This presentation was provided by Alanna Aiko Moore of The University of California - San Diego, during the NISO Training Series "Organizational Planning for DEIA: A 100 Level Course." Session Three, "Language Justice and the Power of Words," was held October 1, 2021.

1. LANGUAGE
JUSTICE AND
THE POWER
OF WORDS
This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License and was created by Alanna Aiko Moore.
PRESENTED BY:
ALANNA AIKO MOORE
NISO: ORGANIZATIONAL
PLANNING AND DEIA

2. About Me
2

3. SESSION OBJECTIVES
● Understand the power of language and words
and the impact on people from historically
oppressed communities
● Learn basic EDIA definitions to create a shared
language
● Build understanding of how coded language,
oppressive phrases and language without action
is dangerous
● Learn how to use language and words to
promote cross cultural awareness
3

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
4

5. ENGAGEMENT NORMS
● Be Present. Bring all of yourself and set aside
distractions.
● Practice self-awareness, empathy, and reflection.
● This is a learning space: everyone is responsible for this
space, in words and in actions.
● Be responsible for your own learning.
● Only share what you can carry. What is shared in the
space, stays in the space.
● Questions will be answered using progressive stacking,
(* if you identify as BIPOC)
5

6. “ “the set of ideas, values, and
assumptions librarians have about
themselves and the profession that
result in beliefs that libraries as
institutions are inherently good and
sacred, and therefore beyond
critique.”
6
VOCATIONAL AWE
COINED BY FOBAZI ETTARH

7. THE POWER OF
LANGUAGE AND
WORDS

8. 8
Why is it important to
be aware of language
and word usage in our
organizations?

9. 9
● Discrimination based on use of language and
words, speech patterns, accent, perceived size of
vocabulary.
● People are judged and assumptions are made
about another person's education level, wealth,
social status, character, etc.
●
LANGUAGE DISCRIMINATION

10. ▸ Enslaved Peoples Robbed of Their
Language
▸ Native American Boarding schools
▸ Immigrants Forced to Assimilate
▸ “English only” movement in the United
States
10
HISTORY OF
DISCRIMINATION AND
COLONIZATION

11. THE
LANGUAGE
OF DIVERSITY,
EQUITY,
INCLUSION &
ACCESSIBILITY

12. “
Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, and it
encompasses all the different characteristics that make one
individual or group different from another. It is all-inclusive
and recognizes everyone and every group as part of the
diversity that should be valued. A broad definition includes
not only race, ethnicity, and gender—the groups that most
often come to mind when the term "diversity" is used—but
also age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual
orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital
status, language, and physical appearance. It also involves
different ideas, perspectives, and values.
--Racial Equity Tools
12
DIVERSITY

13. “
I would argue that “diversity” cannot
merely exist to provide a diverse
experience for a dominant culture.
True “diversity” means that the visitor
of color would need to feel that their
very presence did not constitute the
diversity.
--Dr. Porchia Moore 13
RE-THINKING “DIVERSITY”

14. 14

15. “ Authentically bringing traditionally
excluded individuals and/or groups
into processes, activities, and
decision/policy making in a way that
shares power.
--RacialEquity Tools
15
INCLUSION

16. “
when a person with a disability is afforded the
opportunity to acquire the same information, engage
in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services
as a person without a disability in an equally
integrated and equally effective manner, with
substantially equivalent ease of use.
--The Office for Civil Rights at the Department
of Education
16
ACCESSIBILITY

17. LANGUAGE
WITHOUT
ACTION

18. Key Findings Included:
● Most job descriptions use diversity, equity, and inclusion
terminology rather than anti-racism.
● Job advertisements generally lack a change orientation and do not
discuss the library’s culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
● Nearly all job descriptions include generic equal opportunity
statements.
18

19. Often acronyms like the ones above, are
used as a way to avoid talking about
racism, anti-blackness, white supremacy
and oppression.
19
EDI or DEI or EDIA or IDEA
JEDI or EDIASJ

20. 20
https://www.infodocket.com/2020/06/01/statements-from-library-organizations-re-racism-and-increased-violence/

21. 21

22. LANGUAGE
and
OPPRESSION

23. “
Current racial code operates by
appealing to deep-seated stereotypes of
groups that are perceived as
threatening...the way these words play
into stereotypes without outright
mentioning them gives the user some
leeway.”
--Haney-Lopez
23
CODED LANGUAGE

24. ● “Thug”
● “Urban” or “Inner City” also “Ghetto”
● “Radical Islam”
● “Illegal immigrant” or “Illegal Alien”
24

25. 25
We need to
be careful.
It is important to stay
neutral and balanced.
We don’t want to make
people uncomfortable. It is just the way it is.
Out of my control.

