Making an impact in her community was always something that Shalonda Lane valued in her upbringing.
For years, Lane, 37, has worked to help people feel a sense of belonging. Now, she’s bringing those efforts to the Oak Park Public Library as its new director of equity and anti-racism.
An Oak Park resident for the last decade, she said she’s committed to making a change within her community.
Though the position is still new to her, she’s steadily making her way to feel more comfortable, she said.
“My goal, first and foremost, is to really just observe and get to know the staff, get to know our community in a different lens than what I got to know,” Lane said. “I really just want to learn what’s going well, what can we improve upon and just really absorb right now before I make any major changes.”
Her passion for fostering change stems from systems she feels were built from “inequitable, racist policies,” she said. So she’s working to dismantle them.
“When we break that down, inherently we will break down other inequities that we see in the community,” Lane said.
In whatever line of work she was in, she said she has always looked at things through an equity lens and framework, going back to her days at Northern Illinois University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in adult and higher education.
After she found out how to be a resource to herself, she wanted to help others, she said.
“I just wanted to help with access to other individuals that may look like me, individuals that may not look like me, but also have different challenges that they’re navigating,” Lane said. “So that was like the foundation of me really getting to equity work and seeing some of the disparities, not even within myself, but just within other inner city communities.”
Lane previously worked in higher education at the University of Illinois Chicago and as a program coordinator at Dominican University. She wanted to work with underrepresented and marginalized groups, she said, and help them navigate challenges and become successful.
She later worked at the village of Oak Park, where she was the collective impact manager for about three years. She contributed to initiatives regarding racial equity, assessments and helped inform decisions and policies, she said. At times, she collaborated with the library.
“When I saw that the library was looking for a director of equity and anti-racism, that was just perfect for me,” Lane said.
In a time where government officials are forcing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to dissipate, Lane said she doesn’t feel the pressure and knows how much inclusion is valued in her community.
“I have a strong sense that it’s not gonna go away in Oak Park, or at least not easily, because I feel like it’s very much valued here at the library, valued here in the community. So that makes me feel good,” Lane said.
As she becomes more acclimated to the job, she looks forward to working more within the library and building connections within her community.
“I can see that there’s a want to grow in this area, and I can see the hopeful eyes looking at me, and I am just very excited because I do feel like there’s a lot of opportunity for growth here,” Lane said.
