DAY 12: Equitable & Liberating Forms of Bookselling

There is a long history of formal and informal government actions and institutional governance that reinforces white supremacy at the expense of Black, Indigenous, and people of color. By governance, we mean “the processes of interaction and decision-making among actors involved in collective problem-solving that lead to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of social norms and institutions.” This includes the policies and practices you have in the workplace. The good news is that there have also been and continue to be efforts to reform existing structures and to create new forms of governance that support justice and sovereignty, self-determination, and racial equity. 

Watch the “Bookselling and Free Expression” conversation, sponsored by the regional bookseller associations, or read the transcript.

• What systems of governance are you a part of, and what and who do these serve? How active are you in advocating for racial justice in government and governance? What alternative governance forms are you engaged in that support more equitable processes and outcomes?

• Reflect on your life as a bookseller: At your bookstore, are you sourcing your office, cleaning, cafe supplies, and professional services (accounting, legal and HR support) from primarily white providers? Is your bank BIPOC-owned and/or supportive of marginalized communities with actions and grants?

• Bring a critical eye to the existing governance models in your store, other local businesses, and the greater community. How are these aligned with the goals of racial equity? A helpful tool for gauging this is a race equity impact assessment. Bring these questions to members of these governing bodies.

• Experiment with new processes for interaction and decision-making.

More Resources

• Lee and Low Diversity Baseline Survey 2019 and 2023
• Government Alliance on Race and Equity
• Finding Hope in Local Power
• What is Sociocracy
• Diverse Bookstores Face Unique Challenges

Yesterday: Institutional Racism
Tomorrow: Reflecting on Week Two

Author Photo Credit: nate b. | Quote from Words of Change: Anti-Racism by permission of Sasquatch Books. Copyright 2020 By Kenyra Rankin. All rights reserved.

SIBA thanks its generous sponsors, who have made the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge possible:

Many of the quotes used in the Challenge are excerpted from Words of Change: Anti-Racism by permission of Sasquatch Books. Copyright 2020 By Kenyra Rankin. All rights reserved.

Although SIBA has modified when appropriate for a bookseller audience, the majority of prompts and resources come directly from the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge created by Food Solutions New England (FSNE). We are so grateful for their extraordinary work creating this program and making it available to other organizations.