In response to ongoing disputes over the tenure of Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Carolina Black Caucus said 70 percent of the roughly 30 attendees at its last meeting are considering leaving the university. At least three professors of color already announced they were leaving UNC.
Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur “Genius” Grant, and Peabody Award winner and is the incoming Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at UNC. Previous Knight chairs at the university have been offered tenure.
The lack of immediate approval for Hannah-Jones led the campus community to highlight the lack of diversity of tenured faculty.
Chair of the Carolina Black Caucus, Dawna Jones, spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about recent departures of the three professors of color who took jobs elsewhere.
“One is too many because there are already too few at the institution especially to be losing tenured Black faculty who are women,” Jones said.
Jones said the news of faculty leaving was not a surprise but was devastating.
“We love Carolina,” Jones said. “We came here for a reason. We’ve been here for the amount of time that we have because we want this institution to be reflective of the values it says it upholds.”
Jones cited the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 racial justice movement as recent reasons there is a “Black exodus” occurring from the university. She said the Black community has felt undervalued for years pointing to the Silent Sam controversy with a pro-confederate group.
She said some members of the Carolina Black Caucus are feeling demoralized and under-appreciated.
“This Nikole Hannah-Jones situation is just another example of that and people are really really hurting right now,” Jones said.
Jaci Field heads the Carolina Black Caucus advocacy committee and also spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck. Field echoed Jones’ comments on faculty choosing to look for jobs elsewhere.
“While I support and the caucus supports those that are making the choice to leave, we understand why,” Field said. “We get it. You just want to be valued, you just want to be paid equally, you just want to be seen on an even level. But we also will support and encourage those who want to stay and stand in the fight.”
Field said the caucus does not want to encourage faculty to leave or stay but will support any decision a faculty member chooses to make.
While it would not be a long-term solution, Field said the Board of Trustees could immediately address concerns by approving Hannah-Jones’ tenure.
“We know that inaction speaks louder than action sometimes and that is what we want to point to the Board of Trustees,” Field said. “Their decision to not act spoke much louder than anything they could have said no to. We want to continue to encourage the Board of Trustees to turn their decision around and take some action.”
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines