British Libraries Advised to Avoid Meetings in ‘Racist’ Buildings, Confront ‘Dominant Paradigm of Whiteness’

Libraries in Wales have reportedly been told that they should refrain from meeting in “racist” buildings amid “critical whiteness studies” training subsidised by the taxpayer.

A government-funded project dubbed the “Anti-racist Library Collections” from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (Cilip) in Wales is said to have instructed libraries across Wales on how to embark on so-called decolonisation, including strategies to confront the “dominant paradigm of whiteness” in the British country.

According to The Telegraph, the £130,000 “critical whiteness studies” project has told libraries to avoid holding staff training sessions in buildings with a “racist” history.

“Be mindful of the venue and if you have a choice, do not choose a venue that represents a racist legacy,” a document obtained by the paper reportedly stated.

“If you have to use a venue that has a racist past, acknowledge this as early as possible to demonstrate your commitment to systemic issues… You can even acknowledge historical context in the event invitation,” the guidance is said to have added.

In addition to apparently targeting the supposed ills of whiteness, the project also reportedly advised libraries in Wales on what sort of food they should be offering, saying that providing “vegetarian and vegan options only can be used to support any decarbonisation or net zero goals of your organisation”.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said that the guidance “advises on a number of considerations that would optimise participation and engagement.”

The imposition of leftist ideologies in libraries comes amid a wider effort from the local left-wing Labour Party government to “eradicate” systemic racism by the end of the decade.

This campaign was laid out in the government’s 2022 Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, which seeks to “create a culture with zero tolerance of racism, and change our systems and institutions to ‘design-out’ racism.” The agenda listed “everyday racism” such as school bullying and teachers making mistakes in pronouncing foreign names of students as examples of what needs to be eliminated from Welsh society.

The government also set out plans to increase ethnic minority representation in government jobs to 20 per cent by 2026, despite non-white ethnic minorities making up just over six per cent of the country’s population.

Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, an education expert and the founder of the Don’t Divide Us campaign group, condemned the imposition of leftist racial beliefs in libraries, saying: “Libraries are places associated with rationality, enlightened thinking and public service for the general public.

“They are not the playthings of those whose preferred radical politics means that librarians have to assent to false and wholly negative beliefs about the country in which they live, and by extension, also about its people.

“This is the opposite of public service. Even if systemic racism was a problem, it wouldn’t be ameliorated by fake confessions or choosing venues according to their alleged sinfulness by past associations. Unless we want to go back to pre-modern cultural standards.”

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