Faculty Statement on Systemic Racism and Injustice

A majority of faculty members of Davidson College issue the following statement in response to systemic racism and injustice.

Outraged by the killings of Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC) at the hands of police and vigilantes and by the lack of accountability and justice that these killings highlight;

Mindful of the ways the criminal justice system systematically devalues, dehumanizes, and disposes of BIPOC lives, particularly BIPOC who identify as transgender, BIPOC with disabilities, and Black and Brown non-citizens;

Disgusted by the gratuitous violence against demonstrators in recent weeks;

But hopeful in the face of the unprecedented massive engagement of people of all walks of life against systemic injustices and police brutality,

We, the undersigned faculty members of Davidson College, issue the following statement:

We stand in complete solidarity with our students, colleagues, and other Davidson community members of color who face a litany of historic systemic injustices and the heinous escalation of violence in the last two weeks;
We firmly support the legitimacy and historic importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and pledge to uphold and to act in accordance with its principles of justice for BIPOC in our professional and personal lives;
We recognize the right of all those on U.S. soil to protest and to engage in various acts of civil disobedience against systemic injustices and police brutality without fear of violent retaliation by local, state, or federal authorities;
We therefore strongly support and pledge to join or initiate various forms of action to aid the BLM movement in its goals for an immediate end to systemic racism upheld by racist and discriminatory laws, systems, institutions, and practices, and manifested as racist discrimination and violence by public servants in the United States;
We affirm that the dignity and integrity of human life are inviolable, and that their safety and preservation are always and invariably more important than the safety or preservation of any form or amount of goods or property;
We absolutely and unequivocally condemn the violent response by local and state police, by the National Guard, and by any armed forces mobilized thus far or in the future to suppress a legitimate movement of their fellow citizens;
We abhor and condemn as unjust, unjustified, and unwarranted the use of batons, tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons, police dogs, bullets and projectiles of any form, or any other weapons used indiscriminately and with impunity against unarmed or nonviolent protesters;
We denounce as dangerous, indefensible, and illegitimate any words or actions coming from our elected or appointed officials and public servants, from political organizations, and from non-governmental organizations that — intentionally or unintentionally — foment racial, class, political, religious, generational, or regional discord, as well as their calls to suppress protests through violent retaliation under the guise of protecting property;
We ask that Davidson College require and implement intensive and ongoing anti-racism training for all students, faculty, staff, and campus police after input from and consultation with BIPOC and diversity leaders on campus;
We ask that Davidson College investigate all accounts of racial profiling by Davidson College Campus Police, and that it take immediate and appropriate action to discipline those found responsible for racial profiling;
We recognize that the Davidson BIPOC community has long raised their voices in denouncing racism. We, the undersigned faculty, pledge to amplify their calls, and demand that the administration no longer make rhetorical gestures of inclusion, but rather take action on transforming the institution toward its stated values;
We also recognize that the onus for educating White people about the effects of racialization and racism on the lives of BIPOC does not fall on BIPOC, but on those who benefit from the privileges that whiteness confers;
We further recognize that as faculty whose primary role is to educate, it falls on us as a collective to name injustice when we see it, to amplify the voices of those who are not being heard, to reflect critically on our own privileges and positions of power, and to engage with the academic and activist work of social justice and anti-racism;
We therefore pledge ourselves as faculty to learn and practice inclusive pedagogy, design inclusive syllabi, and ensure that our pedagogical and research agendas actively consider justice and fairness wherever applicable, and actively expose and resist white supremacy, racism and antisemitism, as well as prejudice and exclusion on the basis of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, political affiliation, ableism, or citizenship or documentation status;
We, the undersigned faculty, commit to continuing the ongoing work at Davidson College, call on others to do the same, and urge for increased participation and greater accountability. Racism and other forms of discrimination — including xenophobia, anti-Black racism, antisemitism, homophobia, sexism, and ableism — have informed in overt and subtle ways where the college is today, and continue to inform how far it has come and how far it has to go in bringing about reconciliation, healing, and a just community. Ongoing work by students, faculty, and staff that addresses the history and consequences of discrimination includes, but is not limited to The Commission on Race and Slavery, FIRST, The Davidson Microaggressions Project, Disorienting Davidson, The JEC Requirement, the Faculty of Color Caucus, the E.H. Little Library’s Anti-Racism Resource Guide, Justice, Equality, and Community Archives, and community-based projects, programs and scholarship in partnership with our communities;
We call on our extensive network of Davidson College alumni to support those who are fighting for liberation through financial and material assistance, political action, refusal to uphold racist laws or to carry out racist or violent orders, and, most importantly, by joining in protest and by unrelentingly acting to expose and condemn racism in their lives and in respective communities;
Confident that this statement is in agreement with the Davidson College Statement of Purpose, with its Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, and with its principles of community, we respectfully call on the Davidson College administration and its Board of Trustees to join us in this collective statement and the actions called for herein;
We request that this statement be posted prominently and in its entirety on the homepage of the Davidson College website, that it be posted and linked to permanently on all its social media accounts, and that it be emailed to students, staff, faculty, alumni, and to any other networks affiliated with Davidson College.

