🚨New Pub Alert🚨
Our article on abolition feminism & gendered violence is now out in Gender & Society! This is my favorite thing I've ever worked on for so many reasons! And I'm so grateful to have worked with Amber (not on socials) on this!
#SocAF
I don't think folks should be making jokes about the eating pets lie. It is so violently racist and we should not contribute to any normalization of that kind of anti-Blackness & fear-mongering against our Haitian, and other migrant, siblings.
Just about 7 years after a faculty member in my department told me I wouldn't make it in academia "doing social justice and activism," I am preparing to defend my dissertation in under 90 days and start a tenure track position in the fall...
This time a week ago I was in a 4 hr surgery to remove 17 fibroids, 4 that were larger than 6.5 inches each. I have lots of recovery to go before I share more, but posting now to encourage folks w/ a uterus to not allow drs to minimize your suffering which is what happened to me.
@thedonphilo
Once had a Black woman ticket agent who went into the back to retrieve my already checked bag for me so that I could pack 3 Shea Moisture products TSA said I couldn't carry-on. She said she wasnt gonna let me arrive to my destination like that. The realest MVP.
#BHM
Normalize checking on people when they cross your mind with a quick text or email. A lot of us are out here feeling like we're on islands by ourselves and I know would appreciate the check. This is a simple practice of radical love and community. 💜🧡🤎💛
Just to be clear, even if Palestinians were the most anti-Black group on earth (they're not), they wouldn't deserve to be genocided & I do/would stand behind that as a Black woman because my principles call for it.
People smoke weed bc they feel like it...please don't feed into the hype by offering her trauma as an apology for her choice. She owes no apology. There's yt men on wall street doing a line as we speak just because. Stop criminalizing drug use for Black folks. Full fucking stop.
As more folks move toward abolition after seeing the police in Uvalde, one thing I think is important to hold is that abolition is a practice that we engage in daily & a promise for a future of care & compassion. As you make the shift, exploring this perspective might be helpful.
My sis just said: "Academia is not killing people with guns but with microaggressions and gaslighting that takes away self esteem, peace of mind, years of unloved life, and even suicide and physical ailment."
And that shit is real.
#AcademicChatter
#soctwitter
Family, my friend and brother passed suddenly last week. I am still trying to process this loss, but in the meantime I want to make sure folks know that academic hazing and forced isolation in grad programs are real and sometimes people's bodies cannot handle the stress..
PSA: if a Black woman tells you she experienced an act of racism and/or sexism, please do not say she is being overly sensitive, taking things too personal, or misinterpreting. If you dont see it as shes explained, go sit down somewhere and reflect why you are questioning her.
You know how selfish a culture has to be to have teenage college students playing sports for *entertainment* during a pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people. Whew.
I think solidarity requires (some level of) risk. To claim to be in solidarity with folks, folks have to be willing to put something on the line. Agreeing with a cause or supporting it are not the same as showing up in solidarity.
I had my classes (Intro & Crim) work in groups to create memes..class voted for the top 3 & everyone got some EC based on the vote tallies. When I tell you I was screaming... y'all, I love my students!
#ProfLife
#soctwitter
#AcademicTwitter
Check the thread if you need laugh!
Teaching in person & a student removed their mask to sneeze in class yesterday. I've asked dozens to put the mask over their nose. I'm not sure how we are going to survive this. 🥴 I'm tweeting bc folks need to understand the realities even when there are mask mandates on campus
I suffered horribly for yrs, including with fibroid-related anemia that my surgeon says likely had me at "a half tank of energy" the whole time. At no point did any Dr I described my symptoms to send me for a simple ultrasound that would have shown these masses.
Reminder to everybody making grad school decisions now...you have until APRIL 15th notify schools of your decision..do not let a program pressure you to decide earlier. If you need the time to decide, take it! 1/
For now - y'all, push these drs to treat you!! Don't let them gaslight you into thinking you're overreacting about your real pain. And holding space for those of us who the system failed. I see y'all.
