Last year I was exchanging messages with Tommy J. Curry, who had recently arrived in Scotland to begin a position at the University of Edinburgh. Curry was a philosophy professor at Texas A&M in 2017 when The American Conservative ran a hit-piece accusing him of “racist bilge” and claiming that Curry is the Black inverse of neo-Nazi Richard Spencer (but even worse).
A storm of racism and defamation predictably followed. Curry became the latest Black scholar to be dehumanized in a public mobbing, a periodic ritual of white supremacy. The intensity of the vitriol was such that Curry, fearing for his family’s safety, left the United States. Leaving the country was also a professional decision. Now marked as “controversial,” a concept larded with racist undertones, he was no longer viable in the academic job market.
We were chatting because of a shared negative experience in US academe. Those of us punished for condemning structures of injustice belong to a distinct little community of wretches and castaways. Despite plenty of differences, we share a particular kind of pain, a common trauma, that in many ways is permanent (especially insofar as academe never forgets transgression of civility). The worst of the pain doesn’t derive from managerial repression, which anyone with a pulse can recognize, but from the mendacity and cowardice of ostensible comrades. When a controversy hits the media, you quickly learn that your main function is to serve as a repository of social capital for clout-hounds with an impeccable faculty for microphones and cameras. As soon as media attention goes away so does all that noisy concern for your plight. All the while, people you know to be duplicitous wrack up jobs and accolades. Our peculiar community has a lot to talk about.
Curry told me that his adjustment to Scotland was pretty steep. Very few Black people there. And whiteness in Scotland isn’t quite the same as whiteness in the United States. Besides learning the ins-and-outs of a new country, Curry noted that it was cold and rainy, a significant departure from the Brazos Valley. But he was protecting his family and seeking a place where he could continue his work, a lifetime in the making. Going to Scotland was better than being threatened in the United States.
“So I will put on a jacket,” he explained.
The line always struck me as a terrific bit of wisdom. It’s a perfect metaphor for endurance in suboptimal conditions. People punished for a radical commitment to the dispossessed know the importance of this sensibility. When the world seems unbearably cold—harsh and lonely and broken—don’t run to the closest shelter. Put on a jacket.
In other words, don’t abandon principle for luxury. Equip yourself to survive an inhospitable world. A jacket isn’t part of human anatomy. It’s a temporary solution to ephemeral conditions. Endurance is critical—without rewards conferred by the oppressor; without relationships predicated on self-interest; without the artificial warmth of cheap adulation—because conciliation induces the death of freedom.
The metaphor also represents defiance. You want to exile me to the North Atlantic? Fuck you. I’ll dress the part. You want to condition academic employment on fealty to the ruling class? Fuck you. I’ll drive a bus.
Johnny Eric Williams understands the sensibility. A sociologist at Trinity College, Williams also faced an onslaught of invective after running afoul of white supremacists. Suspended from his job and tossed to the wolves by Trinity’s administration, he responded by likening whiteness to terrorism.
Ditto Lorgia Garcia Peña, an accomplished and beloved scholar. In a secretive decision stinking of recrimination, Harvard recently denied Peña tenure. Rather than remaking herself as a safe emblem of diversity for potential employers, Peña has continued to agitate and organize.
You want me to sanitize or diminish structural racism? Fuck you. I’ll double-down on my criticism.
Maybe the most compelling message of the metaphor is sacrifice. Do what’s necessary to make life possible for the people you love. The further you cast that love, the greater its sanctity.
Those with a more pragmatic outlook will say we’re suckers to forswear profit or comfort, but sometimes the best thing a person can do to produce a more compassionate world is zip up and keep on living.
It appears the professor suggested fighting racism with violence. Not a very acceptable idea in the US which has witnessed its share of race riots. While I am sure everyone here believes the issue can be a subject of debate, it is in the same area as every suggestion wherein violence is proposed as an acceptable solution.
Have fun in Scotland. Bring a heavy coat that will help you conserve body heat.
He wasn’t advocating violence, he was acknowledging reality. Didn’t white people die in the Civil War. Prior to the Civil War if I had suggested some white people may have to die in order to stop slavery am I advocating violence? Black people die every day in the maintenance of white supremacy, they are an acceptable loss to this society, but the suggestion that some white people will have to die to destroy white supremacy is controversial, dangerous, and violent. That is, of course, because this is a white supremacist society. It must be torn down, at all costs, and yes, some white people are going to have to die in the process.
Discussing going to war to end slavery, which the North did not do, is appropriate. Discussing killing people to end slavery is not appropriate. In fact, guiding the discussion in that manner would make an ordinary person consider that you are advocating violence.
I do not recall reading anywhere that minorities are dying in order to support the supremacy of the majority in the US. This may be happening in South Africa and Zimbabwe, but I am not that knowledgeable about current events in those two states.
Sounds as if you are considering becoming a genocidal racist. So sad.
