To Whom It May Concern:
As faculty in African American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Latina and Latino Studies, we write in support of our Northwestern student protesters who decried racism and rallied in support of the student actions at the University of Missouri. We are proud of the Northwestern students who worked across various organizations including FMO to organize and participate in the rally that was held on Friday the 13th of November 2015. Some of us attended this gathering, which began at The Black House and featured the moving testimonials of Black students and other minority students. The demonstration moved to Tech to highlight the isolation faced by minorities in the STEM fields. It culminated by interrupting the groundbreaking ceremony for an athletic complex that was attended by President Schapiro and donors. We appreciate those students who are voicing their experiences with racism, alienation, and despair and we validate their concerns. Finally, we write in support of their list of demands and offer our collaboration and participation in meeting those demands. Students on campus are putting theory to action and we back their call for equal treatment, changing the culture of Northwestern to reflect justice alongside increasingly diversified demographics, and an end to systemic and everyday racism of which these students bear the brunt.
We stand with our students who are speaking truth to power.
Nitasha Sharma Associate Professor of African American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Performance Studies
Frances R. Aparicio Director, Latina and Latino Studies Program Professor of Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Mary Pattillo Professor of Sociology and African American Studies
Alexander Weheliye Professor of African American Studies
Sylvester Johnson Associate Professor of African American Studies and Religious Studies
Shalini Shankar Associate Professor of Anthropology Director of Asian American Studies
Michelle M. Wright Professor of African American Studies and Comparative Literary Studies
Debra Thompson Assistant Professor of African American Studies
Celeste Watkins-Hayes Associate Professor of African American Studies and Sociology
E. Patrick Johnson Professor of African American Studies and Performance Studies
Martha Biondi Chair of African American Studies Professor of History
Ji-Yeon Yuh Associate Professor of Asian American Studies and History