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Quick recap
In September 2025, Drs. Nicole Cooke and Aisha Johnson hosted a convening on radical empathy in libraries and archives, featuring sessions on various radical concepts and a keynote by Dr. Ruha Benjamin, with participants developing a curriculum for LIS education. The event explored topics including radical candor, curiosity, hospitality, and love, while addressing gaps in graduate LIS education and discussing strategies for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in libraries.
The conversation ended with discussions on archival practices, focusing on Black feminist perspectives and the importance of radical empathy in preserving and documenting histories, followed by presentations on curiosity in professional settings and its role in fostering transformative learning environments.
Building Radical Empathy - Bibliographies.pptxSummary
AISHA JOHNSON: The Radical Bibliographies
The convening aimed to address gaps in graduate LIS education, particularly for historically Black colleges and universities, and included 6 categories of bibliographies focused on radical concepts like inclusion and hospitality. Participants were reminded to provide thorough feedback by September 12th for stipend eligibility, and all sessions were recorded with graphic transcription provided by David Michael
Moore.
Radical Candor and Curiosity in Libraries
Aisha presented on radical candor and radical curiosity, defining them as challenging directly while caring personally, and deep intentional questioning respectively. She emphasized the importance of these concepts in creating safe, inclusive, and transformative learning environments. Participants discussed how radical candor and curiosity could be applied in libraries and archives, and the need to address power dynamics and unconscious bias. Aisha encouraged attendees to contribute additional resources to the bibliographies, particularly for radical curiosity which currently had few sources. The group also explored how radical curiosity could be used to disrupt toxic positivity and white fragility, and the importance of intellectual humility and emotional resilience in fostering curiosity.
Radical Empathy in Libraries
The meeting focused on discussing radical empathy, radical hospitality, and radical love in the context of libraries and archives. Aisha provided an overview of these concepts, emphasizing their importance for creating inclusive and equitable spaces. She highlighted the need to challenge power dynamics, interrogate privilege, and foster authentic connections. The group discussed the application of these radical concepts in higher education, library services, and professional practices. Participants shared personal experiences and asked questions about how these ideas could be implemented in their own work. The conversation ended with a call for additional resources and further discussion on radical
inclusion in libraries and archives.
Transforming LIS Education for Equity
Aisha led a comprehensive discussion on social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in libraries, emphasizing the need to transform LIS education and integrate core values into the curriculum. She highlighted the importance of addressing systemic inequities through critical race theory (CRT) and discussed strategies for promoting diversity, including increasing representation of Black and Hispanic librarians and developing community-focused programming. Aisha also stressed the need for libraries to serve as spaces of transformative learning and advocacy, calling for a reimagining of LIS classrooms and a disruption of traditional norms.
Radical Empathy in Archival Practice
The meeting focused on radical empathy in archival practice, particularly from a Black feminist perspective. Dr. Johnson provided an overview of the survey and its importance for the profession, while Holly Smith discussed radical empathy in archives and Black feminist archival practice. The conversation included reflections on meaningful personal items and memories, and explored how archives can serve as liberatory spaces for marginalized communities. The discussion also touched on the challenges of empathy and the need for action beyond understanding alone.
HOLLY SMITH: Black Feminist Archival Practices
Holly provided an overview of Spelman College Archives, highlighting its unique position as part of the Women's Resource and Research Center, founded by Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall in 1981. She discussed the archives' mission to document Black women and people of the African diaspora, emphasizing its commitment to Black feminist principles and radical empathy in archival practice. Holly shared examples of the archives' work, including the collections of Tony Morrison and Audre Lorde, and described various restorative practices such as collaborative relationships, community outreach, and the celebration of diverse histories. She concluded by encouraging attendees to consider the benefits, limitations, and
actionable ways to incorporate radical empathy and Black feminist archival practices in their own work.
Preserving Black Feminist Legacies
Holly discussed the acquisition and care of the Audre Lorde and Toni Cade Bambara papers at Spelman College, highlighting the importance of trust, relationships, and accessibility in preserving the legacies of Black feminist writers. She addressed the challenges of working with sensitive materials and the emotional toll it can take, emphasizing the need for self-care and community support. Holly also touched on the significance of radical curiosity in archival work and the importance of creating spaces where archivists can process their own grief while caring for collections.
Documenting History with Radical Empathy
Holly discussed the importance of documenting history honestly and holistically, emphasizing the need to reflect the complexities of individuals and institutions without sanitization. Aisha highlighted the challenges of dealing with heavy archival materials and the necessity of self-care and radical empathy when working with difficult historical content. Holly also mentioned that none of Lord's collection is currently digitally accessible, but she is interested in pursuing digitization in the future. The session concluded with a reminder of the upcoming Toni Cade Conference and a brief introduction to the afternoon speaker, Steven Adams, who would discuss radical curiosity.
