Statement on potentially offensive language
At the Center for Documentary Research and Practice’s Oral History Archive, we are committed to using inclusive and non-derogatory language when compiling finding aids and catalog records. The Center for Documentary Research and Practice’s Oral History Archive and Indiana University in no way condone the use of racist or otherwise offensive language. Because of this, we acknowledge that some of our collections may contain language that can be viewed as potentially offensive or damaging to the people and communities that are described within them.
Additionally, because of the nature of our collections, you may encounter potentially offensive material that has deliberately been left intact for historical and contextual accuracy. Our reason for this is that the original content and language are important to understanding and interpreting the bias and racism that was present at the creation of the resource. However, when content within our finding aids and/or metadata is identified as potentially offensive, and we believe it was recorded by an archivist, it will be updated to reflect current standards of practice.
If you encounter language or content in this collection’s finding aids or metadata that you find offensive or damaging, please contact us at ohrc@indiana.edu.
Our statement was written with guidance from the statements at the following links:
- "Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia: Anti-Racist Description Resources"
- Santa Clara University: "Statement on Harmful Materials"
- Princeton University: "Statement on Language in Archival Description"
- Temple University Libraries: "SCRC Statement on Potentially Harmful Language in Archival Description and Cataloging"