If you haven’t read about how Black and Brown and indigenous people are dying to feed the machinery of white supremacy In the U.S., you simply aren’t paying attention. Perhaps that machinery is invisible to you even as it allows you to believe that your judgment of what is or isn’t “appropriate” to discuss (in order to end enslavement!) is natural, objective, and true…
I admit that I am not paying attention to an event that is not occurring. Yes, something that does not exist would be “unseeable,” which to some might be phrased as invisible. Regardless, one cannot see what does not exist. Your imagination excepted.
I agree that it is acceptable to declare war against those portions of the Arab world where slavery still exists in order to end such slavery. The British did so in the early 1800s. It would be hoped that the Arab world would just surrender without a shot being fired as the potential death and destruction would be horrendous. But to discuss killing Arabs to end slavery is inappropriate.
The primary cause of death for black males up to the age of 44 is homicide. A significant fraction of those homicides are perpetrated by the police.
Please stop throwing around phrases like ‘genocidal racist’ in such an obscene manner. You demean the people you’re talking to.
Perhaps the genocidal racist deserves to be demeaned? Someone else on this thread is also very concerned that we state truth, no matter who it hurts or demeans.
nice try mossad
Thank you for the compliment. If only I were that smart. If I were, I would likely ignore Dr. Salaita as a failed academic. But I am not that smart. Additionally, despite my small academic success, I am only 12 credits into my Ph.D. program.
Now hold on just a moment. Metaphor taken but having to live in Scotland is hardly a sacrifice. I know the country well (studied there, often go there for holidays, etc.), and it is in my opinion the best country in the world. Efficient government, nice people, incredible culture (in music, painting, architecture, literature, beer, whisky, you name it), a long history, stunning scenery, a good political situation… You need a jacket to be sure, and it’s a shame England is so close; but it’s a small price to pay.
I would wager that the problem is not that Scotland is a bad place to live, but rather that Scotland isn’t home.
Small problem.
“I do not recall reading anywhere that minorities are dying in order to support the supremacy of the majority in the US.”
I don’t know where you’re getting your news from. And maybe you don’t have access to google. Here’s just a taste of what’s out there. If you actually care about the issue I am certain you can find a good deal more information, rather easily, in fact. Or you can continue to argue on a topic you clearly know nothing about.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/policeshootings/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/health/pregnancy-deaths-.html
https://www.apr.org/post/alabama-prisons-deadliest-nation
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/06/05/451647/mass-incarceration-stress-black-infant-mortality/
Mass incarceration and police violence are just two of the more obvious ways that black people pay for the maintenance of white supremacy. Poverty, homelessness, lack of access to healthcare, there is a long list.
As none of the referenced items are deliberate actions intended to “to support the supremacy of the majority in the US,” it appears you are barking up the wrong tree. There is an obvious racial element that needs to be addressed, but not in the direction you are unfortunately heading.
And more specifics:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/michael-brown-shooting
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/what-happened-trayvon-martin-explained/
https://www.gq.com/story/tamir-rice-story
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/sandra-bland
Many thanks for the links, Jonathon. Infuriating but helpful reading–Steve
Reading sensationalized reports from less than credible witnesses is not helpful reading. I am shocked that an academic would support using such to determine the truth.
Exactly how did shooting Michael Brown?
Rather than use sensational journalistic stories designed to enflame, let us use an academic route which should be fully supported by Dr. Salaita:
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/doj_report_on_shooting_of_michael_brown_1.pdf
Read the Obama administrations report. Then decide.
Jack Sigman: Just because black people are killed at a terrific rate by prisons, police, and lack of basic services doesn’t prove that white supremacy is a thing.
Me: I have no answer to that Jack. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you are white…..
Hurd: Why did you change the reason for the outcome? No one on this entire thread stated that there was no such thing as “white advantage.” All that is in question is the absurd statement that “Black and Brown and indigenous people are dying to feed the machinery of white supremacy In the U.S.”
The total irrelevant newspaper stories you submitted proved absolutely nothing but that there are anecdotal stories full of noncredible witness statements. The one credible source is the one I provided and you failed to acknowledge its unimpeachable veracity.
Yes, you have no answers. that much is true. But you do seem to be a racist, solely based on your posts. But that would be going out on a limb…
The best source on the murder of Michael Brown is the government that murdered him and then brutally suppressed the protests that erupted in his name. Great. I’ll get around to reading your link once I finish Andrew Jackson’s riveting essay about how genociding an entire continent was actually an exercise in human rights, and Native people are the real racists for suggesting otherwise. By the way I didn’t claim you were denying white advantage, I claimed you were denying white supremacy.
It does happen to be a source that has an aura of veracity. Your sources do not. I know what you are claiming, you just have no basis for your claim. I can claim that you use sensationalized efforts without a reliable source and that would be quite accurate based on using your own posts as proof.
I do not recall seeing any essays written by Andrew Jackson suggesting any of the ideas you put forth as his. A scholastic link, rather than the tripe you previously offered, should be your best answer. Steve Salaita can help you if you ask nicely and leave off the unnecessary sarcasm.
