of race, racism, power, and privilege in the United States, they may not understand how their ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds guide their perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. Unaware of the historical privileges associated with Whiteness, including access to employment, housing, health care, education, and even library services, they may have a minimal understanding of how cultural differences “make radical differences to the ways people experience and understand the world” (Segall & Garrett, 2013, p. 286). The normativeness of their race, their Whiteness, thus, may be one factor contributing to their apparent lack of understanding of the importance of cultural considerations in the design and delivery of library services to diverse communities. This explanation is further supported by research that shows that “the current culture represented in many libraries is the culture of mainstream communities, even when those libraries are located in areas that are distinctly different from mainstream communities” (Overall, 2009, p. 199).

Another possible explanation for the findings is the reluctance, and even discomfort, the vast majority of Americans have about discussing issues related to race and ethnicity—two dimensions that are central to any discussion or consideration of culture in the United States (Segall & Garrett, 2013). As Pawley (2006) noted, “LIS practitioners and educators tend to avoid the R word” (p. 151). This tendency to avoid discussions about race or ethnicity has been attributed to “fear of controversy and attempting to avoid community criticism, the desire not to be considered racist” (Segall & Garret, 2013, p. 267); the belief that we live in a post-racial society (Hsu, 2009); or the belief that colorblindness, or not seeing race, is a “graceful, even generous, liberal gesture” (Morrison, 1992, p. 9). The plausibility of this explanation is supported by two trends we noticed in the data. First, none of the participants mentioned the word “race” and only one the word “ethnic” in their responses; this despite the fact that it is likely that many of the respondents’ patrons are youth and families of color. Instead, neutral words like “multicultural,” “cultural awareness,” or “diversity” were used. As Pawley (2006) noted, these words are often “used as a way of referring, in particular to race and ethnicity” although the terms are far from equivalent (pp.



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