CFA Members Continue Efforts to Dismantle Anti-Black Racism

The lived, shared experiences of Black faculty have challenged, transformed, and ultimately enhanced our higher education system and our union work to engage an anti-racism and social justice transformation.

We continue our celebration of Black History Month by highlighting how Black faculty have been pushing boundaries to challenge the oppressive patterns of policing on our campuses and ensure our university communities are places free of fear, scarcity, and othering.

For far too long, police have harassed and used excessive force against Black people. Of course, Black people are not their only targets. There are also people who are poor, immigrant, of color, trans, queer, non-binary, and those marginalized in larger society. Sadly, CSU campuses are not insulated from the offenses of our larger society, but instead are also sites for repression and abuse. Despite a recognized history of widespread police brutality against Black people, faculty have been told to trust and rely on police, even for noncriminal health and safety incidents, such as classroom disruptions and interpersonal conflicts among campus community members.

Rather than keeping our campuses safe, however, police spend most of their time surveilling Black people. Black people, underrepresented as they are on CSU campuses, are a hypervisible and ready target. Surveillance also extends beyond the police, as Black faculty and students experience “Amy Cooper” treatment by non-Black individuals.

A non-Black person forms judgments based on racial narratives that render Black culture and appearance problematic. Blackness is criminalized everywhere, whether as a characteristic of Black communities or as a feature of individuals outside of Black communities. Consider the instance of Dr. David Moore, a Black Sacramento State professor who had police called on him by a colleague of color while attending a student club meeting.

We still have a long way to go to dismantle the systems that exist, but our members have taught us that we can accomplish much when we fight together.

When several armed university police officers arrived to assess the situation, Moore remained calm, knowing his life could be in danger. In this instance and in many others, no police presence was necessary, and certainly not armed police.

But the modern militarization of police on CSU campuses does not appear to be coincidental. As the number of students and faculty of color increased on our campuses, so did the militarization of police.

When Black campus community members demanded inclusion in the curriculum, in their faculty body, and in student admissions, they were construed as a problem for the university. Black faculty and students were stigmatized by militarized police, and they felt both unwelcome and endangered on the campuses.

This sort of othering, racial profiling, prejudice, and discrimination seriously harms the Black community and all those who come to campus with a history of law enforcement impaction. It’s been detrimental to both Black faculty teaching conditions and Black students’ learning conditions, and it’s why we must keep fighting to address the unique adversity that Black people face. Given that our students and significant numbers of staff and faculty come from system-impacted communities, the impacts of militarized policing are widespread.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder – and in the long chain of similar transgressions and murders – Black faculty were done asking for justice and began demanding that we address anti-Black racism. To resist and address anti-Black racism in the CSU, CFA members released Anti-Black Racism Demands.

At the top of the list is a recognition that Black Lives are Precious, that Black Lives Matter, and that we must protect Black lives, Black futures, and Black joy.

To ensure we adequately protect the wellbeing of our Black faculty and students, we must demand alternatives to policing and the demilitarization of policing on our campuses.

Just over a year ago, CFA members found one avenue to advance the goals of police reform and community wellbeing by partnering with legislators to get Assembly Bill 1997 passed through legislation. A stakeholder workgroup comprised of faculty, staff, and students will be convened this week to develop alternatives to emergency responses and dispute resolutions that occur on campus.

Most recently, we demanded and bargained for improved safety measures for faculty interacting with campus police. Because of our members’ perseverance and commitment to anti-racism and social justice (ARSJ), we were able to get a provision (Article 37.10)  in our Tentative Agreement (TA) that aligns with our ARSJ goals. If approved by members, CSU management would now recognize that CSU employees have constitutional rights and may seek union representation when interacting with campus police.

This provision emerges from our collective effort to address and rectify structural racism in the CSU system. Though modest, this is important and progressive for Black faculty members whose freedom and dignity are at stake, and who have suffered negative consequences at the hands of police.

Black history is one of a continual struggle for rights, respect, and justice. A hallmark feature of the Black struggle, especially in recent years as the Black Lives Matter movement brings these issues to the foreground, is the continual struggle with racism in policing that has its roots in slave patrols. In contemporary times, the work that CFA members do is crucial to combating repressive policing in a carceral state where racism is systemic.

We still have a long way to go to dismantle the systems that exist, but our members have taught us that we can accomplish much when we fight together.

As we celebrate Black history, we welcome the opportunity to learn more about how to improve community wellbeing and secure an enriching learning and teaching environment for Black faculty, staff, and students, and how this improves the campus for all of us.