Chronically Academic anti-Black racism statement

At the time of writing, worldwide protests are taking place against police brutality and anti-Black racial violence in the US. As a community, we at Chronically Academic condemn anti-Black violence and systemic racism. We support and stand in solidarity with our Black network members, colleagues, and students. Our mandate to support academics with chronic conditions and disabilities and to work to dismantle structures of academic ableism is intersectional; we cannot dismantle ableist structures without dismantling racist, sexist and colonial structures of white supremacy in the academy and beyond. We recognize that in academia, in the medical system, and in everyday life, Black disabled academics face a great deal more systemic oppression and direct discrimination due to the intersection of disability and blackness. Therefore they are more likely to face ableism and racism. This might include: being turned down for a job, not being able to access healthcare or disability accommodations, being racially profiled, being told that they do not belong in academia, not being believed when they speak up about being mistreated, being ignored, being silenced, being racially abused, being victimised. We also recognise that this intersectional lens has to acknowledge the oppression faced by Black trans people and Black queer people, who face disproportionately high rates of discrimination and violence.

We recognise that making a statement in itself is not enough, and strive to learn about how we can do better as a community and with this platform. We do not want to place the burden on BIPOC/BAME members of our community to educate us. Instead we encourage everyone in the Chronically academic community to join us in educating ourselves and fighting these inequalities.

We commit to the following actions:

1. Amplifying the voices of Black disabled students and academics and helping to increase representation.


2. Providing a platform for Black disabled students and academics (e.g. through our Twitter account, and through Twitter hashtags).


3. Ensuring that people in the Chronically Academic community are aware that we have a zero-tolerance policy to racism, ableism or discrimination of any kind.


4. Holding monthly Twitter chats about allyship and sharing resources about how to be an ally.


5. Looking at whether Chronically Academic needs to make any other changes at an organisational level to become more inclusive and anti-racist.

If you are a non-Black person, as a first step, we urge you to educate yourself on the key issues and how to engage on this topic, including taking note of what not to do. We as a team are committed to doing this self-education and self-reflection as well. Please see below a list of resources as a starting point. We welcome you to get in touch with us to add more to the list. It is OK to be outraged or upset about the injustices, but do not air your outrage or sadness with Black people and ask them to educate you about what you can do, or expect their emotional support. It is understandable that you may feel guilty and uncomfortable about your privilege, but ask yourself how you have benefitted from this privilege, why it makes you uncomfortable, and what you can do going forward to make things better for people without your privilege. Use your privilege to provide platforms for others without it. Do not ask for emotional labour from Black students or colleagues at what is already a traumatic time. Do not share graphic images or videos of violence against Black people, especially without a trigger warning. If you are an academic with seniority, support your Black students by thinking about what you can do practically to make your department actively anti-racist. Lastly, you may feel an urge to write about this movement as an academic, but reconsider: does academia need another non-Black perspective on Black issues? Instead, look at your archive and citations, consider what perspectives are missing and work to fill these spaces. We must all strive to continually do anti-racist work and uphold anti-racist practices, no matter our fields of study or the demographics of our classrooms and departments.

Blog posts, websites, twitter threads and articles:

Racism in academia

• Leading routes article and link to report about structural racism in academia.
• List of articles about racism in academia and the workplace.
• Information about the BAME attainment gap and continuation gap in UK higher education.
• Why do Black students quit university more often than their white peers?
• Runnymede trust report on race and inequality in academia.
• Racism in academia has impacts on BAME staff’s mental health.
• Race science and eugenics; how scientific racism still exists and may be making a comeback.
• The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education.

Ableism and racism/racism in health and healthcare

• What is health inequality?
• Ethnic inequalities in health: the impact of racism.
• Racism and discrimination in health care.
• The updated Marmot review on health equity.
• Articles on how the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has disproportionately affected Black, Asian and Minority ethnic individuals, and continues to do so: here, here, here and here.

