Blackademics as Prophetic Witnesses and the Struggle for Racial Justice in Higher Education

• In Event: Current Issues in Higher Education

Abstract

Black graduate students and researchers are often studied and discussed as a monolithic group with a convergent view of how to tackle anti-Blackness within the academy. Such a distillation of the Black experience in academia obscures the myriad ways Black scholars seek to dismantle anti-Black racism within the academy. In this theoretical paper, we interrogate Blackademic as a critical intellectual identity by using Black liberation theology as a lens for inquiry. Specifically, we conceptualize “prophetic witnessing” as Blackademic praxis for resistance against white supremacy, to clarify how Blackademics are punished for vocal condemnation of anti-Blackness within the academy, and finally, issue a call for researchers to engage in work that centers the experiences of Blackademics.

Authors

• Chaddrick James-Gallaway, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Jari Minnett, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Adrienne D. Dixson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign