Social Justice
Reading out loud and proud
“It’s okay to be different. You are special and important just because of who you are.” from "It’s Okay to be Different" by Todd Parr Celebrating differences was a key theme throughout the Libraries’ first-ever Storytime in Drag event on Monday, April 24. Students, faculty, and staff gathered in McKeldin Library to celebrate the university’s recognition of Pride Month with performers D’Manda Martini and Bella Naughty, who read from banned children’s books (see list below) as well as other books featuring LGBTQ+ affirming themes.
Lae’l Hughes-Watkins promoted to Associate Director for Engagement, Inclusion, and Reparative Archiving in the UMD Libraries
The UMD Libraries is pleased to announce that Lae’l Hughes-Watkins has been named the inaugural Associate Director for Engagement, Inclusion, and Reparative Archiving in Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA). Hughes-Watkins assumes this new leadership role after serving for over three years as University Archivist. (A search to fill the now-vacant archivist role will be conducted soon.)
UMD Libraries Lay Strong Foundation for Innovative reACT House
The Libraries are proud to play an instrumental role in the 2022-23 interdisciplinary curriculum program “Decolonizing Education to Meet the Demand of Climate Change: resilient Adaptive Climate Technology (reACT) Testbed Lab.” Over the course of one year, students from across seven departments, from Education to Architecture, will work collaboratively on an architecture and engineering project that’s guided by indigenous knowledge in order to live more sustainably in the face of climate change.
In Support of Women and All Those Affected by the Loss of Reproductive Freedom
Stated simply and factually, the US Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively shifts the authority for reproductive decisions from individual women and people who can become pregnant, to state governments.
UMD Libraries joins USMAI in condemning recent bomb threats against HBCUs
UMD Libraries is joining USMAI in condemning the recent bomb threats against Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Read the full statement.
In support of the Asian American Community
On March 16, 2021, we were confronted with another act of horrific violence in our society. This time, after witnessing an alarming increase in the numbers of attacks on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) people during the pandemic, we learned about the brutal, hate-based murder of eight people in Atlanta, six of whom were women of Asian descent.