FYI: I am publishing this post-tenure, just to be safe.
As I sit here contemplating my thoughts, I am torn between “speaking truth to power” and “staying in my lane.” This close to tenure, do I dare let the powers that be know that the black tenured faculty who resigned did so because he was exhausted from calling out racism in a system permanently stuck on mute.
For more than ten years, Dr. John Johns (name changed to protect the bold) called out racism in his department and across his academic institution. Everyone seemed to be tired of Dr. Johns naming names and calling out racists. Even those who looked like him, occasionally gave him the side-eye, wrinkled their brows and said, “surely he exaggerates.” But, was he exaggerating?
Why were people so tired of Johns and not the racism he was seeking to unveil? {Remember the squeaky wheel.}
Now that he’s gone, administrators suggest Johns left because he wanted to. My quick thought is, “No, he left because he felt there was racism happening here and no one was doing anything about it.”
I cannot begin to imagine what Dr. Johns was feeling. To work so hard for tenure only to have to run (not walk) away.
Today, in the quiet of my home, I stand with Dr. Johns. Not only because he’s a brother but because he was standing for something he felt was important to him.
We each have two powerful tools: Our Word and Our Voice.
Use your platform, use your voice, and never stop pushing for what you know to be right!
Dr. Johns chose to use his. He’s one bad brother. #GOALS
Stirring Up Trouble by DrVLoLil 