So now I'm recovering from a major abdominal surgery during which I lost 1/5 of my body's blood when the treatment could have been much less invasive had I been diagnosed sooner. 6.5 inch fibroids did not develop overnight and should have been treated yrs ago.
I go to Black women drs nearly exclusively, am routine about my healthcare, & ask lots of questions. And yet, here I am. There's more to be said, but I'm resting & trying to keep stress down. I'll write more about my experiences later (including my treatment in the hospital).
I went for yearly physicals & PAPs and not one person did a single diagnostic for the horrible symptoms I described. They just pushed birth control which may have made the fibroids worse.
I'm going to North Carolina, y'all!!
Just signed my contract to join the Sociology Department at Wake Forest as an Assistant Professor starting Fall 2019.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who offered support during this process!
#JourneyToPHD
#GoDeacs
I don't fuck w/ ppl who refuse to engage in conflict for justice, in whatever space it's necessary, inc on our jobs in academia. Violence & abuse are the norm, & y'all saying be kind. I mean it from my core when I say FUCK all that! Folks will always kno where I stand. Period.
It's amazing to me that folks STILL believe that because someone was a good colleague, friend, etc., they couldn't possibly have abused or discriminated against another person. Like, y'all understand abusers don't abuse every person they know. Make it make sense.
Reflecting on my grad school visit when a criminologist told me I couldn't do both academia & activism. Here I am, a week after signing my first book contract in my first yr on the tenure track & protesting with all my ❤ & skills for justice for Black folks.
#SocAF
#soctwitter
I was arrested tonight during a peaceful protest demanding justice for John Neville, a Black man hogtied & murdered in the custody of Forsyth County Detention Center in Winston Salem NC. Ill say more later, but we cannot stop y'all.
#NoJusticeNoPeace
I always have at least one student semester who uses the term "colored" in a paper instead of POC despite me going over this in the beginning of the semester since it always happens. And every time, I want to quit my job.
My amazing Abolition course students are holding teach-ins as their final projects covering imp topics on abolition & transformative justice. Each flyer reps a single teach-in..check them out & see what you're interested in! Come support my incredible students, y'all!
#SocAF
For my 1000th tweet, I'd like to say..
Support Black grad students.
I'm a little more than 2 months out, and reflecting on my time (and what I know others have experienced), grad school is far too often hellish for Black students. Yes, grad school is hard for everyone. BUT...
If I owe you something (email, text, deadline, etc) please give me grace. I am prioritizing myself & my health permanently from now on so that means I can't respond to everything in a timely fashion.
Office is done!! Love my space!! Writing is so much "easier" in a space where I feel peaceful. My colleague joked that it smells like a spa when I'm here because of my essential oil diffuser (lavender & eucalyptus blend is my go-to for work days!).
#ProfLife
No degree, no job, no publication, nothing in academia is worth someone's life...figuratively or literally. I am furious to even have to say this, but it is clear that many folks do not understand the level of physical danger associated with academic hazing of PhD students..
Have completed three semesters of teaching 4 unique courses as a faculty member and have not had students purchase a single book..
One way to
#DecolonizeYourSyllabus
by leveling accessibility for students in different financial situations.
A 1970 grad of my institution sent my chair an email today because he was offended that I'm an abolitionist 🙃 sir, its a pandemic, write your president about a stimulus check and some PPE.
Honestly, y'all, I burst into tears when I got the email that I'd won this award. I am so honored to be in the company of the amazing past recipients & to be able to do work that is such an important part of who I am as a scholar.
#SocAF
Reporter: what was the message you were trying to send with your 7 masks?
Naomi: well, what was the message you got? That's more of the question.
Period. Do your damn work, people.
📣📣📣
"Rest is NOT a reward!!!" Doing things you enjoy is not a reward! Eating a decent meal is not a reward! Spending time with loved ones is not a reward! Taking a walk is not a reward!
These are requirements to be complete, fulfilled, purpose driven people!
Given the culture of academia is organized around overworking and productivity we are only comfortable resting after we get exhausted.
Rest is NOT a reward. It is a mandatory part of life that shouldn’t be conditional. We have to prioritize our selves better.
Black junior faculty & grad students - your silence will not protect you! Don't let folks who profit off the protections of ytness give you ridiculous advice about staying quiet to make it. They are doing everything to make sure we fail anyway; why lose your soul in the process?
So humbled to have received this award!! My activism is so central to who I am as an academic, so it is such an honor to have that part of myself recognized!! Thank you to the division, the awards committee, & those that nominated me!
#SocAF
Congratulations to Dr. Brittany P. Battle
@Dr_B_Pearl
for winning the 2020 DCCSJ Praxis award. 🎉
⭐️ This award honors achievements that have made a significant impact on the quality of justice for underserved, underrepresented, & otherwise marginalized populations.
You shouldn't have to date/marry/procreate with a Black person to see racism.
You shouldn't have to date/marry/procreate with a Black person to see racism.
You shouldn't have to date/marry/procreate with a Black person to see racism.
And huge thank yous and love to my care web who has held me down leading up to and since the surgery. Care work is abolition work and they are doing the work, y'all. 💜
Y'all know if you're kneeling for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, you're actually emulating George Floyd's murderers. Lay your ass on the ground, face down, with your hands behind your back. That's what George Floyd experienced with a knee on his neck and 2 knees on his torso.
I just.....
This is so, so, so not it. The refusal to acknowledge what's underneath the original tweet (ytness) & the fact that any person who has ever addressed institutional violence has HAD to engage in conflict (any pro in the area who's worth their salt would agree)..
🥴
I am sorry my tweet upset many. It is what worked for me, thus why I use
#MyAcademicTruth
on threads. I believe we can bring change without conflict. I wrote the paper on bringing culture change to depts, which changed multiple association & depts. I just choose kindness to do so
Faculty members who make grad students cry are trash & this type of abuse should not be tolerated in academia which is a professional setting. And saying someone doesn't have the "cultural capital" to succeed in grad school is racist. Period.
#AcademicTwitter
#soctwitter
Transparency is so crucial right now, esp as we see how terrible people are in light of the
@ASAnews
vote on the Resolution on Palestine, so I want to name the individual who filed a complaint of harassment w/
@socwomen
against me & another untenured Black woman was this person.
Then this evening, we were informed that a member of a feminist organization made an official complaint of discrimination and harassment against the co-chairs of a committee for folks of color within the org (I am one of the co-chairs)...
10yo niece (to her mom): did you have a gender reveal for me?
Sister: no, we didn't have those then.
14yo nephew: I'm not having one when I have a kid cuz they should decide their own gender.
Niece: yeah, you can't just pick someone's gender for them.
#ProudAuntie
Part of our activism is doing battle where we stand (Lorde)! So I'm excited to announce I signed a contract with
@NYUpress
to publish my book on the ways that the child support system reinforces neoliberal ideals of parenthood & criminalizes parents.
#SocAF
#soctwitter
We’re focusing our
#SocAF
convo today on scholar-activism! As sociologists we’re equipped to stand in the gap between theory & praxis! So please share how you’ve used your body, your research, or your platforms to resist the pervasive anti-Black racism in society!
As orientation wraps up for me & I look to the start of classes in about a week as a whole Asst Professor 🤯, I just wanna say thank you to the Black women who came before me & put in the work for a first gen Black girl like me to dream this big. I am bc y'all were first. 🖤❤💚
When we say abolition is a daily practice, we mean in part first thinking through how you uphold & contribute to carcerality in your life through your interactions with others & your own self talk. This practice asks you to shift those behaviors, thoughts, & postures.
This person means well, but I'm gonna encourage y'all to not take this advice at all. Your silence won't protect you (esp if you're Black or Brown) & doesn't serve any of the purposes we should care about. And y'all don't say nothing after tenure anyway, this is a temp excuse 🤷🏾♀️
1) On TT - Be the fuzzy bunny nobody wants to kick - advice my academic big sister gave me when I started on TT. These people will be voting on your future. You can be the game changer after you get tenure.