With an honest acknowledgment that what we are saying here means nothing if actions do not follow, and that if the actions that BIPOC are already always taking are not supported or, at the very least, amplified, we have failed or will have continued to fail;

With the knowledge that true, honest, genuine, helpful support for anti-racist work requires risk-taking, deep self-reflection, and the de-centering of whiteness (which for those of us who are White means de-centering ourselves and listening);

With the promise that what we say here and what we are signing our names to does not only live in this document and is not just a performative act of allyship;

In solidarity,

Daniel W. Aldridge, III, Professor of History
Mitch Anstey, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Ike Bailey, Batten Professor of Journalism and Communication
Mark Barsoum, Assistant Professor of Biology and Director of the Math and Science Center
Rachid El Bejjani, Assistant Professor of Biology
Mario Belloni, Professor of Physics
Jonathan Berkey, Professor of History
Karen Bernd, Professor of Biology
Katherine Bersch, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Florin Beschea, Visiting Professor of French & Francophone Studies, Director of the Self-Instructional Languages Program
Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Jason Blum, Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing
Alison Bory, Associate Professor of Dance and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Maurya Boyd, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dan Boye, Professor of Physics
Patricio Boyer, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Latin American Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Anika Bratt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Graham Bullock, Associate Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies
Sally Lawrence Bullock, Visiting Assistant Professor of Health and Human Values
Malcolm Campbell, Herman Brown Professor of Biology
Shireen Campbell, Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center
Besir Ceka, Associate Professor of Political Science
Dasha A. Chapman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance
Tim Chartier, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Keyne Cheshire, Professor of Classics
Kata Chillag, Hamilton McKay Professor in Biosciences and Human Health, Health and Human Values
Suzanne W. Churchill, Professor of English
Luther Clement-Lam, Visiting Assistant Professor of Film
Angela Cools, Assistant Professor of Economics
Ann Marie Costa, Samuel E. and Mary W. Thatcher Professor of Theatre
Melody Crowder-Meyer, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Britta Crandall, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science
Jacquelyn Culpepper, Artist Associate of Voice, Music
Scott Denham, Charles A. Dana Professor of German Studies and E. Craig Wall, Jr., Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities
Joelle Dietrick, Assistant Professor of Art and Digital Studies
Vivien Dietz, Professor of History
Brian A. Eiler, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Rosalba Esparragoza, Visiting Lecturer in Hispanic Studies
Amanda Ewington, Professor of Russian Studies
Maria Fackler, Associate Professor of English and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Rebeca Fernandez, Associate Professor of Writing and Educational Studies
Brenda Flanagan, Edward Armfield Professor of English
Emily Frazier-Rath, Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies
William Fried, Artist Associate in Piano, Music
Lisa Forrest, The Leland M. Park Director of the Davidson College Library
Jennifer Garcia Peacock, James B. Duke Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Tim Gfroerer, Professor of Physics
Jessica Good, Associate Professor of Psychology and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Melissa M. González, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Latin American Studies, and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Annelise H. Gorensek-Benitez, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Sharon L. Green, Professor of Theatre
Meghan Griffith, Professor of Philosophy
Shyam Gouri Suresh, Associate Professor of Economics
Michael Guasco, Professor of History
Karen Hales, Professor of Biology
Takiyah Harper-Shipman, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies
Cindy Hauser, Professor of Chemistry
Karli Henderson, Producer/Lecturer, Theatre
Burkhard Henke, Professor of German Studies
Laurie Heyer, John T. Kimbrough Professor of Mathematics
Van E. Hillard, Professor of Rhetoric and Writing
Sandrine Hope, Visiting Assistant Professor of French & Francophone Studies
Katie Horowitz, Assistant Professor of Gender & Sexuality Studies and Writing
Randy Ingram, Professor of English
Marija Jankovic, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Abril Jimenez, Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies
Brad Johnson, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Steve Kaliski, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre
Gayle Kaufman, Nancy and Erwin Maddrey Professor of Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Tara Villa Keith, Associate Professor of Music
Hanna Key, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Kyra A. Kietrys, Professor of Hispanic Studies
Jae Kim, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
Peter Krentz, Professor of Classics and History
Carole Kruger, Professor of French & Francophone Studies
Anthony Kuchera, Assistant Professor of Physics
Michelle Kuchera, Assistant Professor of Physics
Zoran Kuzmanovich, Professor of English
Rosaline Kyo, Assistant Professor of Art History and Chinese Studies
Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire, Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Cynthia Lawing, Artist Associate, Music
William Lawing, Estes Millner Professor of Music
Daniel Layman, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Neil Lerner, Professor of Music
Cynthia Lewis, Charles A. Dana Professor of English
Barbara Lom, Virginia Lasater Irvin Professor of Biology
William Mahony, Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies
Magdalena Maiz-Peña, William H. Williamson Professor of Hispanic Studies
Naila Mamoon, Assistant Professor of Health and Human Values, Director of Premedicine and Allied Health Professions Programs
Jane Mangan, Mary Reynolds Babcock Professor of History and Latin American Studies and Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
Christopher R. Marsicano, Visiting Assistant Professor of Educational Studies
Gerardo Martí, Professor of Sociology
David Martin, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies
Maggie McCarthy, Professor of German Studies
Sean McKeever, Professor of Philosophy
Linda McNally, Lecturer, Department of Biology
Ilana McQuinn, Visiting Assistant Professor of History
Hammurabi Mendes, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Annie Merrill, Thomson Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of English
Donna Molinek, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Dáša Pejchar Mortensen, Assistant Professor of History
Kristi S. Multhaup, Vail Professor of Psychology
Owen Mundy, Associate Professor of the Practice of Digital Studies
Greta Munger, Professor of Psychology
Jeffrey K. Myers, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Jeanne M. Neumann, Professor of Classics
Tamara Neuman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Anthropology
Andrew O’Geen, Associate Professor of Political Science
Siobhan M. O’Keefe, Assistant Professor of Economics
Douglas F. Ottati, Craig Family Distinguished Professor of Reformed Theology and Justice
Rachel Pang, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Christopher J. Paradise, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies
Alan Michael Parker, Douglas Houchens Professor of English
Tony Pasero-O’Malley, Visiting Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies
Tabitha C. Peck, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Luis H. Peña, Professor of Hispanic Studies
Peter H. Penar, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science
Sokrat Postoli, Assistant Professor of French & Francophone Studies
Jonad Pulaj, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Megan Race, Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian Studies
Julio J. Ramirez, R. Stuart Dickson Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Shelley Rigger, Professor of Political Science
Andrew Rippeon, Visiting Assistant Professor, Writing Program
Susan Roberts, Professor of Political Science
Clark G. Ross, Frontis Johnston Professor of Economics and Dean of Faculty, Emeritus
Phia S. Salter, Associate Professor of Psychology
Mark Sample, Associate Professor of Digital Studies
Matt Samson, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Chair of Latin American Studies
Samuel Sánchez y Sánchez, Professor of Hispanic Studies
Lola Santamaría, Visiting Instructor of Hispanic Studies
Sophia Dorcheva Sarafova, Associate Professor of Biology, Director of Duke-Davidson Immunology Partnership
Cort Savage, Professor of Art
Karl T. Schmidt, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology
Nina E. Serebrennikov, Professor of Art History
Jessica Sharp, Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology
Ché L. Smith, Visiting Assistant Professor of Data Science
Kevin G. Smith, Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies
Shaw Smith, Professor of Art History
H. Gregory Snyder, Professor of Religious Studies
Nicole L. Snyder, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Assistant Dean for Research and Creative Works
Laura Sockol, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Tyler Starr, Associate Professor of Art
Jennifer Stasack, Professor of Music
Rose Stremlau, Associate Professor of History
Caleb Stroup, Associate Professor of Economics
Chuck Sturtevant, Visiting Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies
Lauren Stutts, Assistant Professor of Health and Human Values
Mark Sutch, Associate Professor of Theatre
Sherilyn Tamagawa, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Yurika Tamura, Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Bryan Thurtle-Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Biology
Debbie Thurtle-Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Biology
Patricia Tilburg, James B. Duke Professor of History and Gender & Sexuality Studies
Silvana Toska, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Michael Toumazou, Professor of Classics, Affiliated Professor of Art
Anita Tripathi, Assistant Professor of Design and Technology
Anne Truetzel, Instructor of Classics
Onita Vaz, Associate Professor of English
Susana Wadgymar, Assistant Professor of Biology
Sarah Waheed, Assistant Professor of History
David R. Wessner, Professor of Biology
Monica White, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology
Alexander Wiedemann, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Bryce Wiedenbeck, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Alice Wiemers, Assistant Professor of History
Angie Willis, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Latin American Studies
Anne Blue Wills, Professor of Religious Studies
Carl Yerger, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Joshua C. Yesnowitz, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science
Yan Zhuang, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Jane Zimmerman, John and Ruth McGee Director, Dean Rusk International Studies Program
And two faculty members who wished to remain Anonymous.

Faculty Statement on Systemic Racism and Injustice

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