Teaching Why Black Lives Matter

Racial tensions and violence in American society have reached the forefront of contemporary civil discourse. With incidents of violence such as the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, activist movements including Black Lives Matter have emerged to protest around the issues of racial inequality and police brutality in the United States. As activist groups like BLM have emerged on university campuses across the nation, it is important to engage as a community in discussion about racial issues and why they must be addressed.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2016, five members of Dartmouth’s faculty spoke to these issues in a panel discussion titled, “Teaching Why Black Lives Matter.” The panel focused on the issues that inflamed Ferguson, MO and stimulated a group of faculty to teach a course at Dartmouth about the facts associated with black lives mattering. The panel engaged the Dartmouth community at large in a discussion about racial violence and inequality, associated activist movements across the nation, and how these issues affect each one of us.

The panel was made up of the following faculty members:

• Aimee Bahng, Assistant Professor of English, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), Asian American Studies (AAST), African and African American Studies (AAAS), Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)
• Treva Ellison, Lecturer of Geography and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Abigail Neely, Assistant Professor of Geography
• Craig Sutton, Associate Professor of Mathematics; Moving Dartmouth Forward Presidential Steering Committee Member
• Richard Wright, Professor of Geography, Orvil Dryfoos Professor of Public Affairs