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Contribution to Book
Ann Allen Shockley: An Activist-Librarian for Black Special Collections
Knowledge Justice Disrupting Library and Information Studies through Critical Race Theory (2021)
  • Shaundra Walker
Abstract
While Ann Allen Shockley’s literary career has received a wealth of critique, her work as a
librarian and her writings about Black Special Collections have not received as much analysis.
When viewed through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Shockley emerges as an activist-
librarian, one worthy of further study and consideration. Her writing and instruction on Black
special collections highlight the liberatory potential of collection building to address the
marginalization that traditional cataloging and classification systems impose on materials about
the experiences of Black people. When applied to collection building practices, CRT reveals the
ways in which Shockley’s work exposed the embedded racism within those systems and
proposed ways for them to be critiqued, challenged, and ultimately dismantled.
Keywords
  • Ann Allen Shockley,
  • CRT,
  • counternarrative,
  • Black Special Collections,
  • HBCUs,
  • Black studies
Publication Date
April 13, 2021
Editor
Sofia Y. Leung and Jorge R. López-McKnight
Publisher
MIT Press
ISBN
9780262043502
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11969.001.0001
Publisher Statement
In Knowledge Justice, Black, Indigenous, and Peoples of Color scholars use critical race theory (CRT) to challenge the foundational principles, values, and assumptions of Library and Information Science and Studies (LIS) in the United States. They propel CRT to center stage in LIS, to push the profession to understand and reckon with how white supremacy affects practices, services, curriculum, spaces, and policies.

The contributors show that the field is deeply invested in the false idea of its own objectivity and neutrality, and they go on to show how this relates to assumptions about race. Through deep analyses of library and archival collections, scholarly communication, hierarchies of power, epistemic supremacy, children's librarianship, teaching and learning, digital humanities, and the education system, Knowledge Justice challenges LIS to reimagine itself by throwing off the weight and legacy of white supremacy and reaching for racial justic
Citation Information
Shaundra Walker. "Ann Allen Shockley: An Activist-Librarian for Black Special Collections" CambridgeKnowledge Justice Disrupting Library and Information Studies through Critical Race Theory (2021) p. 159 - 175
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/shaundra-walker/11/
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-NC-ND International License.