Racism throughout history (the legacy of racism)

• Historic England’s website on racism and resistance in Britain.
• David Osoluga’s article on the legacy of racism in Britain.
• Dr Amy Kavanagh’s blog post on the Edward Colston statue in Bristol.
• Twitter thread on racism in the UK from @ObiomaUgoala.

Theories

Intersectionality:

• Dr Kimberle Crenshaw’s 1991 article Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics and violence against women of color, Stanford law review.
• Interview with Dr Crenshaw about intersectionality.

Critical race theory:

• Purdue OWL’s explainer and reading list on Critical race theory.

Resources and guidance on action

Resources on allyship and being a good ally:

• Dr Addy Adelaine’s article on the importance of good allyship.
• Twitter thread by Mya Robertson on how to support our Black colleagues and students.
• Ally Henny on the question many people ask: What can I do?
• Do no harm: guidance for White allies who are trying to help.
• Summer May Finlay’s article on how to be an accomplice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
• 7 Examples of What Being an Ally at Work Really Looks Like from @betterallies.

Why just showing that you are an ally is not enough:

• Holliday Phillips on the harms of performative allyship.
• Black Girl Dangerous on what Ally Theater means, and how to avoid it.

How can I teach my students about race and racism?

• Teaching about race, racism and police violence.
• How should I talk about race in my mostly white classroom?

Books:

• How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
• Women, Race and Class by Angela Y. Davis
• The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Du Bois
• Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
• Superior: The return of race science by Angela Saini
• So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Brit(ish): On race, identity and belonging by Afua Hirsch
• Ain’t I a woman by bell hooks
• The Master’s tools will never dismantle the Master’s House by Audre Lorde
• Why I’m no longer talking to White People about race by Renni Eddo-Lodge
• Insurgent Empire: Anti-colonial resistance and British Dissent by Priyamvada Gopal
• The colour of Madness: exploring BAME mental health in the UK by Samara Linton and Rianna Walcott
• The end of policing by Alex S. Vitale (ebook available for free at the time of writing)
• Policing the Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter Edited by Jordan T. Camp and Christina Heatherton (ebook currently free on verso books)

Useful websites and organisations to follow:

• Black Lives Matter
• National Black Disability Coalition
• Intersectionality network
• African American Policy Forum
• Runnymede Trust
• Leading routes
• Ladders4Action
• Advancing health equity

Helpful reading lists shared by people on Twitter:

• A primer on race/ism by Dr Shay-Akil McLean
• Dr Adrienne Keen’s course on Critical Race Theory
• Google doc of anti-racism resources by Sarafina Nance
• Google drive folder about black history and activism

Podcasts:

• Intersectionality Matters
• NPR’s Codeswitch
• Sandy and Nora
• About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge
• We Live Here
• Blacademia: yarns with Australian First Nations/Indigenous academics

Twitter hashtags to follow:

#BlackLivesMatter
#DisabledPeopleforBlackLives
#BlackDisabledLivesMatter
#BlackTransLivesMatter
#SayHerName
#ShutdownAcademia
#Strike4BlackLives
#BlackInTheIvory
#BlackAutistics
#BlackInAcademia
#BlackInSTEM
#BlackBirdersWeek
#BlackAFinSTEM
#diversityinSTEM
#ShutdownSTEM
#AmplifyBlackSTEM

Academia Won’t Change By Itself

Written by Manya Singh 

My first year of college was my first experience with using disability accommodations.

I didn't tell anyone I used these accommodations.

Luckily, the classes I shared with friends tended to be big lecture classes, and if anyone mentioned not seeing me in the lecture room, I'd make an excuse about wearing black, or sitting in the back... and then I'd change the subject. I was so embarrassed.

My university had a policy that you had to submit accommodation letters to faculty in person, and my anxiety would bubble just under the surface as I arrived at office hours, quickly shoved the letter towards the professor, and attempted a smile before leaving without making eye contact. I knew that these professors got these letters each year, and they had already received the electronic version of mine from the coordinator, and still, the experience of having to identify myself in that moment was awful.

