For the past decade Americans’ top fear has been the fear of a corrupt government. We are living in a time where the government has invaded a sovereign country, empowered ICE to terrorize citizens and undocumented individuals, deported U.S. citizens and others without due process, and pardoned violent criminals who participated in the January 6 insurrection.
Dr. Kevin Cokley
As a professor for almost 28 years, I have spent my career researching, teaching, and speaking on issues of race and racial inequities. However, I have become increasingly disappointed that some faculty are afraid to speak out against injustice and a corrupt government because of fear of political retaliation and concerns about job security. In the current political climate of authoritarianism, it is more important than ever for faculty to be brave and speak out against injustice and governmental assaults on academic freedom and freedom of speech.
King understood that the power of education is the ability to teach a person to think critically. Faculty play an important role by shaping and influencing important cultural and social debates. This is why the Trump administration, like other authoritarian administrations across the world, target universities. Because they do not want faculty to influence students (or citizens) to think critically about the administration’s actions.
One of the aspects of being a professor that I have appreciated the most (and taken for granted) is that I have been able to use the platform I have as a public scholar to educate and speak out on provocative and divisive issues without fear of being censored, silenced or threatened. While it is not always easy to speak out, it is my responsibility to do so, because of the educational privilege that I have.
Professors with tenure like me have the type of job security that does not exist in many other professions. Having tenure means faculty have a permanent position, which gives us the academic freedom to research, teach, and speak out on controversial topics without fear of losing our job (assuming we are not incompetent, don’t engage in misconduct, etc). Even with this job security, some faculty are afraid to publicly speak out against the government when it has exceeded its constitutional or legal authority or infringed on academic freedom or freedom of speech.
In a recent article Paul Bloom asks the question “Why Aren’t Professors Braver?” While he was primarily referring to self-censorship with other professors, I believe the question extends beyond disagreements with other faculty. In the midst of the authoritarian attacks against academic institutions, tenured faculty need to go beyond the comfort and safety of closed-door conversations bemoaning the actions of the Trump administration. In another recent article Brian Rosenberg asks the question “Where’s the Outrage? Universities Need to Speak Up” in response to the killing of Renee Nicole Good where he characterized the lack of response as shameful.
