Dr. Claudine Gay’s forced resignation highlights anti-Blackness in higher education

AYA WALLER-BEY by Aya Waller-Bey, Contributing Columnist, Michigan Chronicle We spend too much time discussing highly selective institutions like Harvard University. That’s especially true when, according to the Education Data Initiative, most college students don’t attend private or Ivy League schools, but instead attend one of the nation’s 1600 public and open-access universities. However, the resignation of Harvard’s first Black female president, Dr. Claudine Gay, earlier this month warrants an overdue discussion — not one about Harvard, but a conversation about anti-Blackness and racism in higher education and beyond. Prominent bad-faith actors – including conservative Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and conservative “activist” and anti-Critical Race Theory advocate Christopher Rufo – insist that U.S. college campuses are overrun by queer, anti-Semitic, liberal progressives who are committed to brainwashing students or compromising merit. But proof to the contrary is in the pudding. Since integration, Black students, staff, and faculty have launched complaints against their universities for racial discrimination. They have been protesting and leading demonstrations like the 1970 University of Michigan Black Action Movement (BAM) protests and subsequent movements including the “I, Too, Am Harvard” campaign in 2014. Yet, individuals like billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman led campaigns to dismantle diversity equity...