(RNS) — A religious studies professor at the University of Pennsylvania said thousands of faculty are supporting a “scholar strike” during which they are focusing on racial injustice in or out of their classrooms this week.
“I would be down as a professor to follow the NBA and Strike for a few days to protest police violence in America,” said Anthea Butler, who also teaches Africana studies, in an Aug. 26 tweet.
Since then, Butler said, more than 5,000 faculty have backed the initiative, which started Tuesday (Sept. 8) and is to continue on Wednesday.
In a blog post, Butler and co-organizer Kevin Gannon, a professor of history at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, said the initiative — reminiscent of 1960s teach-ins — is a response to the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the killing of two demonstrators days later.
“Some of us will, for two days, refrain from our many duties and participate in actions designed to raise awareness of and prompt action against racism, policing, mass incarceration and other symptoms of racism’s toll in America,” Butler and Gannon wrote on Academe Blog.
Butler told Religion News Service that she does not know how many religion or divinity school professors are involved but that faculty at Yale Divinity School, Vanderbilt Divinity School and Brite Divinity School “are participating in teach-ins.”
The initiative includes YouTube videos that are being offered as teaching resources available to professors, students and the general public. Some of the videos are live, some are scheduled for Wednesday. They feature professors speaking on topics such as white supremacy, redlining and racial disparities in the COVID-19 pandemic.
In one, Erika Gault, assistant professor of Africana studies at the University of Arizona, speaks about “Three Fast Facts on Black Religion and Black Lives Matter,” noting the diverse religious background of social movements, including the Black Lives Matter movement.
Other professors have changed what they are teaching and plan to teach on racial justice instead during the two-day venture. And some schools are pledging to work beyond the two days and have events scheduled about white supremacy and about policing.
Butler told Religion News Service that she does not know how many religion or divinity school professors are involved but that faculty at Yale Divinity School, Vanderbilt Divinity School and Brite Divinity School “are participating in teach-ins.”
The initiative includes YouTube videos that are being offered as teaching resources available to professors, students and the general public. Some of the videos are live, some are scheduled for Wednesday. They feature professors speaking on topics such as white supremacy, redlining and racial disparities in the COVID-19 pandemic.
In one, Erika Gault, assistant professor of Africana studies at the University of Arizona, speaks about “Three Fast Facts on Black Religion and Black Lives Matter,” noting the diverse religious background of social movements, including the Black Lives Matter movement.
Other professors have changed what they are teaching and plan to teach on racial justice instead during the two-day venture. And some schools are pledging to work beyond the two days and have events scheduled about white supremacy and about policing.
by Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service