26. Many common words and phrases are
racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist...but are
so commonly used that many people do not
realize the harm they are doing.
26
OPPRESSIVE PHRASES
(THAT ARE PART OF
COMMON LANGUAGE)

27. ● “He went off the reservation.”
● “Let’s powwow to work on that
project.”
● “My dog is my spirit animal.”

28. ● “Your comment fell on deaf ears.”
● “My manager turned a blind eye
to the problem.”
● “I was crippled by indecision.”

29. ● “Where are you from?
● “You are so articulate.”
● “That’s so gay!”
● “When I look at you, I don’t see color.”
● “You have a mental illness? But you act
so normal!”
29
OPPRESSIVE PHRASES
(THAT ARE MICROAGGRESSIONS)

30. NAMING

31. PRONOUNS Other approaches to
pronouns:
“ Just my name, please.”
“ No preference!”
“It’s better if you mix ‘em
up!”
“No pronouns for me!”

32. 32
Latinx
QUEER
AFAB
BIPOC

33. SYSTEMS OF
CLASSIFICATION

34. “
DECONSTRUCTING AND
DECOLONIZING SYSTEMS OF
ORGANIZATION IN LIBRARIES
Despite the many changes that have been
implemented ...there are still many LCSH
that marginalize and dehumanize
vulnerable, disadvantaged...populations,
which therefore restricts their access to
information. "
--Crystal Vaughan
34

35. Inclusive Subject Headings
35

36. IMPACT VERSUS
INTENT
AND REPAIR

37. 37
“I never meant any harm…”
“It was never my intent…”
“I am not a racist…”
“I am not a homophobe…”
“I’m not a sexist…”
Does the intent of our action really
matter if our actions have the
impact of furthering the
marginalization or oppression of
those around us?

38. Strategies for
Perpetrators
FUMBLING TOWARDS REPAIR
38
● Who was hurt/harmed?
● What is needed to create space to
repair?
● Whose obligation is it to meet those
needs?
(Kaba & Hassan, 2019)

39. LEARNING IS A PROCESS
39

40. 40

41. 41
REFERENCES I
Alabi, J. and Moore, A. (2020). Identity, Implicit Bias And Microaggressions [PowerPoint
presentation]. Medical Library Association READS, Online.
BBC. (n.d.). The pervasive problem of 'linguistic racism'. BBC Worklife. Retrieved September 30,
2021, from
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210528-the-pervasive-problem-of-linguistic-racis
m.
Chou, R. L., Pho, A. (2018). Pushing the margins: Women of color and intersectionality in LIS.
Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press.
Damasco, I., & Hodges, D. (2012). Tenure and promotion experiences of academic librarians
of color. College & Research Libraries, 73(3), 279-301. Retrieved from
http://crl.acrl.org/content/73/3.toc
Ettarh, F. (2018). Vocational awe and librarianship: The lies we tell ourselves. In the Library with
the Lead Pipe. http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/
Glossary. Racial Equity Tools. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2021, from
https://www.racialequitytools.org/glossary.

42. 42
REFERENCES II
Haney-Lopez, I. (2015). Dog whistle politics: How coded racial appeals have reinvented racismand
wrecked the middle class. Oxford University Press.
How do I use your pronouns correctly? MyPronouns.org Resources on Personal Pronouns. (n.d.).
Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://www.mypronouns.org/how.
Kaba, M., & Hassan, S. (2019). Fumbling towards repair: A workbook for community accountability
facilitators. Project NIA.
Know your terms: Code switching. Cult of Pedagogy. (2017, June 14). Retrieved September 30,
2021, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/code-switching/.
Marcoccio, K. (1995). IDENTIFYING OPPRESSION IN LANGUAGE: The Power of Words. Canadian
Social Work Review / Revue Canadienne de Service Social, 12(2), 146–158.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41669593
Nadal, K. L. (2013). That's so gay! Microaggressions and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/14093-000

43. 43
REFERENCES III
Nadal, K. (2011). Responding to racial, gender, and sexual orientation microaggressions in the
workplace. In M. A. Paludi, C. r. Paludi, E. R. DeSouza (Eds.) , Praeger handbook on understanding
and preventing workplace discrimination (Vol. 2) (pp. 23-32). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Phạm, X. (2017, January 30). 3 ways language oppression harms US (and how we can heal). Everyday
Feminism. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from
https://everydayfeminism.com/2016/06/language-oppression-harms-us/.
Sue, D. W. (2005). Racism and the conspiracy of silence: Presidential Address. The Counseling
Psychologist, 33(1), 100-114.
Otten, S., Zee, K. V., & Brewer, M. B. (2015). Towards Inclusive Organizations: determinants of
successful diversity at work. Hove: Psychology Press.
Understanding Systemic Racism. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.edi.nih.gov/people/resources/advancing-racial-equity/understanding-systemic-
racism
Vaughan, C. (2018). The language of cataloguing: Deconstructing and decolonizing systems of
organization in libraries. Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management, 14.
https://doi.org/10.5931/djim.v14i0.7853