And then, out of nowhere, I started falling asleep.

I can remember the first time very clearly. I was in an advanced math class, as I'd qualified to skip regular algebra, and I was the youngest in that class. The teacher was great, and a legend among the students. I had always done well, especially in math, but I really wanted to impress this teacher with my attentiveness and work ethic.

But one day, I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder, and as I jerked back into reality, I caught the disapproving glance my teacher sent my way. My peers around me tried to hide their chuckles, and the student behind me told me my teacher asked her to shake me awake. I was humiliated and shocked, and I'm sure I left without giving the teacher an explanation... because I didn't have one.

For the next seven years, I would try a million things: increasing/decreasing sleep, giving up coffee, different protein powders, yoga, CrossFit, various vitamin regimes, and lots and lots of medical testing. I probably got tested for anemia, thyroid problems and diabetes every three to five months. Nothing ever worked and testing was always negative. I fell asleep almost every day, in almost every class. I was so embarrassed, especially in college. I knew that professors were thinking that I had stayed up too late partying or cramming or watching TV, when really, I had been in bed by 10:30. I sat in the back of the classroom and rarely participated, because I felt terrible.

I felt like I was inhabiting the body of someone else, a body that would not cooperate with me.

At 19, I was tested for sleep apnea, and I started treatment for that. It had been ruled out initially because I tested negative as a kid. The sleep apnea treatment helped a little, but I still fell asleep in classes. For two years, I waited for my "sleep debt" to end, but it never did. There were some other big changes in my life around this time, including having committed to coming to graduate school. I was tired of being tired, of feeling like less than a whole person, always embarrassed and anxious and hating myself. I started treatment for more severe, clinical sleep disorders.

And it worked. It's not perfect, and the effectiveness of my treatment depends on me committing to my routine, and to maintaining my health more rigorously than the average able-bodied person. My body isn't like most people's bodies, and that's frustrating, but I'm grateful that I've found effective treatment, and I'm okay with this being my reality for the rest of my life.

(It takes an average of seven years to diagnose sleep disorders, since the symptoms overlap, and tend to be ignored or dismissed. sleepfoundation.org is a good place to start if this resonates.)

The experience of my disability contributed to me feeling embarrassed and ashamed of it, but the reality is that there are many disabled people and students, with all kinds of disabilities, who feel the same way. For large segments of society, disability is bad, and we are meant to be embarrassed for being bad. Disability is not bad, but this notion being false, does not lessen the impact.

In academia, this is best represented by the statement: "Well, nobody needed accommodations when I went to school." Impostor syndrome impacts everyone, but it is different for disabled students because it interacts with, and is intensified by, the history and continuation of ableism in academia.

In college, I was co-president of the disability club on campus, and I helped a lot of students navigate accommodations. I would often get a message like, "[Insert example of not complying with official accommodation letters here], is that legal?"

I feel disgusted that there is a need to talk to students about how to negotiate accommodations, as if they are being held hostage, when they've already jumped through administrative hoops to get official accommodations. Each time I've had to do that in my own life, I have felt smaller, and I hate watching others feel that way too.

You feel like you don't belong,

like academia would be happy if you just gave up and left,

like "accommodations didn't exist back in my day" because disabled people have never

and will never be welcome in academia.

An administrator once told me that academia would improve in the next ten to fifteen years, as the people within it filtered in and out. I remember thinking: Is all we can do wait? Did we say the same thing ten years ago?

Have we always been waiting for academia to change on its own, rather than actively trying to change it?

When do we accept that hasn’t worked?

About the Author

Portrait picture of
Manya facing the camera
and smiling.

Manya Singh is a doctoral student in botany studying how drought impacts plant-soil feedback in invasive grasses. She has been active in student advocacy, with a focus on disabled students, since 2017. Follow her at manyasingheco.wordpress.com.