The Oklahoma City University chapter of the American Association of University Professors participated in the nationwide Scholar Strike.
The Scholar Strike is a national movement to raise awareness of racism and racial injustice in all forms, including police violence against Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
Dr. Lisa Wolfe, president of OCU’s AAUP chapter and professor of Hebrew Bible, said the Scholar Strike was a two-day remembrance on Sept. 8-9 which aimed to bring awareness to and spend time learning about systemic racism in the classrooms.
“It’s taking place in different ways on different campuses, and of course individual faculty are making up their minds about how they are living that out in their classrooms. One thing I would draw attention to is the Scholar Strike’s YouTube channel where they are streaming 10 minute lectures from faculty across the country on issues related to racism and anti-racism in all different fields,” she said.
In addition to learning about systemic racism in the classrooms, students, teachers and faculty met on the quad on Sept. 8 to write the names of victims of racialized police violence in chalk on campus sidewalks. Wolfe said though the Scholar Strike is a national movement within the AAUP, the chalking event was specific to OCU.
“I thought it was beautiful, I found it very moving to physically write down names, to notice how fast my chalk ran out, to look around and see so many people writing names and creating art and remembering. I saw conversation between students and some OCUPD officers, I saw students interacting both in what seems to be very somber ways and also in ways that seemed empowered to be able to do something. It made me think of my recently deceased colleague, John Starkey. I thought, ‘he would have walked along these names and wept,’” she said.
Billy Palumbo, vice president and secretary of OCU’s AAUP chapter and visiting assistant professor of film, said another reason to host the chalking event was to carry on the ‘Say Their Names’ tradition.
“I printed a list with a lot of names because I can’t keep track of them in my head, and that’s part of the tragedy of it,” Palumbo said. “I’ve been talking with some students and colleagues how one thing we’ve been stuck by is the fact that we just don’t recognize so many of the names. A portion of them have gone viral, but so many are stories that we just don’t know, which is heartbreaking and overwhelming to see them all on the sidewalk.
Brittany Wyatt, philosophy/political science/economics sophomore, said she was inspired by the university coming together to stand against police brutality.
“I think there is a lot of strength in unity. Having people who are different races, different cultures, different beliefs, different lifestyles and overall just differences uniting together for one common goal is something that is truly beautiful. It was a reminder that we are all stronger together,” she said.
Wyatt also said the chalking event was a beautiful form of expression and support for the Black community.
“Using something as simple as chalk to make a much larger difference really shows the impact people can have on the world,” she said. “College students, a lot of the time, are portrayed as young adults who have no idea what we are doing, but college students are far much more than that, and the impact we can make on the world is a lasting one. It is an impact that will create change in every aspect of life. The chalking event was an example and creation of a loving community determined to make change.”
Simón Gómez Villegas, music theater/music composition senior, said one of his classes was canceled to make students able to attend the chalking event.
“I think it’s great activities on campus are paused to really give this moment the importance it deserves,” he said. “I’m glad they realize how it important it is for us to pay attention.
Gómez Villegas also said he thinks the Scholar Strike will be something people won’t forget.
“There were these sheets of paper being handed around with a list of dozens and dozens of lives of people of color who have been lost to police brutality, and they had the dates of their life spans. We wrote their names on the sidewalk, and in some areas, like closer to the caf, there were other sayings written, like ‘Black lives matter,’ ‘no justice no peace,’ ‘all lives can’t matter until Black lives matter’ and ‘Black trans lives matter.’ I thought it was a great moment of reflection. As we were writing, people would walk by and slowly read all the names and reflect. There were names written all the way from the library to Gold Star,” he said.
Wolfe said it’s important to raise awareness of systemic racism on campus in order to create change.
“I think it can be easy for those of us who are academics to fall into the sink hole that is our own discipline and neglect issues that might not seem pressing to our specific field,” Wolfe said. “Also, OCU is very white. It’s not hard to look around and see that, though I think many of us at OCU want to pay attention to the diversity in our world and the ways that racism affects every day life, and I think making some physical space for that on the sidewalk and making some time, as in taking two days, I think allows us to become more educated to look around. I think for those of us who are white, who don’t experience the effects of racism on a daily basis, nothing’s going to change until we look up and pay attention to what’s happening in our country, and then we can try to make some changes”
Palumbo said the large turnout of the chalking event gave him hope for change to be made at both an institutional level and an individual level.
“Awareness is always important, and that’s sort of general, but we’re talking about people’s lives and safety, and we’re talking about justice and freedom,” he said. “It’s so easy to make those things abstract, but the more we focus on them and think of how they’re concrete, the more we’re inspired to do something. I also think there’s value in activities that are just geared towards emotional expression and just kind of grieving together and recognizing there are other people grieving with you, because that can help bring people together toward collective action. It doesn’t always have to be from the institution doing something or an official group, it can just be a couple people who are grieving and chalking the sidewalk.”
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