With these press releases you have offered the collaboration of our professional organization to the incoming Trump administration. Your statement gives support to politicians who have threatened to cause unimaginable harm at home and abroad. There are numerous reasons for concern about the coming administration: Donald Trump promised to build a border wall and to crackdown on undocumented immigrants; during campaign season, he spoke of increased domestic surveillance and the ramping up of law and order; his transition team cited the United State’s horrific history of interning Japanese Americans during World War II as precedent for creating a Muslim registry for Americans and immigrants who practice Islam; Trump’s chief strategist and senior counselor Steve Bannon is a proven white supremacist and Trump’s pick for Attorney General has made racist pronouncements; Trump has promised to gut the EPA in a time of impending catastrophe caused by climate change. As a candidate, Donald Trump denigrated women using openly misogynistic language and defended his admission of sexual assault; he mocked disabled people; and his choice for Vice President, Mike Pence, supports extreme restrictions of women’s reproductive rights and the rights of LGBTQIA folks.
The fascist values represented by the politics of the incoming administration are in direct conflict with many of the core values of ALA, including democracy, diversity, confidentiality/privacy, and intellectual freedom. Your offer of support and collaboration normalizes and entrenches the political power of these leaders and their proposed policies. Your actions hurt the most vulnerable in our communities.
The Seattle Critical Library Workers Group says “no” to the Trump administration in the name of seeking a more socially just world by serving our patrons, many of whom are targets of this administration. We say “no” to anti-immigrant sentiments. We say “no” to increased law and order and surveillance, the brunt of which is suffered by black and brown people. We say “no” to misogyny, white supremacy, ableism, and homophobic policies. We ask that you join us in resistance to the proposed policies and associations of the Trump administration. We ask that you say “no” to the Trump administration along with us by rescinding these press releases. We invite you to join us in doing the best work of libraries by striving for a more socially just, democratic, and intellectually free world.