STEVEN ADAMS: Curiosity's Role in Libraries
Steven shared his personal journey of curiosity, from childhood to becoming a librarian focused on fostering curiosity in academic institutions. He discussed the barriers to curiosity, including bias, lack of funding, and organizational complacency, and emphasized the importance of creating cultures that encourage exploration and learning. Steven highlighted the need for intentional effort to maintain curiosity, especially in challenging times, and encouraged participants to sponsor and support each other's curiosity. He also stressed the importance of letting ideas settle and making time for research, while noting that followership can also advance leadership.
Curiosity in Professional Leadership
Steven discussed the complexities of curiosity in professional settings, highlighting how curiosity can be perceived differently based on identity and context. He emphasized the importance of genuine curiosity and the need to model it as leaders, while also cautioning against "predatory curiosity" driven by agendas. Steven shared personal experiences and insights from various sources, including books and articles, to illustrate how curiosity can be both empowering and challenging, especially for marginalized individuals. He encouraged participants to reflect on their own experiences with curiosity and to continue exploring ways to foster a culture of genuine inquiry in their organizations.
DR. RUHA BENJAMIN: Radical Empathy in Academia
Dr. Benjamin shared personal experiences to illustrate the concept of radical empathy, particularly in academia and librarianship. She discussed the challenges of balancing academic and personal life, the importance of reconnecting with one's values, and the disconnect between scientific progress and social progress. Benjamin also highlighted the need for imagination in addressing societal issues, using examples like healthcare policies and organ regeneration research.
Reclaiming Imagination for Social Change
Benjamin discussed the decline of divergent thinking with age and highlighted how education systematically suppresses creativity. She emphasized the importance of imagination and radical empathy in transforming society, contrasting the aspirations of the tech elite with public goods that could benefit billions. Benjamin also explored the concept of ancestral intelligence and abundant imagination, urging the audience to reclaim their vision and recommit to social transformation.
Technology, Design, and Social Inequities
Benjamin discussed the ways in which technology and design can perpetuate and reflect existing societal inequities, using examples such as algorithmic predictions of students' grades and the design of public benches. She emphasized the importance of starting conversations about technology with an understanding of pre-existing societal structures and highlighted the need for radical empathy in addressing these issues. Ruha also shared examples of creative digital archives that honor lives and experiences often overlooked, such as the Library of Missing Data Sets by artist Mimi Onoha.
Empathy Projects for Social Change
The meeting focused on two main projects: Brianna's Garden and the Phoenix of Gaza Initiative. Breonna's Garden is a virtual and augmented reality experience created to honor Breonna Taylor's memory and provide a safe space for her sister Janiyah, featuring messages and artwork from around the world. The Phoenix of Gaza Initiative is an immersive experience that preserves images of Palestinian life before and after recent devastation, aiming to imagine a world beyond settler colonialism and apartheid. Both projects demonstrate the power of radical empathy in addressing social justice issues through creative and healing approaches.
Reimagining Future Possibilities
Dr. Benjamin discussed the importance of reimagining future possibilities beyond ownership and colonization, emphasizing the need for more liberatory and just forms of relationality. She highlighted the significance of collective action and protection, encouraging the creation of structures like unions to support individuals facing institutional risks. Benjamin also shared personal strategies for self-care, including maintaining friendships, physical movement, and grounding herself in community work, while emphasizing the necessity of protecting one's curiosity and imagination from distractions caused by racism and defensiveness.
Critical Digital Practices in Libraries
The group discussed digital redlining and the digital divide in libraries, with Benjamin emphasizing the need for institutions to critically examine their everyday practices rather than starting new initiatives. Benjamin recommended using a "bullshit detector" approach to evaluate technologies, questioning assumptions and examining hidden biases, and shared resources including a book on critical digital pedagogy and an article about AI in education. The discussion highlighted concerns about AI's impact on teaching and the potential for technocratic futures, with Benjamin noting that creators of ed tech tools have admitted to experimenting on students and teachers without regard for safety or privacy.
Community-Academic Partnership Strategies
The discussion focused on academic and community engagement, with Benjamin sharing her approach to teaching intellectual humility and collaboration through community-based projects. She emphasized the importance of reversing traditional academic-community relationships and highlighted the work of organizations like "A Beautiful Struggle" in Baltimore as a model for building community power and economic resilience. The conversation concluded with Benjamin encouraging attendees to view academic attacks as affirmations of their important work, while also emphasizing the need to build collective protection and infrastructure to sustain their efforts.
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