I have gone through racism in Academia. There I said it. Most times it is in the form of microaggressions, that because of how tricky microaggressions are, you cannot do much about it. Most universities have a training on microaggressions, but few really do anything about it. I have also had to deal with macroaggressions, which are easier to report. However, usually there is a slap on the wrist, the offender is “encouraged” to go to A diversity training (the “A” is capitalized for emphasis) and then you get a letter from the main DEI office on campus that says something like, “Although we acknowledge that you had a racist experience, based on the definition of harassment, we have determined that this was not a case of harassment.” Then you are forced to continue to work in an environment that feels unwelcomed, unsafe and overall unhealthy. Now everyone knows you have filed the complaint. The person who said the racially insensitive things to you is upset with you and everyone you are working with is upset with you for complaining. So your very existence in that space is a form of daily harassment. It may be silent. Your bosses may be really kind to you. BUT because no reconciliation or authentic accountability happened, the isolation and overall tenuous environment that has been created, does feel like you are being harassed every single day that you go to work in that toxic place…even if no one says another racist or unkind word to you.
The recent testimonies of university presidents, seeking to explain why they seemed resistant to confronting antisemitism on campus have caused me to have PTSDish flashbacks to my experiences. These flashbacks have actually caused me to understand why leadership in the spaces I have worked or attended didn’t do anything to help me. There is something wrong with the legal definition of harassment or even a clear understanding of what racism looks like and how it deeply hurts those who suffer from it. One…just ONE racially insensitive comment to a co-worker or university student automatically creates an environment where the one offended feels harassed not just by the one comment, but by the aftershock of mistrust, tension, and hurt that come from the comment or experience. Our country has watched minorities keep plowing forward in the face of this mistreatment since 1776 and somehow has the impression that this is normal, so we just accept it.
We cannot look at this moment where the 3 leaders are being held accountable for the failure of the previous presidents, and think this one moment will heal America’s issues. This is bigger than anti-Semitism. This is about ALL of us. This is about Jews, Israelis, Muslims, those from the Middle East, Latinos, Blacks, LGBTQ, women, immigrants or ANY HUMAN BEINGS that have felt unwelcomed in Academia or AMERICA. What makes me sad is these are all WOMEN! One of them is a Black woman who has probably had the same experiences I have had. I have watched Black women in leadership turn their eyes away as I went through racism. Sometimes there would be the secret off campus lunch to “encourage” me to just be strong and that they understood what I was going through, but NOTHING was done to make it stop. Do you know why? Because they were powerless. Most leadership is powerless to stop any form of racism, because of academia’s stance on free speech, tenure, and the list goes on. How dare we make these women the sacrifice because the MEN who led before them did NOTHING but promote White supremacy. How dare we crucify these women who probably had to endure years of sexism, racism and fighting to be seen and heard!! How dare we take our donations NOW, when this has been going on for over a century and NOTHING was done. I am appalled.
These women are being made to answer for the leadership who probably mistreated them on their journey to be in these positions. Over their years of overcoming racism and sexism they learned the habit of being silent, smiling, and pushing through to achieve success in academia and now we try to punish them for the mess the men BEFORE them created??!! This is just unfair! I feel this so deeply. I grieve with them as they must be doing in the privacy of their homes, when all of the cameras are off, because it is unfair. I speak from experience. I go through racism regularly in academia and over and over I watch leadership do NOTHING to help me, NOTHING to help make the space welcoming, NOTHING to hold people accountable for their racist and sexist mentalities. Even if those I may have worked with or studied under wanted to help, it was clear that without the leadership, they could do nothing but be as kind to me as possible. In the end, however, I was left to suffer through being in a space that has always rejected women, people of color and anyone who was not a rich White male. To do this witch hunt on these women, as if it will finally end all of our problems is completely illogical and unfair.
We have to get to the reason why they are struggling to speak on this. It is in the definition that the university DEI offices use to determine what actions should be taken when a racist experience happens. These women are caught up in the middle because they have to serve EVERYONE on their campuses, and everyone is hurting! Since Academia has always resisted dealing with racism of any form, these women must now carry the burden of trying to fix something that was created before they were even born. They cannot do it by themselves, because they are most likely scarred by the failure of the previous leaders themselves (hurting people HURT PEOPLE), but as a community we all can put our wounded heads together and fix it. Yelling “Crucify them! Crucify them!” solves nothing, but coming together and planning a path forward so Jews and EVERYONE can benefit from this change will bring healing. The definition of harassment must have been written by a patriarchal White supremist because when those of us do complain, it’s usually the same response “Due to the definition…blah blah blah….” We need to redefine these terms and we need to rethink how we handle racism in Academia. Can it be handled in a way that still protects free speech and tenure? And my goodness can we please act like microaggressions are real and need to be dealt with too!!!? Can we all come together to have a conversation about what change should look like for the times we are in? Or are we going to keep sacrificing these women for the failures of the White supremist, patriarchal men who have run universities before they got there?
Dr. Anika T. Prather 