Microaggressions: What Are They and Why Are They So Harmful?

***BEFORE YOU REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR PLEASE REVIEW IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION BELOW***

Join members of the Baltimore County Public Library’s system-wide Black Library Workers Affinity Group as they explore the phenomenon of microaggressions in the workplace, shedding light on the subtle forms of discrimination and their impact on individuals and organizational culture. In this webinar, examine how seemingly harmless comments or actions can perpetuate biases and marginalize certain groups, hindering productivity, engagement, and overall well-being. Through real-life examples and research backed insights, participants will gain awareness of the different types of microaggressions and how to address them.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Describe what microaggressions are;
• Describe why microaggressions are harmful, especially in the workplace; and
• Identify 1–3 ways to address microaggressions in the workplace.

Who Should Attend

This webinar is intended for all public library staff.

Panelists

Shirley Mason is the circulation manager at the Woodlawn Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL). She currently serves on the steering committee of BCPL's Black Library Workers Affinity Group. Shirley is also a member of the Maryland Library Association Equity, Diversity and Inclusion panel. Her passion for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are woven into every aspect of her work in libraries.

Micheal Jackson is the assistant branch manager at the Towson Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library. He is a member of the steering committee on BCPL's Black Library Workers Affinity Group and is very active in the Towson Branch diversity, equity, and inclusion team—leading various conversations on diversity with staff within his branch.

Robert Mason is a library supervisor at the Pikesville Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library. He serves as a steering committee on BCPL's Black Library Workers Affinity Group and the Maryland State Library's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Community of Practice group. Robert also presented at the 11th National Conference of African American Librarians (2021), with Anti-Racism storytimes being the topic of discussion.

Important Registration Information

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Redeem your signup code to complete your registration

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Accommodations

This live webinar will be captioned in English (United States). Zoom desktop client or mobile app is required to access captions.

Attendees using screen readers are advised to turn off speech prior to joining the Zoom event because PLA webinars make extensive use of chat functionality. Attendees who find chat distracting may wish to disable it in the Zoom event, as PLA moderators will verbally highlight important topics raised in chat and chat transcripts will be provided post-webinar.

If you have a physical or communication need that may affect your participation in this webinar, please contact us at plawebinars@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA (5752) at least two weeks prior to the webinar. Without prior notification of need, we may not be able to provide appropriate accommodations for the live event.

Archived Recording

If you're unable to attend this live webinar, an archived recording will be available to all registrants typically within 1–3 business of the live event. Access to closed captions will be provided in the webinar recording.

Tech Requirements

This webinar will be presented using the Zoom platform. Please review Zoom technical requirements and support information, and test your connection.

Once you've joined the webinar, there are two ways to connect your audio: via computer (VoIP) or via telephone. No microphone is required. PLA works with its webinar platform provider to assure the highest quality audio is being delivered to attendees. However, variables over which PLA has no control—such as the speed of your Internet connection or traffic on your local network—can affect the end quality of the webinar audio delivered by your computer. Each webinar’s audio is also available by telephone via a toll number, so we recommend you have access to a long-distance enabled phone as a backup in case you experience audio issues with VoIP. If you do encounter any problems during the webinar, you will receive a link to its archived recording within a week of the live event and can review anything you missed.

Contact

This webinar is presented by the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Questions about this webinar? Please contact us at plawebinars@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA (5752).