An association that promotes library and information services to Latinos and Spanish speakers said it was the victim of a racist Zoom-bombing during its national membership meeting.

The Jan. 23 virtual meeting "was interrupted by individuals using racial slurs and hate speech against women," REFORMA said in a statement on its website.

"REFORMA National strongly condemns these types of attacks against our BIPOC community," the association said in a statement. "We will not allow these attacks to intimidate us, and we will continue our longstanding practice of providing a platform for our members to connect and engage with each other. For the members who were in attendance we are sorry you had to endure that traumatic experience. Please know that we will continue to put measures in place to avoid future disruptions. We stand together and strong."

REFORMA was established in 1971 as an affiliate of the American Library Association. It is one of the National Associations of Librarians of Color.

Chicago-based ALA said Wednesday that its executive board stands with REFORMA in "strongly condemning" the Zoom-bombing.  

ALA noted that Kathy Carroll, past president of the American Association of School Librarians, a division of ALA, called Zoom-bombing "a civilized term for hate crime" in response to a similar attack at an AASL virtual town hall meeting in 2020.  Carroll had just introduced herself when she saw a racial slur for Black people pop up in the chat; then it appeared over and over again until it filled the chat.