Advocacy > Diversity and Inclusivity

Diversity and Inclusivity

SIBA is committed to equity and unequivocally declares its dedication to inclusivity and diversity, not only within its organization but fostering these values in the bookselling community. SIBA formalized its commitment to equity by issuing statements against racism and committing to inclusivity. It works to amplify diverse voices in its programming, offers diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training and resources to its members, and actively seeks transparency and accountability in its efforts and initiatives.

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance stands against racism, and the injustices suffered by Black people in our country. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and the rising up of people around the world in protest of police brutality and systemic racism, have brought our staff and board together in difficult and honest conversation. As an organization located in the South, we recognize racism is a part of our culture and it is our responsibility to be active allies to Black people, to continue having these conversations, digging deeper, and doing the work. We acknowledge, as an all-white staff and board, a lack of diversity in our leadership; we mutually vow to confront any implicit bias. We vow to stand next to Black people, to listen to and hear Black people in the book industry, and to work towards empowering them. How we are doing this.

The SIBA Board issued is Inclusivity Statement to build on the goals of the organization's earlier Statement Against Racism, opening with "SIBA is committed to antiracism, representation, inclusion, equity, and access in all that we do. We believe that diversity and diverse perspectives make our organization stronger and we are committed to equity, dignity, and diversity for all Peoples."

Some of the commitments it makes are to advocate for diversity in the book industry, work with publishers towards a truly representative industry, and to require diverse representation at SIBA events and in SIBA promotions.

SIBA Inclusivity Statement
SIBA regularly hosts programming where booksellers can share their strategies for addressing DEI-related challenges, from supporting their staff to handling hostile customers and situations.

SIBA has created its training toolkit to support our member bookstores in educating staff and community on how anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging enriches and better connects all of us. This training toolkit includes resources, potential actions, and journal prompts for reflection. Our toolkit grew out of our work developing the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge for our members. We drew inspiration and resources from Food Solutions New England (FSNE), and we’re grateful for their extraordinary work on racial equity and for making their materials available to other organizations. 

Fill out the form to request a copy of the training kit.