Thread by @jnash

1/ This Twitter #TeachIn is comprised of three thread-chapters. This thread is #1, "Getting Level Set." The other two are "Love," and "Fixing Up My House." #ScholarStrike

2/ Inspired by @keepingit101 I'll start with a statement of intention. I’m participating in response to a call by @AntheaButler for scholars to strike against racism huge thanks to her and @TheTattooedProf for getting us organized. #ScholarStrike

3/ First things first. Who am I and why this work? I’m a white man who has been on a journey of well-intentioned allyship but with an unhealthy dose of naïveté and cultural blinders #ScholarStrike

4/ Events in 2020, particularly the killing of George Floyd, shook me to my core. I'm simultaneously inspired & frightened by the events around us. Writing about them publicly used to scare me. No longer #ScholarStrike

5/ What’s important to internalize is that, as @AdamSerwer notes, “believing in racial equality in the abstract and supporting policies that would make it a reality are two different things.” #ScholarStrike

6/ You can see @AdamSerwer's piece here: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi… #ScholarStrike

7/ Further, @StepCarter asserts that “...America has been infected…by a pandemic of hatred, a pandemic of suspicion that rests on the fundamental lie that black people are inferior and white people are superior. That's the lie that permeates our society.” I reject this lie.

8/ You can see @StepCarter's thoughts here: npr.org/2020/05/30/866… #ScholarStrike

9/ And while our academic department put out a statement recognizing the abhorrence of the killing of George Floyd (as many did), I want to stress: believing in this work and actually doing the work are two different things. And yep, talk is cheap. #ScholarStrike

10/ This thread from @fionarmiller speaks volumes. It’s time to stop talking and start acting.

https://twitter.com/fionarmiller/status/1268331163019382784?s=21

#ScholarStrike

11/ So here I am, trying to lean in. This issue is bigger than my worries about making mistakes. I am constantly learning and unlearning — and I do know that silence is violence. #ScholarStrike

12/ A concrete step I will commit to is recognizing the pain I’ve been causing to Black folks. I also recognize my privilege in, and access to, this community is a factor in my ability to speak. #ScholarStrike

13/ Next thread-chapter: "Love." #ScholarStrike

@threadreaderapp unroll