By the way, you added the Zimmerman incident to the mix. I understand that Zimmerman is a man of color, as was his ‘victim.” How does that play out as “pay for the maintenance of white supremacy?”
“The aura of veracity”
That’s a nice way of putting it.
Indeed, not only is the source accurate, it is authentic. After perusing the offal you offered as proof, the government report actually smelled like a rose. It is a wonderful accomplishment from an African American administration.
This Jack Frank Sigman is an unpleasant little troll. I’m sorry to see him taking up so much space in this comments section, even to the point of insulting the brilliant scholar and writer whose website he’s invading. If Sigman really is the doctoral student he claims to be, I hope he’ll return at once to his academic work. Who knows: perhaps the thesis he writes may, in the end, prove to be less stupid, conventional, ill-informed and nasty than his comments here.
It is interesting how you seem to demand attention. If you were sorry to see me post so much that is true, you would not make such a comment. While Dr. Salaita is smart, he was not smart enough to temper his language. I am confident that no one here will honestly give you the same compliment.
As a student, as Dr. Salaita can attest, I am always involved in academic work. I will be presenting at a Holocaust conference next week and I will start dealing with Genocide Historiography shortly thereafter.
For your edification, a “thesis” is written as a completion for a Master, a “dissertation” is written as a completion for a doctorate. My “thesis” dealt with genocide and independence movements post- WWII. I believe I received a grade of 97.
It is unfortunate you had nothing to add to the discussion; just stupid, ill-informed, and nasty comments.
Thank you Michael, for expressing my sentiments. It’s disturbing to finish reading such powerful writing by Dr. Salaita to be so swiftly and concisely evidenced by the dehumanizing mobbing ritual of white supremacy personified by one demanding ignorant foul mouthed racist troll.
None the less, I suppose it’s a convenient example.
So strange that you side with a defender of the antisemitism and conspiracy theories in Globalresearch.ca . It appears the “foul-mouthed racist troll” is none other then Keefer himself. Dr. Salaita would be better off keeping his distance. However, he is a grown academic and can do as he pleases.
I’m sorry to see Jack Frank Sigman making such a complete fool of himself so early in his academic career. My previous remark was aimed–perhaps with too much severity: I had assumed he was more fully an adult–at guiding him toward some twinges of shame over his behaviour on this website.
But Mr. Sigman insists on hopping about, with eggshell fragments of the MA from which he’s recently emerged still visible on his head, bragging of his own brilliance and slinging filthy insults at others. I have studied the kind of abusive rhetoric he has apprenticed himself in: I published a book on neo-McCarthyism when he would have been in diapers, and another one on false attributions of antisemitism when I would guess Sigman was still a boy soprano in middle school.
I have indeed defended Michel Chossudovsky, the editor of Globalresearch.ca, against slanderous insinuations of antisemitism–which were grotesque, given his lifelong anti-racism and the fact that members of his immediate family were murdered at Auschwitz. (I honour Professor Chossudovsky for his courageous work in exposing state crimes against democracy and crimes of empire in Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere, just as I honour Professor Seven Salaita for his courage and acuity in defending Indigenous rights in North America and the rights of his own Palestinian people.)
I know a little bit about the domain of Shoah historiography that Mr. Sigman is entering. I have travelled quite widely in Poland, visiting the sites of desecrated graveyards and ruined or deconsecrated synagogues in Lodz, Kazimierz Dolny and elsewhere; and have meditated in the room at Majdanek which was the first Nazi gas chamber. In his studies within this domain of suffering, terror, and anguish Mr. Sigman will be encountering great writers like Primo Levi who were victims and survivors of the Shoah, and scholars of the first rank like Yehuda Bauer and the great Raul Hilberg. I hope these encounters may teach him something about humility, about decency, and about the ethics of civilized public debate.
An August 2020 report by the U.S. State Department Global Engagement Center stated that Global Research is, by a significant margin, the most accessed proxy website allied with the pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign. By the estimation of report’s authors, it has accumulated 12.4 million page views, with around 351,247 readers for each article. Chossudovsky is a board member of other pro-Russian websites which attempt to spread conspiracy theories.[13] Responding via his lawyer, this time to CBC News, Chossudovsky again denied the 2020 accusations made against him.[5]
The CRG has been accused of spreading Chinese propaganda.[30][31] An article on Global Research making the false assertion that the coronavirus pandemic was not real was carried by 70 other outlets, according to the August 2020 State department report.[13] Chossudovsky himself has described it as being a “manufactured pandemic”.[5] Earlier in 2020, his list of 10 questions was tweeted by the foreign minister of Iran. They included the claim that the United States government was responsible for the international coronavirus pandemic.[32] Global Research published an article entitled “COVID-19: Further Evidence that the Virus Originated in the US” was posted on social media by a senior official in the Chinese foreign ministry.[31][33][34] Chinese state media have reported such unfounded speculation which has been carried by Chossudovsky’s website with, according to The Globe and Mail, misattributed sources.[34] Reportedly, the two articles on this theme have since been removed from the globalresearch.ca website.[35]