[Fdu] Fwd: Racist incident at Massey College - please consider signing

[Peter Fitting]

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

> From: UTFaculty <openletterutfaculty at GMAIL.COM>
> Date: September 28, 2017 at 03:34:06 GMT+2
> To: OPENLETTERFACULTY-L at listserv.utoronto.ca
> Subject: Racist incident at Massey College - please consider signing
> Reply-To: UTFaculty <openletterutfaculty at GMAIL.COM>
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> Colleagues from the Black Faculty Group have brought to our attention an egregious incident of racism that took place on Tuesday at Massey college. This event comes in the context of calls for the removal of the language of 'Master' by Junior Fellows of the college over the last year. Professor Hugh Segal, the current head of college was present for the incident described below, and has confirmed its accuracy. Black faculty have already sent a letter to Massey College condemning the incident and supporting a set of demands from Junior Fellows. We would like to send this letter from the list tomorrow (Thursday) at noon in a quick and strong show of solidarity so that our Black colleagues are not pulling the weight alone. Would you kindly read the letter below and consider adding your name to the online document as soon as possible? If you support the letter please circulate it to your colleagues and encourage them to sign. We will send it to the College head directly. 
> 
> With thanks,
> 
> Deb, Andrea, Natalie, Lucia, Joseph, Jeff, Alejandro, Nicole, Katherine, Girish, Vannina
> - For The List
> 
> -----
> SIGN HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchTxTwh6uhRRkkoAGhEgHLezJPklBjNnIS0R03t8hqjZOkiQ/viewform
> 
> September 27, 2017
>  
> Dear Professor Segal:
>  
> The undersigned faculty write to express profound outrage over an incident that took place at Massey College Tuesday, September 26, 2017. We understand that in your presence, Senior Fellow Michael Marrus addressed a Black Junior Fellow of the College, with the words, “You know this is your master, eh? Do you feel the lash?”.
> 
> We write to express our full support for the Junior Fellows who responded quickly to this incident of anti-Black racism on campus with calls for change. Towards that goal, they have articulated a list of demands (below) that offer steps towards redress, which we support wholeheartedly.
> In our eyes, the very legitimacy of Massey College hinges on the effectiveness of your response to this incident. We encourage you to approach this moment with the seriousness it demands, and with the courage and vision to make this an occasion for fulsome transformation.  
> We reiterate our support for the demands made by the Junior Fellows:
> 1. 	The termination of Michael Marrus’ association with Massey College as a Senior Fellow;
> 2. 	A formal public apology issued from Massey College;
> 3. 	The immediate title replacement of Master with a suitable alternative title to describe the head of Massey College;
> 4. 	Mandatory antiracist training organized by Massey for all Junior and Senior members of the 
> Fellowship—specifically for members of the House Committee;
> 5. 	A formal meeting with Hugh Segal and the administration of Massey College to present their plan of action in response to this and other ongoing issues affecting racialized members of the College. 
> 
>  
>  
> Sincerely,
>  
> Deborah Cowen, Geography & Planning  
> Andrea Muehlebach, Anthropology
> E. Natalie Rothman, History
> Lucia Dacome, IHPST
> Joseph Berkovitz, IHPST
> Jeff Bale, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning, OISE
> Alejandro Paz, Anthropology
> Nicole Laliberte, Geography UTM
> Katherine Blouin, Historical and Cultural Studies/Classics
> Girish Daswani, Anthropology
> Vannina Sztainbok, Social Justice Education
> 
> SIGN HERE https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchTxTwh6uhRRkkoAGhEgHLezJPklBjNnIS0R03t8hqjZOkiQ/viewform
> 
> 
> -- 
> For more information, visit the wordpress site: https://utopenletter.wordpress.com/
> 
> UTFaculty - The Open Letter forum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/864602520267434/
> 
> 
> 
>  
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