Racism is commonly defined as prejudice plus power, but in some contexts it can be practiced as a lack of diversity, equity and inclusion. These issues have been at the forefront of popular culture and academic research for some time now, but one could argue, interest has exploded in the U.S. consciousness since May of 2020 and the video recording…

Higher Education has witnessed an increase in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities on college campuses. Despite this slow growth, many colleges and university climates remain largely unwelcoming to LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff. Student activism has largely been responsible for this growth, supported…

The debates that involve banning critical race theory and implementing ethnic studies programs have recently surged. But this is not the first time that controversy about ethnic studies programs and other efforts to promote equity has led to dissension. In the 1960s, similar discord led to violence. Today, right-wing activists are making efforts…

I first describe the Black scholarly dilemma to set up the reader for how spirit murder happens subtly and the ways, I argue, centering Black life can restore our spirits. Through meditating on the existing literature, I argue that exclusion and marginalization are not the primary indicators of spirit murder in the education field or the academy.…

Since March of 2020, two pandemics have hit the United States of America like a bag of bricks. The health pandemic as a result of COVID-19 that has killed over 180,000 Americans and the racially-charged genocides that continues to murder our Black brothers and sisters. As a result of constant disregard for Black lives, in part 1, we analyze the…

Based on ethnographic and archival research, we explore how 10 students asserted their rights to belong and secure a space where they felt safe at UC Davis. We examine the activities and practices of 10 undergraduate Chicanxs and Latinxs students: members of "Radical Academics for Pedagogy" (RAP) and RESISTENCIA. Our interest lies on…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions explores free speech on college campuses. Following an opening statement by Honorable Lamar Alexander (Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions), the following senators provide statements: (1) Honorable Patty Murray, U.S. Senator from the State of…

The term "safe space" has become part of recent controversy surrounding a larger debate regarding freedom of expression on college campuses. An exploration of the term's use, however, shows that it has been appropriated by the media and campus administrators without a clear understanding of the nuanced context from which it has been…

Increasingly, institutions are amplifying work on race equality, in order to engage with movements for Black lives and decolonising. This brings universities into relations with individual and communal issues of whiteness, white fragility and privilege, double and false consciousness, and behavioural code switching. Inside formal structures, built…

Freedom of speech, protected by our Constitution, has long been a vital component of political, social, and intellectual life in our country. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has dedicated itself for more than 23 years to working with trustees to ensure that our nation's colleges and universities preserve this essential freedom…

Higher education professionals with a keen eye and commitment to advocacy face many obstacles through their work. Manifesting the realities of embodiment of these identities, with professional duties and implications can be treacherous. Evidence exists of marginalized voices being silenced by the majority when speaking about their own lived…

Increasing attention and representation of multiraciality in both the scholarly literature and popular culture warrants further nuancing of what is understood about multiracial people, particularly in the changing contexts of higher education. This book offers a way of "Preparing Higher Education for its Mixed Race Future" by examining…

In this paper, we, a collective of wahine 'Oiwi (Native Hawaiian women), reflect on how we may ho'oko (fulfill) our kuleana lahui (nation-building responsibilities) through our positions in the academy. While doing this work has always already been tenuous given the occupied state of ka Lahui Hawai'i (the Hawaiian nation), this tenuousness and the…

Heated battles over free speech have erupted on college campuses across the United States in recent months. Some of the most prominent incidents involve efforts by students to prevent public appearances by speakers espousing controversial viewpoints. Efforts to silence offensive speakers on college campuses are not new; in these endeavors, one can…

The US academy has been anti-democratic in philosophy and practice from its inception, seeking to discipline students as docile bodies cooperative with a white supremacist status quo. This Foucauldian analysis highlights how the academy's historical and ongoing enforcement of discipline and normalizing judgments made the outcome of the 2016 US…