A Message of Support from the English Department

A Message of Support from the English Department:

Members of the WU English department are outraged, not only by recent events of police brutality against black men and women such as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, but also by the legacy of violence perpetuated against BIPOC in the United States over centuries. We know this systemic racism created and maintained by racist policies permeates the Topeka community and our campus. Only through the acknowledgement of racist practices, both historical and current, can our communities move forward towards an equitable society for all.

Black Lives Matter began as a hashtag expressing love and concern for black communities in the face of state-sanctioned violence. Over time, those powerful words have come to define a movement that is rooted in the fundamental truth that all lives will not matter until black lives matter. The English department seeks to uphold the anti-racist values of Black Lives Matter and commits to supporting black students, and all students of color, on our campus.

As a predominantly white department at a predominantly white institution, we have the task of educating ourselves on racial disparity in education and beyond. We know, as Dr. Koritha Mitchell reminded us in the powerful Lincoln Lecture she delivered at Washburn earlier this year, that the ever-present system of whiteness provides unearned advantages to white people while upholding racist polices that harm BIPOC. As teachers, scholars, and practitioners of literature and writing, we recognize that we have a special obligation to understand and challenge how systemic racism and white supremacy influence the language we use, the modes of expression we legitimize or delegitimize, and the literature we canonize. As English faculty, we are uniquely positioned to amplify the voices and experiences of BIPOC though our curriculum, course design, and pedagogy, and it is our responsibility to do so.

We have much work to do, yet as we learn to be allies and accomplices with our students of color, we also stand beside them in the fight for justice and equity.