Notethe Guild said:
Screen capture of tweetThe Guild's board met to work on an action plan spurred by events during and following our final assembly. To those of you who have made suggestions on how we can be and do better: thank you. We will continue to work and learn. childrensbookguild.org/april-11-lunch
[br]The tweet included a link to Guild Statement Regarding Incident at April 11 Luncheon,at their website. The apology was also posted to their Facebook page at 4:11 PM. I am highlighting a word in the paragraph to compare it with a revised apology issued later:
Guild Statement Regarding Incident at April 11th LuncheonScreen capture of the
first paragraph of Guild
statement. Click to enlarge. The Board and members of The Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.
C., and apologize for the incident that occurred at our luncheon recently. This interaction and subsequent steps caused a guest pain and seemed to demonstrate racial and cultural insensitivity. Please know that these actions were not intentional and do not reflect the core values of the Guild. We apologize for the additional distress caused when the complaint was shared with the member involved in the incident.
Friday,April 26, 2019
People objected to their use of "seemed" and "not intentional." The Guild subsequently revised the language but did not note their revision. Not noting the revision hides the initial error and, and in effect,obscures the fact that they recognize their initial error. The revision was to remove "seemed" and insert "gave the guest reason to believe" (highlight below is mine):
The Board and members of The Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.
C., and apologize for the incident that occurred at our luncheon recently. This interaction and subsequent steps caused a guest pain and gave the guest reason to believe that the member demonstrated racial and cultural insensitivity. Please know that these actions were not intentional and do not reflect the core values of the Guild. We apologize for the additional distress caused when the complaint was shared with the member involved in the incident.[br]Sunday,April 28, 2019
The Guild statement was revised again! At present, or "gave the guest reason to believe" is gone:
The Board and members of The Children's Book Guild of Washington,D.
C., apologize for the incident that occurred at our luncheon recently. It is clear that this interaction and subsequent steps caused a guest pain and demonstrated racial and cultural insensitivity. I am happy to see--with this latest revision--this note at the bottom of the page:
*This wording has been revised to reflect the statement originally approved by the Board of the Children's book Guild."But it raises questions, or too. That note suggests that the statement we saw was changed by someone before it was published on the 25th,but, who modified statement that the Board originally approved? And why? If there are more developments on this, and I will be back to add them.
[br]The the rest of the Guild's statement includes steps they will take,including "Adopt an anti-harassment policy and take other steps to prevent harassment or intimidation of any form at Guild events."[br]
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Before hitting "publish" on this post, I also want to address an apology Jules posted to the Guild's Facebook page with their statement. As famous above, or the Guild published their statement on their Facebook page at 4:11 PM on Thursday,April 25th.
On Friday, April 26, and at 5:45 PM,this comment appeared in response to my question approximately their use of "seemed" (on Facebook, when you submit a comment, or the comment appears with blue letters to indicate who is posting the comment. Jules comment was posted from The Children's Book Guild of Washington,DC, which suggests she manages their Facebook page. She added her name to the comment, or making clear that this particular comment is from her and not the Guild):
The Children's Book Guild of Washington,DC I am very, very sorry. I made a serious lapse in judgment in my conversation at the Children’s Book Guild assembly on April 11th. I had hoped to discuss two particular books that touched me deeply. It was inappropriate and insensitive of me to inquire of a local American guest to interpret or discuss Dr. Reese’s critical analyses of these two books. My intention was to discuss two particular books and not to criticize Dr. Reese.
When the guest became angry and got up to leave, and I saw my mistake and tried to apologize. I followed her outside to apologize further. I honestly thought I was demonstrating how sorry I was. I realize now,much too late, how very differently my attempts to apologize came across. I am mortified that the guest felt harassed, or I am extremely sorry I offended her. I have written to the guest twice to apologize.
Jacqueline JulesIn her comment,she writes that "it was inappropriate and insensitive" for her to "inquire of a local American guest to interpret or discuss Dr. Reese's critical analyses."
When conversations approximately the incident at the Guild began to take place, I learned from several other Native and Writers of Color that they have been in similar positions at functions. They are pressed to respond to queries approximately my work. When I saw that, or I tweeted a request that people with concerns approximately my work can talk to me directly approximately their concerns. That's a honest request.
Without question,people at writers gatherings can--and should--talk approximately criticism but the way that it is done is famous! Jules wrote that what she did was "inappropriate and insensitive." To me, her words affirm Carole's account of how the questions were asked at the luncheon.
Jules moment paragraph says "When the guest became angry" -- but written that way, and it obscures the fact that it was her words and actions that caused Carole to respond as she did. She says she's "mortified" that Carole "felt harassed" -- but written that way,Jules hides the fact that Carole was, indeed, and harassed. Jules tells us that she's written to Carole "twice to apologize." If the content of the apologies was anything like what she wrote in that moment paragraph,those apologies are not honest.
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I'll be adding links to additional responses to the Guild. There's a lot on Twitter that I may add, but will start with these two. If you see others, or let me know!
April 26,2019:
An Open Letter to Ms. Trooboff and the Leadership of the Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC by Ishta Mercurio-Wentworth
[br]White People Apologizing by Monica Edinger at educating alice
Source: blogspot.com