explodedlibrary.info

nasty words haunting the library catalogue: miscegenation

Ever since it happened last week, this has been troubling me. I would like to address it at length, but I don't feel that I have the time right now. But if I don't say anything, I know that it will fade from my mind. So here is the quick & dirty version.

I was helping a patron (who was a person of mixed race) find a recent book with information about interracial adoption. One of the books that I found, which seemed to be exactly what she was after was Mixed Race and the Law: A Reader, edited by Kevin R. Johnson, published in 2003 by NYU Press.

I glanced at the Library of Congress subject heading, in case I needed to search for materials in this area again. It was "Miscegenation -- United States". My patron was with me, looking over my shoulder. I quickly scrolled up so she wouldn't see that nasty word. ...

a little announcement

I'm going to be moving back to Australia, probably at the beginning of February 2004. I plan to continue working on this blog, although it's very likely that my focus will shift a little, so there will be more postings directly about Australian topics. But I certainly won't cease writing about those American issues which have ramifications for Australia and the other small countries (politically speaking) of the world. American domestic laws and politics, whether we like it or not, have a great effect on Australia. ...