Syllabi suggestion: include student resources like counseling services, suicide prevention line, place to seek support after/report sexual assault, cultural centers, LGBTQ centers, etc. Let students know you see them as full ppl & will support them.
#AcademicTwitter
#soctwitter
*and* even if they never lifted a finger to be in solidarity with Black folks (they have), we still have a moral obligation to speak against them being genocided.
Social movements are themselves a form of collective art making. So much of our movements are reactionary and art is what makes us visionary. Art does change things. -
@prisonculture
Good morning to everyone except anyone who agrees grad students should have to work 2 additional full time jobs to make ends meet and when they request adequate support, they are begging. Most grad students already work well over 60 hours a week. Just stop.
The practice asks you to think through & act on building stronger communities, engaging in collective care, being imaginative about how to meet folks' needs, and dreaming about what safety, community, and liberation look like. It's hard work. But it's beautiful. And life-giving.
First official day of my second year on the tenure track. I made it through year one, y'all. How, you ask? No clue. But here I am. Book contract, dope (if I do say so myself) signature course on social justice, & solid community work. Feeling pretty good.
#SocAF
But I dont want anyone's loved ones to ever experience this type of loss. My brother was two months from defending, but will now never be able to wear that expensive regalia he couldn't wait to purchase...
What do I mean by academic hazing..
Folks expecting you to write 16 hours a day to make unreasonable deadlines, folks being okay with you retreating from family & friends for work, advisors forcing new diss chpts when you are 2 months from starting a job..
Family, my friend and brother passed suddenly last week. I am still trying to process this loss, but in the meantime I want to make sure folks know that academic hazing and forced isolation in grad programs are real and sometimes people's bodies cannot handle the stress..
I wish we held space for Black kids to make mistakes, to be angry, to have an attitude, to be scared, to cuss, to fight, to literally be children without being brutalized or murdered.
The way some folks are justifying this killing is taking me places I'm trying to avoid.
I really appreciate y'all loving on me on this post. As I said care work is abolition work - if yall have capacity to support care/abolition work, pls consider giving to our efforts to keep our Black woman elder free from state prosecution/4 yrs in prison
Have been emotionally unable to focus on work the past month...completed a peer review of a manuscript today & it felt like a big win. So this is just a reminder that we all need to be kind to ourselves when life hits & allow ourselves space to grieve & regroup.
#AcademicTwitter
Not Rutgers Sociology graduate department trying to steal students' federal fellowships for free TA labor. They ain't changing, huh. Please avoid the department if you can...in solidarity at the very least with my brother Jason who died by suicide after academic hazing.
#SocAF
One more tonight. Let me just say this publicly: I am not catching Covid to teach anyone's child anything or to do anything else related to making a multi-million dollar institution more money. I do not care.
Check out my new post on profs allowing undergrads to use their first names. I will always be Dr. Battle bc my positionality requires it. I encourage faculty to think abt how decisions re titles impact marginalized colleagues.
#AcademicChatter
#proflife
Had to buy a personal laptop today because during a training for our new grant, my colleague had a message that said "Your screen is being monitored" pop up on her university laptop. So, yeah, universities are doing what the US is accusing other countries of doing. Fun times 🙃
Folks are accepting grad school and job offers now, so a reminder:
Y'all...get. everything. in. writing. Seriously. Every. Single. Thing. People will seem so eager to be supportive but make them write it all down. Because memories are short. And we don't want you getting shorted.
When I confronted the WW who called me a “plantation slave” in grad school, she cried & I think expected me to comfort her. I sat there quietly until she composed herself & cont’d w/ what I had to say. But in my dept among many faculty & some students, I was the bad guy, not her.
White women cry and dynamics change. I learned this in elementary school. They get hysterical and all of a sudden become innocent and someone else is the aggressor. It’s a skill they master at a young age.