Page 16 - BCALA Spring 2018

16 | BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 2 Taneya ingrained her passion
for her culture and history into
her interaction with the youth
to promote self-pride, positive identity and making a difference
in their family, community and in life. She was a social justice activist and advocated for change and the betterment of life in her community for the future of those she served and loved as family.
In 2010, Taneya’s essay, “The 21st Century Black Librarian: Renewing Our Commitment to Liberation and Cultural Activism” was published in the award winning book, “The 21st Century Black Librarian: Issues and Challenges”. In 2014, her essay, “Knowledge My Public Library Kept Secret: The Urgent Need for Culturally-Responsive Library Services” was published in the anthology “Informed Agitation: Library and Information Skills
in Social Justice Movements and Beyond”. A prolific writer, she was published in the Kansas-City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Belleville News-Democrat and on
AUCAlumni.com.
Taneya was a scholar, a story teller, a culture keeper, mentor, writer and community educator, wife, mother and librarian’s librarian, all in one small but dynamic package. The Macon Library will honor
her contributions by dedicating
a children’s book collection, a children’s program and annual celebration in her name. Her June 6th memorial was attended by more than two hundred library patrons, community residents, members
of the New York Black Librarians Caucus, Inc., personal friends and in and out-of-state family members.
The memorial celebration opened with the Pouring of Libation
in tribute to the Ancestors by Imani Fisher and a heartwarming remembrance by Brooklyn Library president Linda E. Johnson. BCALA past president and Queens Library trustee Andrew ‘Sekou’ Jackson offered Tribute to a Warrior Sistah, (included in this article). The evening also included African drumming and dance by
Tamara & Co., tributes by library staff, a DC-37 Union representative and local residents. The YouTube interview entitled ‘Taneya Gethers’ was screened before the event ended with a soul stirring rendition of Taneya’s favorite song, “Ribbon in the Sky” (Stevie Wonder) by vocalist Stacia Hobdy.
You will be missed, Taneya,
but your passion for serving
your community and love of librarianship will be remembered. We are blessed to have had you
in our lives. Thank you Yusef,
Nia, Amina, Chinua and Anisa for sharing Taneya with us. Our lives are mo’ betta for having known and worked with her.
(details in this narrative are taken from the Obituary from Taneya’s Homegoing Service held in the Sisters Chapel on the campus of Spelman College, Atlanta, GA. on Nov. 27, 2017)
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