NU faculty discuss racism, lack of support in “unprecedented conversation”
Faculty of color discussed experiences of racism on campus, frustration with the University’s lack of support and its impact on students in a Monday panel.
Moderator Shannon Barlett, associate dean of inclusion and engagement at the Pritzker School of Law, said she organized the event after conversations with African American Studies Prof. Barnor Hesse made her realize the two shared similar concerns despite holding different positions on different campuses. Bartlett and Hesse were joined by four other faculty members in the conversation.
Barlett said two aspects of the University’s response to social unrest over the summer and fall motivated the conversation: first, a lack of recognition about the way racism affects faculty and staff, and second, a lack of acknowledgement about how Northwestern “largely operates with indifference to or even an ignorance of structural racism.”