Police brutality continues to traumatize the Black community as events such as the killing of Breonna Taylor and the shooting of Jacob Blake show that even the strongest collective efforts to combat systemic racism still fall short of the ultimate goal: to walk the streets, or even just sleep at night, without fear of being shot because of the color of your skin.
Protests have taken place around the country, and at varying degrees. Some have escalated to violence and looting, while others manifest themselves in a somber silence. That silence was felt when recent playing strikes in professional sports leagues, most notably the National Basketball Association, brought attention to the incessant police brutality in America.
With these sports strikes in mind, one instructor brought social activism into the academic sphere in a form similar to the STEM shutdown that took place this summer.
Associate professor Anthea Butler of the University of Pennsylvania, with the help of historian Kevin Gannon, organized an academic strike to take place Tuesday and Wednesday. It is intended to offer time for teachers to pause their traditional instruction and instead hold teach-ins to discuss white supremacy, police brutality and other prevalent issues about the many facets of race in America.
Academic professionals are partaking in the strike across the country, including some on Boston University’s campus. The English Department posted a statement on its website about the “decisive action” that needs to be taken during times of such civil unrest as America continues to see frequent injustice against people of color in America.
We should strive to prevent protests and strikes from becoming the societal norm, but the manner in which that quest will be achieved is still up in the air. Whatever that answer may be, it most definitely does not begin with performative activism on college campuses.
Some professors are utilizing the strike as a time of collective engagement, and are providing space and opportunities for students to have difficult conversations regarding police brutality and race relations in America. Some students will take advantage of this moment to better their understanding of the country and continue the ever-evolving process of educating themselves. Others will abuse the free time to catch up on unrelated work or take a break from learning.
A strike is only effective when it is a well-organized and unified action.
Professors, teachers and students who are choosing to partake in the strike must undertake not just relevant conversation, but productive conversation, as well as a plan to keep that conversation going. The #ScholarStrike should not be seen as a mere two-day interruption of regular learning.
If these discussions are dismissed for the rest of the year, and then left off of future syllabi to drift away into the recesses of our memory, then this strike is just like any other mundane memo a university could send to its community — ineffective and forgettable.
Professors need to have a structured guide set in place if they are to make any sort of impact. That way, the energy can be directed in a positive and productive way. With too much freedom, the day will lack importance and precedence.
The racist history of this country is a prevalent truth that should already be integrated into the curriculum, and should not be an abnormal topic of discussion. While police brutality is an issue that is happening in the present, it didn’t pop out of a vacuum. It is a result of hundreds of years of enslavement, racial profiling and systemic oppression.
You cannot live in the United States and properly understand the gravity of police brutality and systemic racism without historical context.
Academia is a vital way to shape future generations and begin changing the way this country operates. If curriculum can be updated to include historically accurate and honest resources for students — through all grade levels — the conversation of various disparities can be held in more effective capacities.
Racism pervades every aspect of society — STEM, communications, health and public policy, etc. That means the textbooks and class requirements for every school on a college campus need to incorporate a more contextualized history of this country. There is no other way to understand American society unless you have a grasp on the racism it was built and still thrives on.
Professors need to provide textbooks and readings from a far more diversified group of authors — not just white or male ones. These resources were written by naturally biased humans, and students should learn to recognize the perspectives each author and researcher holds. Not everything from a professor is objective fact, although we may have been conditioned to believe so.
Students should actively question the stereotypes, outdated terminology and often white-washed history taught in their classrooms. They must hold professors and authors accountable for the information they are disseminating.
For the arts, performances from different cultures should be showcased regularly. Artwork from a wide range of cultural backgrounds should be studied in the classroom. Even our perceptions of beauty are Westernized. We must reject that.
Racism is a compounding issue: we cannot look at just one aspect, such as police brutality, and believe that is the problem. Others factors such as housing, the criminal justice system and generational wealth also play into the injustices that plague the country today.
The #Scholarstrike is simply the tip of the iceberg. We all have so much more to learn, and so many more strides to make before this obstacle can ever be cleared. But if a strike in academia will make any positive impact, it must be done earnestly and collectively.
