Hofstra professor speaks to students on racism in education
Professor Kristal Zook is an award-winning journalist and teaches in the journalism department at Hofstra University. // Photo courtesy of Kristal Zook.
Presenting her recent research on race and social justice, Hofstra University journalism professor Kristal Zook discussed the impacts of race and social justice on education, students and faculty members. The discussion is a part of the Colloquia Series presented by the Center for “Race” Culture & Social Justice on Wednesday, Sept. 15.
Zook opened her speech with her agenda to investigate the role of racism on campuses due to the uprising of social justice movements over the past year. Topics ranged from Black Lives Matter protests to the creation of #BlackInTheIvory. She connected the movement to experiences that Black professors have had on their campuses.
A former education professor at the University of Virginia, Dr. Paul Harris, was denied tenure by the University’s Promotion and Tenure Committee. The University claimed his publications were self-published. However, Harris’ academic work was featured in the Journal of African American Males in Education, a peer-reviewed journal. This incident received nationwide attention, including from Zook.
“[O]thers may use my race to question my credentials, challenge my authority or doubt my right to occupy this space,” said inaugural director of the Center for “Race” Culture & Social Justice Jonathan Lightfoot. “I choose to use the experiences associated with my race as an asset because I can then write about them with passion and get academic credit for it. How cool is that?”
Dr. Veronica Lippencott, an adjunct associate professor of Global Studies and Geography, thinks that faculty members can promote proactive institutional change by supporting each other.
“[By] consistently communicat[ing] with each other and talk[ing] about their shared experiences,” Lippencott said. “[These are] ways to make our campus a more inclusive for all faculty.”
During her speech Zook addressed the impact of racism on Hofstra students. Some students expressed that they have felt different on campus.
“While I don’t believe that I have been treated differently than my white peers in class,” said undecided freshman Iyanna Prioleau, “I have been treated differently while on campus.”
Many students have appreciated the inclusion of implicit bias training in the Orientation Program. An implicit bias is the tendency to unconsciously stereotype or associate negative attitudes towards others based on a characteristic like race or ethnicity.
“The training allows more people to realize that there are times where they will be performing actions with implicit biases, resulting in an understanding and moments of reflection for those select people,” said freshman biology pre-med major Martina Lim.
Zook highlighted several college campuses, such as Yale, where students protested the treatment of students of color. In addition, she emphasized that the curriculum adopted from the 1619 Project has been opposed by some legislatures, making it difficult to address the contributions of Black Americans to the nation’s history.
Hofstra University chose the 1619 Project for the summer 2021 common reading along with implicit bias presentations.
“[The implicit bias presentation] provided a little bit more information, especially when it comes to internal bias because ... even though we might not be outwardly biased, we may be internally biased,” said junior political science major Nana Bjornestad.
Students can start with change in their communities by supporting each other. Various organizations on campus can assist faculty members and students of color, such as the Black Student Union, Black Faculty Council and the AAUP faculty union.
“Social justice needs to be addressed with openness,” said professor of mathematics Behailu Mammo.
