Library Hall of Fame

October is Canadian Library Month and International School Library Month. Today we are highlighting a few noteworthy librarians who are the first inductees into our “Library Hall of Fame.”

Zoia Horn

_{source: Peter Brantley from El Cerrito, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons}

Zoia Horn (1918-2014) was a librarian who went to jail rather than abandon her professional integrity and steadfast commitment to intellectual freedom. Horn was pressured by authorities to testify against anti-war activists charged with conspiracy during the Vietnam War. Horn refused, and was jailed for three weeks for contempt, the first time that has happened to a librarian in the United States. The California Library Association presents an annual Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award in honour of her legacy.

Brian Deer

Brian Deer (1945–2019), a Mohawk from the First Nations Territory of Kahnawake in Quebec, was one of the first Indigenous librarians in Canada. Deer developed an original library classification system that expresses Indigenous knowledge structures. The Brian Deer Classification System has been adapted for use in libraries across Canada, including the indigenous library at UBC, the Xwi7xwa Library.

Nancy Pearl

_{source: Seattle City Council from Seattle, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons}

Probably the most famous living librarian in the world. Nancy Pearl rose to fame in Seattle while working for the Seattle Public Library. Her fame grew rapidly with the success of her books. Today is she is well known around the continent, and even the world, for her presence on public radio, podcasts, public appearances and more. She has won numerous awards, including Library Journal‘s Librarian of the Year Award in 2011. Her crowning achievement, however, may be the phenomenal success of the Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure.

Find Out More

Zoia Horn:

Brian Deer:

Nancy Pearl:

Check back here in upcoming posts for more additions to the “Library Hall of Fame.”

Champions of Peace

Can you identify these conscientious objectors, nonviolent activists and other champions of peace?

_{Images: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons}

“Champions of Peace”

CLICK here to play the Sporcle quiz: “Champions of Peace”

Ali the Conscientious Objector

On this date in 1967, Muhammed Ali was arrested for refusing his conscription into the US military for the Vietnam War. Ali was the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, and arguably the most famous athlete in the world, perhaps of all time. Yet later that day he was stripped of his titles and effectively banned from boxing for more than 3 years, at the height of his athletic prowess.

Ali was already a powerful symbol for African-American Civil Rights. His decision to be a conscientious objector, refusing to be drafted for the Vietnam War, elevated his status in the US and around the world as a counter-cultural icon. He stated, “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?” (source) Ali would eventually box again, regaining his championship belts, but it is his status as a champion of peace and of human rights that make him a true hero.

Find out more:

Muhammad Ali and Vietnam- The Atlantic

Why Ali Refused to Fight in the War- Washington Post

Muhammad Ali refuses Army induction- History.com

Muhammad Ali… – The Undefeated

The Ali Center

Hank Aaron

The world lost a true hero last week, as Henry “Hank” Aaron passed away at the age of 86. Hank Aaron was one of the greats of the sport of baseball, one of the best players ever to put on a major league uniform. More than that, he was a great human being. The legendary Muhammad Ali, in his day considered by many to be the world’s most famous, if not greatest, athlete, said of Aaron, that he was the “only man I idolize more than myself.” (Baseball Hall of Fame). In 1973 Aaron hit his 715th home run to pass the iconic Babe Ruth with the most ever. Aaron was under intense scrutiny as he approached the record, all the more because he was a black man who was about to break the record of a white hero, something that was unacceptable to the white supremacist ethos. Aaron faced intense racism, including death threats against him and his family. Remarkably, even in the face of such despicable conditions, he continued to perform on the field, crushing the all-time record, holding it for more than 30 years. For all who knew him personally, it was not surprising that off the field he continued to live a life of humility, dignity and integrity. Hank Aaron was an outspoken supporter of the Civil Rights movement, and spent his post-playing days working for many humanitarian and philanthropic causes.

Find out more about Hank Aaron:

Baseball Hall of Fame

Hank Aaron’s Legacy…

Civil Rights Walk of Fame

Hank Aaron’s Lasting Impact

Hank Aaron: Home Run Hero

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on this day in 1929.

Dr. King was the leading figure of the Civil Rights Movement, as African-Americans struggled for freedom and equality in the United States. Dr. King was a brilliant orator and an inspirational leader. Dr. King was committed to the principals to non-violence, in part based on the example of Gandhi in India. He believed that the only path towards a peaceful resolution of the plight of black people in the United States was through non-violence, civil disobedience, and peaceful protest.

For more on the life of Dr. King:

Rosa Parks

One of the icons of the US Civil Rights movement looked an unlikely hero but proved to be someone whose strength of character belied her appearance. Rosa Parks was born on this day in 1934. In the face of the overt racism of 1950’s America, Rosa famously refused to give up her seat on the bus, as black people were expected to do for white people. She was arrested, and the resulting Montgomery Bus Boycott proved to be one of foundational events of the Civil Rights Movement.

For more on Rosa Parks:

Come down to the School Library to check out our titles on Rosa Parks and other books for Black History Month:

World Teachers’ Day

Happy World Teachers’ Day 2019. Thank a teacher in your life, past or present!

Jackie Robinson

Pro baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson was born on this day in 1919. An outstanding player who would go on to win MVP awards and Championships, Robinson will forever be remembered as the first African-American to play Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He stood up to unspeakable racism with dignity and grace. In 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his breaking the colour barrier, Major League Baseball retired Jackie’s number, 42.

Muhammad Ali

Cassius Clay was born on this day in 1942. After winning a Gold Medal in the Olympics for the United States, he would turn professional and go on to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali as part of his conversion to Islam. Ali would win the Heavyweight Title an unprecedented three times, most famously regaining the title in 1974, seven years after having his title stripped from him in 1967. When Ali was drafted for military service by the US government, likely for duty in Vietnam, Ali refused induction as a conscientious objector, citing his religious beliefs and his opposition to the Vietnam War. Ali famously told the world that “No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder, kill, and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end”

Ali was arrested and found guilty of draft evasion. Boxing authorities stripped him of his title and banned him from the sport for nearly 4 years. Although the Supreme Court eventually overturned his criminal conviction, he had lost his title and many years of his athletic prime. Remarkably, he fought his way back to the top, defeating George Forman in the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974. After losing the title again in 1978 to Leon Spinks, Ali won the rematch to regain the Belt for an unprecedented third Heavyweight Boxing Title.

Ali is arguably the greatest athlete in history. In his prime, he was certainly the most famous and recognizable athlete in the entire world. Ali was a polarizing figure, as many hated him for his brash, self-aggrandizing demeanor and his outspoken religious and political statements. However, even more people loved him. To a generation of people all over the globe, Ali was a counter-cultural hero who represented the struggle against racism, against war and against the conservative authorities of the day.

Find out more about Muhammad Ali:

www.ali.com

Muhammad Ali Center

The Greatest by Joyce Carol Oates

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on this day in 1929.

source: wikimedia commons / Library of Congress

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a national holiday in the United States on the 3rd Monday of January.

For more on the life of Dr. King:

Peace

In recognition of the International Day of Peace, celebrated around the world on September 21st, we have created a display of books related to Peace. Come in to the School Library to check it out!