41 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 301 — 2020 Hodge: We need to be failing forward, embracing the fact that we’ll make mistakes. We need to work on emotional intelligence (EQ) and conflict resolution skills. We don’t get to opt-out or turn away, and there are no options to pick and choose what is essential. If we want to have an equitable, anti-racist profession, we need to think about what led us here—to this point. My interpretation of the concept of Sankofa—is going back to the past to understand it, gaining information from different perspectives, which will lead to progress in the future. We must look at that knowledge to create the future that we all need and deserve. This is something that we’ll be working on constantly. This is a lifelong marathon that everyone needs to be engaging in. We need to be willing to make small steps, understanding that we’ll want to pause, but we can’t stop. This is a movement towards being vulnerable, honest, open-minded, actively listening, and making space for painful, frustrating, traumatizing, and demoralizing hard truths and lived experiences. We need to make more space, time, and consistent financial support for these conversations. We have to be willing to give up power, temporarily or permanently. We must be open to the discomfort, pain, complicated emotions, and messiness this entails. We are fighting for civil and human rights. At the end of the day, we should be able to say that libraries are a place for everyone and not a place that accentuates intergenerational trauma. We need to be mindful of the emotional labor that BIPOC experience and create a future where deauthentication is an experience of the past. We need to create a future where all humans are seen as human and are treated with human dignity and respect.